hello, macro lens!

A few weeks ago I defended my doctoral dissertation (please, hold your applause!), and to congratulate me on finally not being a student anymore, my parents bought me a macro lens for my camera. For the past two weeks I have mainly been experimenting with it in the garden because the zoom is amazing (we're talking pictures of ants on leaves), but this was the first time I tried it in my "food photo studio" and got to really appreciate what this lens can do. Although it is tempting to take pictures of things close-up - and it's a bit difficult to shake that habit given how far you have to stand from you subject to NOT have a super close-up - the real art afforded by this lens is getting fantastic depth of field.

My food photography life just changed.

Beef, beet, dill and horseradish burgers with a blend of Italian cheeses, tomato and wasabi mayonnaise served on a whole wheat baguette

Side salad of red romaine lettuce with olive oil and balsamic vinegar