I find food photography incredibly humbling. This afternoon, I decided to try capturing the particular sparkle of red salt on local greens. Green and red are color opposites, and the glossy salt jumps off matte rainbow chard (the word ‘chard’ even sounds matte).

I liked the center of the photo with the red salt heart against the leaves, so I drew the lens closer for less plate in the shot below.

The greens looked alive, but almost too green, so I turned the plate for more purplishness and less light bouncing from the left side.

Then, I moved back to reconsider the shot, kneeling to capture the height against a blur of the backyard behind,

and finally, the salt started the sparkle—not in the center, but (geek out with me for a moment) at a bottom corner of the center quadrant using the Rule of Thirds.

Only the best I can manage for you, delightful kthread readers, as I explore the complicated world of shutter speeds and sunlight.

To make this, sauté one clove chopped garlic in a tablespoon of oil or other fat; add chopped stems of one bunch of baby chard and one head of bok choy. Cook, stirring, for three minutes over medium-high heat. Add the chopped leafy parts, stir one minute longer. Season with finishing salt or Tamari.

Or wander over to the Magic Cottage and join me for a very belated lunch…

Related posts:

1. sunday supper at salt water farm
2. sainted yogurt, salted chard
3. conducting your own experiment

1. Mica:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 pm

   Ooh, so many colors from such a simple dish. I can’t wait to try it, though I’m not sure if “baby chard” exists in the Midwest. I’ll have to go on a quest for delicate greens and finishing salt.

2. Kristen:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 10:42 pm

   the salt will be a birthday gift (happy!), Mica. Done. The greens should appear at your markets in a few months (and wouldn’t make the snail mail trip, sadly)—

3. Amanda:
   April 3rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm

   I love that you talk us through this, and I love your process, and I love the final shot, and I love chard :)

4. Kristen:
   April 3rd, 2009 at 1:30 pm

   Thanks, Amanda! I’m learning how to talk about what I think I’m trying to do :) this may be a new thing that we do more of on kthread, happy Friday—

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Posted by Kristen Taylor on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009, 6:20 pm * Filed in Food, light, miami, Photography. * Tags: chard, cooking, Food, kristen, kthread, local, miami, Photography, purple, rainbow, red, salt, sun, taylor. Follow responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.