Obsession

[Gunsotsu]

I cook. It's what I do. It's what I love. Besides photography that is.

Submitted for your critique.

[Seltzer]

I like it, the layout is nice, the mess shows that everything is used often. What hits me as slightly off is some of the text being out of focus, not a big deal but possible DOF change here? I'm not sure I know enough to suggest what to change about things but I can at least say what seems off to me.
Another thing that bothers me is the wash out (overexposure?) on the bottom book, looks like there was just too much light hitting the bottom books making it look like you don't like those very much.

[Redrabbit]

I agree with Seltzer. I think about all you can do is crop it and take the bottom book out .

[msafiedin]

i hate when i take picture(somethin that i love)
and overexpose happen...

sigh! we all should watch out for that

[Gunsotsu]

Originally Posted by Seltzer

Another thing that bothers me is the wash out (overexposure?) on the bottom book, looks like there was just too much light hitting the bottom books making it look like you don't like those very much.

Ah, exactly my point, I'm not all that fond of that one.

[XpLoiT]

yep, i agree with the above, the only thing which struck me as "odd" was the text was out of focus but changing the DOF will fix that and yeah the over exposure of the bottom book. (that can get cropped out though )
other than that, good work! very nice

[googlit]

Is the scene lit with sunlight coming in thru a window? It seems very harsh. The brightness at the bottom draws the eye down and out of the shot. I would try to diffuse the light and take it again. I, for one, like the depth of field. But if I were to take the shot, I'd take shots with both shallow and large depths of field, just to see which you end up liking better.

I really like the shot, though.

the only cookbook I use (and I use it a LOT) is How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Alton Brown is awesome, though... and I'm looking at picking up the America's Test Kitchen cookbook for '06. Any recommendations?

[Gunsotsu]

Originally Posted by googlit

Is the scene lit with sunlight coming in thru a window? It seems very harsh. The brightness at the bottom draws the eye down and out of the shot. I would try to diffuse the light and take it again. I, for one, like the depth of field. But if I were to take the shot, I'd take shots with both shallow and large depths of field, just to see which you end up liking better.

I really like the shot, though.

the only cookbook I use (and I use it a LOT) is How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Alton Brown is awesome, though... and I'm looking at picking up the America's Test Kitchen cookbook for '06. Any recommendations?

Exactly correct googlit. May try to re-shoot it tomorrow provided there's any sun.

How to Cook Everything is wonderful. My copy is literally falling apart at the spine and has been scribbled all over. It didn't make it into the shoot because I honestly forgot to grab it. Tomorrow perhaps.

I'm Just Here For The Food and I'm Just Here For More Food by AB are both excellent books to add to your library, especially if you're a fan of the show (as is Version 2.0, I have all three). I also highly recommend The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America. It's the bible of students at the CIA and it is a must have for anyone serious about cooking.

[googlit]

awesome, thanks!