Kickoff of Photography Interview Series - Creature Gorgeous

I know here on MarthaWannabee I do frequent posts displaying images I capture with my Nikon but I would like to branch out and do more posts that are informative in nature and that share some of the knowledge I am acquiring as I learn about photography. As part of this plan to provide  more information about photography I thought it would be great to have a series of interviews with some of my fellow bloggers and ask them about the equipment they use to capture images for their blog. I am always curious as to what camera, lens, post-editing  process, etc fellow bloggers use to achieve the look, feel, and style of their images. In fact 'photography' and 'camera' are the first two key words I search for on any new blog.  And I thought why not just get out there and ask.

I immediately thought to ask Creature Gorgeous aka Mrs. Perfume from Weddingbee to be my first interviewee. I remember discovering her blog last year and thought that the look and style of her blog images were definitely distinctive and was intrigued by what she used in taking her pictures. Her images have a vintage dreamy quality and I love how she puts together a montage of photos for her posts. And I  have also been dying to know how she captures such great images at all the fabulous restaurants she frequents.

So without further adieu Creature Gorgeous.

1. What camera and equipment (lens, flash, etc) do you use to take your blog photos?
I use a Panasonic GF1 with a 20mm Leica lens. It's the kit lens. There's a built in-flash, but I NEVER use it.

2. How long have you owned your camera?

Since October, so about five months. I'm still learning to use it, and use the "dummy" settings still.

3. What influenced you to get the camera you have? What features and capabilities do you like about it? What have you found to be some of the drawbacks?

I have to admit that my husband did a TON of research on it, and lobbied me to get a smaller profile dSLR. We have a friend, a very well-respected art gallerist who deals in photography. He's an avid photographer himself. Anyway, he had the Olympus (I think EP1 or EPL1) built on the same micro four thirds technology. And he loved it. So we researched it and decided to go with the very newly released GF1.

The main features are the high quality SLR images combined in a compact body. I love how highly portable it is. Sure, it's not as small as a point and shoot, but is a lot less weight than a regular SLR. I was really thinking of the Nikon D90. I already have an old film Cannon EOS, but in the end, I was sold when our friend the gallerist  (who has a vast collection of super high end and rare cameras), said "What good is it if you leave it at home [because it's so big and heavy]?"

I have found it to be a little slow. There are also not that many lenses that are yet available. Although, you can purchase an adapter and attach any regular four thirds lens.

4. What camera were you using previous to this one if any?

I was using a Canon Elf point and shoot! I loved that camera but I dropped it a million times, once in a bowl of clam juice. It was so abused. And it got me back by not working.

5. Do you do any editing to your photos, if so what program do you use?

I definitely do some editing of my photos. The GF1 lets you do it in the camera, but I prefer using Picnik. I have to graduate to big girl editing with Photoshop, but so far, Picnik has served me well. And it's cheap (at I think $20 a year) and very intuitive.

6. Do you have any camera or camera equipment on your wish list?

I really want a macro lens because I do so much food photography. And also for my Etsy business. But maybe down the line for portraits and stuff and like that. But that's way down the road, so the Nikon D300S would probably be not so great by then.

7. You take a lot of great photos of the restaurants you've eaten at any tips for taking photos in public places?

Yes, be discreet as possible. That means no flash. Ever. It's hard sometimes when you whip out your camera, people tend to stare, but I think with the plethora of food bloggers they're getting used to it. I did read in Bon Appetit recently that there's a bit of a backlash because it's a little annoying. Having said all that, most restaurants have really low light, and of course, I don't carry a tripod, so I rest the camera on the table or my chest when taking pictures to keep it steady.

8. You also take photos while cooking, something I have not mastered, any tips for food photography and taking pictures while you cook?

I think it has a lot to do with the size of the camera. I can still hold it and shoot with one hand while stirring with the other. I also pause and stage, say a spoon, or knife to look like I'm chopping or stirring. Also taking a bunch of images in rapid succession (when I'm doing the one-handed thing) almost guarantees one good action shot! But believe me, I've almost dropped the camera many times. Yikes!