My camera died.

Yes, the beautiful Nikon Coolpix that has been with me since my backpacking trip to Europe in the summer of 2005 has finally snapped its last shot. I'm taking it to the camera doctor tomorrow, but it has been a long and slow death, and I don't have high hopes for its future.

For most people, the death of a camera is not such a big deal. Most of us just pull out our cameras for crazy nights out or trips, and the rest of the time it gathers dust somewhere on your desk. For me, however (and most of the food blogging world), my camera is an integral part of my daily life. I take pictures of all of my dinners, some of my lunches and the outsides of every restaurant I ever visit.

Food bloggers usually think of themselves as writers, first and foremost. I know that I do: food writing is one more way that I express myself in written form, next to travel journalism and the fiction writing that I do in my spare time. But food blogging has also turned me into a photographer of sorts, and as I look through the last two years of posts, I've come to realize that blogging has taught me a lot about food photography.

I'm no whiz... there are a lot of people out there in the food blogging world that have a knack for food photography that I have never been able to achieve. But I've learned that natural light is best and that all food looks better on a plain white plate. I've also learned where my macro-close-up button is, which turns any photography novice into a whiz.

But most importantly, I've learned that food is a visual experience as well as a tasting one. I now make sure that all of the food I make, even if it's just for me, looks as appetizing as it can before I start eating. It's an important lesson to learn for anyone interested in cooking, and I look forward to continuing to learn more about it.

As soon as I get a new camera.

emily
Tomato Kumato