Originally, I had planned to make this month’s challenge all about meat. Meat is a challenging subject. Uncooked, it’s colorful, but can be off-putting. Cooked, it is critical to bring out the texture to avoid a big brown or grey looking blob. And, then you get to slicing… just thinking about having to neatly slice a turkey breast makes me shudder a bit.
Then, I watched this fantastic talk by Mark Bittman about the problems of how we eat. Which largely boil down to too much meat. It’s bad for our health, it’s bad for the environment. It’s not that everyone needs to run out and become a vegetarian… it’s just that we need to think about the impact of our choices on ourselves and our planet. And, with that, I knew I wasn’t going to feel good about making this month’s challenge all about meat.

The good news is that in general, proteins have similar issues. A big block of tofu is hardly mouth-watering without some work. Fish can be just as challenging to make appealing.

So, this month’s challenge will be about complete proteins. Note the word complete there… you can do beans, but they need to have some grains with them! I’m also going to be a stickler about the protein being the subject. If you have a bowl of goopy curry that makes it impossible to tell a carrot from a chunk of lamb, it doesn’t count.

Flip through old food mags from the 1980s, and you’ll find a common food and prop styling trend. Food was fussily styled like art work, with novel visual forms taking precedence over making the food look particular appetizing. Food was piled as tall as possible, with little regard to how a diner might actually dig in. Starkness, versus lusciousness was “in.” Color was bright and bold, and full of contrast. And, at the center of all of this was the ever present shiny black plate.

Well folks, I don’t know if you’ve noticed it like I have, but the black plate is making a come-back. This time though, it’s not fussy and it’s not shiny. And I, for one, am a fan. The images I’m seeing are rustic and earthy and amazingly inviting. They fit my mood as our season turns cold and dark perfectly. Here are some examples that I just love:

Clearly, you guys love to post to the Flickr Group. And I love to see your work! But, I am quite behind given the number of photos posted in the last 2 months and a bit of a freak amount of work in my day job in April.

This month, your challenge is… well, no challenge! For May, it’s a free for all! Post up to 3 photos of food shots you want to show. Anything you want!

However, I’m going to skip commenting this month. If you really want me to comment, please tag the photo “STWFeedbackPlease” and I’ll be sure to take a look and give you some feedback.

I’m also asking for help in future months. If you have an idea for a challenge, shoot me a piece of email and let me hear your suggestions! Or post ideas on the Future Theme Ideas thread. If you think you have time to help give feedback, let me know too. Of course everyone is welcome and encouraged to leave feedback on the photos in the group. The more we all get involved, the better.

Alanna, of A Veggie Venture, was nice enough to forward me this link to JPG magazine’s recent Get Cooking challenge. This photo challenge will be open for one week and will close on April 16th. And one lucky photo challenge will be featured on the back page of the next issue of JPG Magazine.

Let’s ring in the new year with a challenges on drinks, shall we? Styling and shooting beverages is often even more tricky than shooting food… there is less going on with the subject, and when something does happen, it doesn’t usually happen for very long! Not to mention, we are trained to expect a glass to have a perfect layer of condensation or a cup to have spiraling swirls of steam.

This month, please post your drink shots… they can be cocktails, wine, milk, pop, coffee, tea or water… just make sure the beverage is the main subject, and not just hanging out in the background. In addition, please use the description to explain what you did with the shots, particularly for lighting or styling, so we can all learn.

I’ll also start up a discussion for tips and tricks for styling beverages… things like canned air is great at reviving the head on a beer.

The usual rules and are up on the Flickr group… the things like be constructive, take the photos during the month if possible, 3 photos per person and the last day will be around January 31st give or take a few days.

I do love a good double meaning. So, for this month’s challenge, the theme is Reflection. Initially, I wanted this to encourage you to think back over the past year and think about what you’ve learned, and show it in your photos. But, as I started typing the title, it occurred to me that reflections in photography are a wonderfully challenging topic on their own. So, take your pick & reflect!

The usual rules and are up on the Flickr group… the things like be constructive, take the photos during the month if possible, 3 photos per person and the last day will be around December 30th give or take a few days.