 |
| Photo by Stacey Ladusch Paris Brest by Gerard Mulot |
Despite the threat wintry weather had posed to highway travel, I ultimately found a way to New York this weekend to celebrate my birthday with my friends and family. Over a three day period, I hopped from bistro to restaurant to café in order to sit down and share a meal with different groups of my closest friends and relatives. Never did I actually happen upon a birthday cake, and most of my meals were of the hearty or greasy variety that just could not qualify as colorful, enticing photogenic food. It is possibly for this reason that I found myself breaking my characteristic habit of photographing my food as soon as it is placed before me.
 |
Photo by Stacey Ladusch
My food is not always beautiful. Here's scungilli and vegetables in squid ink
|
 |
| Photo by Stacey Ladusch "A croissant.. from somewhere in Paris" |
Once in Paris, I felt I had permission to publicly spam followers with photos of what I ate. Occasionally a few were published into a special "JYA PARIS" Facebook photo album and some were posted to the personal blog that I ran to highlight some of my most bizarre or charming encounters while I studied abroad. Despite the fact that food (and by food I must emphasize that I really meant pastries) was the driving force of my exploration of Paris and the way I educated myself on Parisian culture, rarely did I write about my foodie experiences. If I did dedicate an entry to a delectable bite I had eaten, it would be strikingly vague with no mention of where or how I found that particular treat. If the reader was lucky I might have reluctantly added the neighborhood in which I found it. The truth is I have an immense passion for researching the restaurant and food choices and thus I have a hard time sharing the dishes and experiences that make me happy. That is, unless I can bring the person there myself and ensure their satisfaction.
The trend of photographing food has become so pervasive that some restaurants have gone as far as to ban food-photography in their establishments. Whenever I take a photo of my food I try to do so quickly, and even then I can't help but feel judged by my fellow patrons, by the waitstaff and even by my dining companion. I can imagine the management or chef has reason for concern. Food photography can jeopardize the privacy and integrity of their customers and dishes, while also creating a domain for unfair criticism or copyright infringements on the internet. However, most of the time that patrons take photographs of their food it is purely for self-indulgent reasons. Whether you are proud of the batch of cookies you just made, you want to share and help spread a creative new recipe for chicken that you've invented, you're interested in memorializing the night you went to a Michelin star restaurant or you want to impress your friends with a photo of the half croissant half whatever you are about to eat, most of the time instafood is shared with the intention of self-promotion.
 |
| Photo by Stacey Ladusch Voila. The squid ink bun. |
Although, as I've mentioned before, 90% of the photos I take of my food do not find themselves published online. One might say that these photos are just for me, except that I never go back through my digital library and reminisce on that amazing sushi I had back in the summer of 2012. What I've created is a visual food library that exists for that one day when I might want to revisit a familiar taste, either physically or mentally. These photos exists as a reminder of the food that, once eaten, no longer exists but has made me a few dollars poorer. This behavior reminds me of how, at least in my family, the earliest type of food photography was that of taking a photo of the birthday cake before the cake was devoured. I highly doubt any of those printed photos made it into photo albums nor have been given more than a glance every 12 years, if ever. However, for some reason it was important for us to take a photo of this cake because it represented an experience or a special occasion. The photo of the cake, with its colored icing hinting at the date of the photograph, was to serve as a souvenir of that night.
 |
| Photo by Stacey Ladusch This time I really can't say who Janice is or when this was taken! |
Greedily I have chosen not to render public (and thereby everlasting) where I found that delicious cappuccino or mouthwatering sushi roll, and for that I have had to create a system that can trace through the history of my favorite restaurants and cafés. Stored away in old journals, excel spreadsheets and digital photographs, I have a collection of restaurant names and dishes that is ready for me to revisit, so long as my memory is reliable enough for these photographs to still mean something.
-Stacey Ladusch
I absolutely love taking pictures of the food I make for my blog or of a particularly photogenic pastry I've just purchased! I had no idea some restaurants have banned food photography. It seems so weird, but I guess I never thought about how some chefs must feel disrespected by a stranger taking pictures of their food. Thanks for sharing that article!
ReplyDeleteI often take pictures of food too, but usually they are of food I make. I think someday looking back on this extraordinary library of exotic and strange foods will exciting, although I wonder won't there be food in some of the pictures that you would like to have again but might not be able to? I am not sure if I could tease myself like that.
ReplyDeleteThe post was long, but well worth it! There are restaurants that have banned food photography? Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
ReplyDeleteThese pictures were great! I actually understand banning food photography in most instances. I take pictures of the things that I make, but I can see how just the act of taking out an electronic device to take a photo creates a barrier between you and your dining companion while at a restaurant.
ReplyDeleteThe first picture of a pastry really hooked me in to this longer post! I often take photos as well. As long as it is quick and subtle, which it sounds like you are and I try to be, it is a nice way to remember special moments and delicious tastes. Plus its just plain pretty.
ReplyDeleteThe tendency toward amateur food photography welcomes a lot of criticism, but it's one of my favorite information age developments. Why should the art of photography be exclusionary and not democratized?
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting to think of how this ban on food photography in restaurants is going to progress over the next 5 or 10 years. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
ReplyDeleteI like taking pictures of the food I eat when dining out, and there is also an album named "food" on my phone. Those pictures remind me of the delicious tastes of the food and joyful time I spent with my companions at the restaurant. I understand that chefs may worry that the photo-taking process would affect other customers, but as long as the sound and flash are off, isn't it better to let people use this modern technology to make a reminder of the gastronomic experience?
ReplyDeleteI have a pretty old phone, so I don't really take pictures of my meals. However, if I did have a nice camera or camera phone, I definitely would! That picture of the squid dyed bun is amazing! Pictures are such a great way to preserve a memory, especially a memory that involved food.
ReplyDeleteYour post was a bit long, but I thought you wrote with a great flow and raised some intriguing points that I have never considered before. I also take a lot of pictures of my food to post on Facebook, however interestingly enough, they're also always the first ones that get deleted when I am cleaning out my gallery to preserve memory. Perhaps my interest is only selfish and share with others, making me rethink the next time I take a picture of my food out of habit.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who loves to take pictures of their food and usually spends 15 minutes or so trying to get just the right picture, I'm impressed you took such good pictures stealthily. Also, I really appreciated that you led with a photograph.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the idea of a ban on food photography upsets me (especially since I'm one of those annoying people that posts pictures of their food), I think that there should be a limit on technology use at the table. I believe that mealtime is an intimate time to connect with others around you and that a served table is not the time or place to pull out your phone (except maybe for a quick pic).
ReplyDeleteI love photographing food, though up till recently I only had a bulky camera that would be altogether obnoxious if I pulled it out to take a picture of what I was about to eat. Now that I am able to take pictures discretely, I've found myself doing so more and more. I would love to hear more about your time in Paris.
ReplyDelete