My New Toy: A Photoessay

Grown-ups get to have toys too. They may or may not be of the stuffed animal variety, but they always reflect the spirit of their owner. They are never what you need, only what you want. Grown-up toys can range from huge (car or motorbike) to small (iPhone - I reeeaaally want one). They are frivolous and fun and make life more interesting. You don't need a very good reason for wanting them - that's the good part about being a grown up.

Since I am pretending to be a grown-up, I figured it's alright to buy a completely excessive and partially superfluous toy. I am going to try to take the blog and the restaurant reviews up a notch. My point-and-shoot camera was really not cutting it for me. I have had to physically restrain myself from throwing it against a wall on numerous occasions. Its limitations would take a year to list. I couldn't take it any more. I thought about it for months on end, yearned for it for longer still, took a deep breath, spent a week online, and bought a Nikon D70s, the pet of food bloggers the world over.

I love and despise my new camera all at the same time. I love how fast it is, both in powering up and in getting ready for the next shot - it's practically instantaneous. It is, however, willful and a lot smarter than I am. Every once in a while it refuses to do its job, to take pictures when asked to - this is likely due to the fact that I need a second PhD before I figure out even a tenth of the settings.

The following are a few shots that I have generated with my new toy and time sink. They are still rough, but I will get there, eventually.

Edible:

Fresh strawberries, picked by yours truly at a farm in Northern Mass. These berries in no way resembled the styrofoam pellets on sale at local supermarkets. They were small, sweet juice bombs - one would have to have superhero levels of self control not to eat them all in one go.

Chocolate chip cookies, in progress

Pasta with green beans and hot Italian chicken sausage, recipe to follow


Non-edible:


Chicken wire

Next up on the toy roster: a faster lens. This will allow me to take pictures in low light (restaurants) and should greatly help in lowering my blood pressure (not to mention frustration level).