the food on white photolibrary blog

Decision Time for foodonwhite...

2011-09-22T13:36:00.002+01:00

Well, we've made a big decision.

We know the image library market has changed drastically in the last few years.
We know the success of microstock has killed off a lot of business for small independent photolibraries.
We know design companies are signing up to microstock deals in their droves.
We know anyone can buy a half decent high res SLR these days and point it at a vegetable.
Call it progress, call it a tragedy, call it the death of the industry if you will, but we know it can never return to the way it was. Change has already well and truly happened.

So...
We have had to make a difficult decision: Whether to be part of the past (and sit around remembering how many images we used to sell), or be part of the future.

We have decided to move our images to Shutterstock.
OK, this won't be a popular decision with some photographers and libraries, but means our images will now be available at ridiculously low prices to the anyone around the globe.

It may take a little time to transfer all our foodonwhite images over (and Shutterstock don't seem to accept any photos shot in natural daylight or with shallow depth of field, which is a little frustrating!) but you can already start downloading now at our portfolio page:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-804898p1.html

We will still be blogging and tweeting as usual, so will keep in touch with you all still (links below).

With all our best wishes to you all for the future.
foodonwhite photolibrary

http://foodonwhite.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/BrGreenBrands

Food Photographer of the month: Chris Court

2011-05-25T12:38:00.000+01:00

Just LOVE Chris Court's food images, they make me want to go on holiday, where the light is always good and the food is always fresh & delicious. See more of his work here:
http://chriscourt.com
...and very often in the lovely pages of Donna Hay magazine (available from all good newsagents now)

enjoy...

Sustainable Business by Design conference

2011-05-04T14:22:00.001+01:00

Ok I know it was about two months ago now but here's some of the highlights from the highly inspirational event at Somerset College...

http://www.sustainable-design-uk.com

Brilliantly hosted by the eloquent Andrew Knutt, the day was mostly filled with design industry related speakers, interspersed with breakout sessions by each speaker, giving attendees a chance to discuss chosen topics in smaller groups.
There were presentations from the Design Council, the very amusing & entertaining Mark Shayler of eco3 - http://www.eco3.co.uk - ex Asda Environmental Manager. Good to hear a less serious view on sustainability.
Also speaking were John Boult, John Luff & Lynne Elvins.

My personal favourite however was Peter Hopton of VeryPC - http://www.very-pc.co.uk - and his story of how he got the BroadLeaf PC produced in the most environmental & ethical way humanly possible. From removing harmful chemical flame retardants, asking for the wires not to be individually bagged, to sourcing the Yorkshire chassis manufacturer (using Icelandic Aluminium), all put together in Sheffield.
And it uses half the energy of the greenest big brand option for the same performance, and less energy when asleep than some PC's do when turned off!
A real genuine & humble green genius.

Gorgeous Gastronomy from the Glorious Gourmet Days...

2011-04-15T12:35:00.000+01:00

A long time favourite food photographer of ours, Romulo Yanes, who seemingly shot most of the pages of Gourmet - the amazing American magazine that sadly didn't make it through the recession a couple of years back. Glad the images live on here though...

http://www.romuloyanes.com

(click images below to enlarge)

Have a Splendid Christmas Everyone, from foodonwhite photolibrary...

2010-12-23T11:10:00.002Z

Some Lovely new work (& website) from the grand master of Food Photography, Con Poulos

2010-11-30T13:34:00.003Z

A long time inspiration of ours, New York based Con Poulos has an updated website with lots of lovely new shots, all very natural and all very tasty!...

http://www.conpoulos.com

(click to enlarge)

Meerrrrry Christmas Everyone!!!

2010-08-20T14:33:00.003+01:00

OK it IS a little bit early, but we've just uploaded our lovely handmade mince pie shots to the library, and thought we'd share them with you.
So if you've started thinking about your Christmas magazine issue, or a quick & simple Christmas card, then feast your eyes on our lovely mince pies!

All retouched and ready to drop into your layouts, the only work you need to do is convert to a CMYK tiff (unless using online), saving you time & money on retouching.
AND with our new lower prices, you save even MORE money! I guess Christmas has come early after all.

Click here for image search: http://bit.ly/9sU1wt

Lots of Love, foodonwhite.com
xx

New Lower Prices on all foodonwhite Images - Announced Today in Design Week...

2010-08-19T12:02:00.004+01:00

We know how tough things are at the moment, so to help you all through we've dropped our prices even lower:
£55 for an eighth A4
£75 for a quarter A4
£95 for a half A4
(all @300dpi)

So now you are saving time & EVEN MORE money buying our fully retouched food ingredient images. You don't need to retouch any nasty grey backgrounds out, just convert to CMYK tiff (if print) then drop them straight into your layouts. Leave all the boring & time consuming stuff to us (we actually quite enjoy it!).

http://www.foodonwhite.com

Enjoy.

Food Photographer of the Month: Sang An...

2010-07-27T17:23:00.001+01:00

Korean born, New York based food & interiors photographer. We like V much.

more here:
http://sanganphotography.com

(click image to enlarge)

Some lovely new shots from Maren Caruso...

2010-07-12T18:42:00.001+01:00

With a lovely new website - on a white background, with loads of absolutely stunning new food images - quite a few shot on white backgrounds (not that we're obsessed with white backgrounds!), the long time inspiration of ours, the Queen of food photography, I give you: Maren Caruso.
(I should get commission for this)

Here's a few of our favourites, but do visit and have a look:

http://www.marencaruso.com

[click to enlarge]...

Routemaster - the Vegan Bus...

2010-05-14T12:07:00.003+01:00

Discovered this marvelous monument to the now retired Routemaster London bus, now converted to a vegan restaurant, at the Old Truman Brewery near Brick Lane.

Definitely worth a visit, if only for the novelty factor, although on top of that, the food's pretty good too. I went for lunch, but apparently it's open for evening meals too (and serves wine!)

I felt like a big kid, excitedly running up the spiral stairs to sit on the top deck (downstairs is all taken up with the kitchen. I sat facing out the window, but there are also tables of four and a large cushioned area at the front.

I tried the Panissa to start (made with chick pea flour), fried in polenta - very tasty, served with a salad, sun-dried tomatoes and lovely looking blue-green olives (though they didn't taste of much).

For the main I had curried brown rice with chick peas, potato, courgette & tomato.

I shall definitely be back soon, maybe for dinner. Would be a great place to take visitors from overseas, or (well behaved) children.

Ding ding, fares please: eleven pounds.

http://www.root-master.co.uk

Got a bit distracted while steaming my greens!...

2010-04-01T12:50:00.007+01:00

There's a certain time of day in my kitchen when the sun shines through the window, casting a shaft of bright sunlight across the hob. On this day I happened to be steaming some greens (I think it was curly kale), and just couldn't resist picking up the camera...

(click to enlarge)

On wandering into the kitchen with an inquisitive look on his face, my 4 yr old son, after asking me what I was doing, ran off to get his camera too...

I think he needs to work a little on his composition, but maybe has potential!

Buy 1 Get 1 Free is Back - until the end of June...

2010-03-10T16:58:00.004Z

Yes indeed - until June 31st 2010, every time you buy a foodonwhite image you get a second image absolutely free.

All you need is a corporate account set up, which is very simple:

Visit the site at http://www.foodonwhite.com - then click sign in / register in the sub-navigation

Once you have created an account you can apply for a corporate account - see corporate accounts (in the sub-navigation).

You will then be notified once your corporate account is ready.

When downloading your images, quote promo code: B1G1F.

Please contact us if you need any assistance.

Last of the Summer Vine...

2010-01-29T12:38:00.010Z

The last batch of home-grown tomatoes, shot in natural light, now retouched & ready to download...

http://www.foodonwhite.com/index.php?option=com_oscommerce&osMod=advanced_search_result&keywords=tomatoes+home+grown&searchSubmit=go

2009-12-22T14:44:00.003Z

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM FOODONWHITE!

Lunch at Fifteen Cornwall...

2009-11-25T10:39:00.019Z

When I first thought of writing a review of 15 Cornwall - Jamie Oliver's west country venture - it got me thinking 'what are the best meals I've ever had?'

Of all the most memorable meals in my lifetime, none have been the Michelin star restaurants or the swanky central London hotels, in fact, thinking back I can barely remember what food I ate. Of course this can occasionally be put down to excessive alcohol consumption, like the time I was invited to two Christmas do's in one day, the first being in a bar with a bunch of heavy drinking 'laddish' designers, the second at Asia de Cuba at the V swanky St Martins Lane Hotel (with some slightly more sophisticated designers) http://www.stmartinslane.com/#/explore/?id=asiadecuba

Of course I turned up absolutely steaming drunk, trying to act all posh and not slur my words or drop world class food all down my shirt (and failing on all counts), I then got trapped in the flush-wood-panelled-toilets and had to wait for someone else to open the door before casually strolling out.

I do remember seeing some dish in front of me, tasting it and thinking 'WOW this is good', but have no recollection whatsoever of what it might have been. And I don't think I offered any money for the bill (though I can't really remember leaving!)

So, thinking of some of the best meals I've had, they seem to be linked more to the location I was at or to a particular time of my life. Several occasions from our travelling days stand out - A fish curry at dusk on a rooftop restaurant overlooking Trivandrum on the first night of our trip, with all the new sounds, sights and scents of South India exciting and intoxicating our London-weary souls.

Then, on an overnight train, being brought idli sambaar for breakfast on a metal tray. Or a masala dosa with coconut chutney in a cheap Kottayam cafe before the start of our backwater trip.

And THEN there was Singapore, Thailand & Malaysia!!

So, is it just the discovery of something new that my tastebuds have never experienced before?

Not necessarily. A communal meal in the front garden of our student house in Somerset, with cheap wine & candles and a pot of slightly burnt Paella will stay with me til the onset of alzheimer's.

With all this in mind, the trip to Fifteen Cornwall with a couple of good friends is almost up there with them.

Firstly, a big plus was the fantastic location - overlooking Watergate Bay on a blustery day with waves rising and crashing onto the huge expanse of sand.

We got there early with plenty of time for a brisk stroll on the beach (dog and child included). The weather remarkably turned in our favour on our arrival and the relentless driving rain relented, giving way to a brief offering of sunshine.

After a quick change of shoes by the boot of the car, we made our way to the restaurant.

The outside appearance seemed surprisingly subtle, not how you'd imagine the cheeky chirpy cockerny to brand his 'gaff'. Maybe a measure of reserve was used so as not to offend the locals with a grand display of London money.

In fact, we were unsure how our very Cornish friends would react when telling them we'd booked there. Fortunately they were actually very supportive of the project, as it employs local young people mostly from troubled backgrounds.

The interior quite took me by surprise, all very open and modern with a slightly odd mix of 'style' and 'street'. I wasn't overly keen on the graffiti type illustrations (actually applied vinyl cut, not real graffiti) - just thought the style looked a touch dated (although I AM from the creative industry, and my wife's an illustrator!).

The stars of the show for me were the hanging 'drip'lights, the open kitchen and of course the view. Overall there's a very relaxed informal atmosphere which fits very comfortably in this part of the world.

OK, I should mention the food shouldn't I?

Now, I have a couple of fussy nutritional requests, mainly no sugar & yeast, and even though I'd explained in advance I was still slightly apprehensive about ordering. I needn't have been - when asking the waitress whether I could swap the desert on the set menu for cheese, she had already checked beforehand and said it was absolutely fine! Now that's good service.

On top of that I am 'a bit' vegetarian - nothing hardcore, I just rarely cook meat, or order it when eating out.

However, I cannot feel overly compassionate towards a pigeon. So I started with the Pigeon Breast on Roasted Beetroot and what I believe was Quince.

All very good flavours, only one minor flaw was that the breast underneath wasn't pink inside, but hey.

I did have a very small taste of the Ribollita, which was intense, punchy and packed with herby flavour, REALLY good - the favourite dish of the day.

For mains I had locally caught Pollack, Pan-Fried on top of Braised Fennel, with a salsa verde and fennel leaves. Nice simple flavours, worked very well.

The house red, a Montepulciano, was superb. My son had Fifteens own 'Traditional Herbal Cola', I had a tiny sip and got an explosion of different fragrant herbs & spices. Would be awesome with a good vodka.

The two cheeses were served with 'Carta di Musica', a flat wheat bread/cracker, which they'd prepared yeast free. This was the first time I'd eaten cheese for several years and this was first class cheese, a real treat to finish the meal with.

All in all a fantastic day. One I shall long remember, perhaps not for the great food alone, but also the atmosphere, the walk on the beach beforehand and a couple of hours spent with fine wine and good friends.

My, how things have moved on!

2009-10-21T10:52:00.019+01:00

Found these Fantastic 60s recipe cards by the original celeb chef Robert Carrier, while on holiday last month in a cottage in North Wales.

The recipes range from the classic to the exotic to the absolutely bizzare! I also photographed some of the recipes close up, so if you fancy spoiling your guests, why not try cooking Egg & Anchovy Barrels, followed by a Fish Turban with Scallops, with a grande finale of Rice a la Royale.

More to follow soon.

Enjoy!

Latest Crop: Lettuce, Broccoli, Sage & Eggs.

2009-10-12T14:39:00.009+01:00

If, like us, you get a bit TOO excited each week when your Veggie box gets delivered, you'll understand how an organic leafy broccoli and a curled up little lettuce got me running for the camera a few weeks back.

Here's a selection from our most recent batch of images, shot in natural light, including a before & after shot of some lettuce leaves, showing the mess and clutter that gets lovingly photoshopped away to give you a nice clean foodonwhite image.

New Contact Food Photographers book...

2009-09-28T12:22:00.002+01:00

The latest Contact Food Photographers book is due out in the next couple of weeks, but in case you just can't wait any longer, here it is online...
http://www.contactebooks.com/food14/
...enjoy!
ps. See our page in the Image Libraries section at the back.

digital food fight

2009-09-24T14:08:00.009+01:00

Having re-discovered google fight and having just photographed, re-touched and uploaded some new fruit images it got us wondering who would be the 'fruit of all fruits' in a digital food fight... so we lined up the following 8 juicy contestants: pineapples, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, grapes, apples oranges and lemons which would be the most searched for fruit, across the world right now..?
Unsurprisingly pineapples [16400000] lost to strawberries [37500000] whilst bananas [49100000] overcame kiwis [18200000] next was apples [33400000] crushing grapes [16100000] and finally the arch rivals lemons [7350000] being easily beaten by oranges [12300000] - just to complete citrus wars, limes [1190000] just beat grapefruits [1070000]

So the final line-up starting with most popular: bananas, strawberries, apples, kiwi, oranges, pineapple, grapes and lemons. Draw your own conclusions as to why bananas reign supreme.

Books For Cooks

2009-09-23T10:00:00.006+01:00

Books For Cooks in Londons Blenheim Crescent is a smallish shop crammed from floor to ceiling with cookery books on every conceivable food subject. Food books demand browsing and books for cooks encourage this. Another advantage is the owners knowledge of cookery publishing and what is in print or out of print. We have been visiting the shop from it’s early days in 1985 until today and it never ceases to inspire & intrigue. Like many restaurants they also have a test kitchen with a program of cookery classes – I guess it’s a sign of the times that the extra revenue helps the shop survive ...

Whilst in this part of West London it’s a short walk to Rough Trade to check out the latest indie record releases…another highly recommended shop

the foodonwhite blog...

2009-09-06T22:47:00.001+01:00

Welcome to the new blog from foodonwhite, a place for us to keep you updated on our latest shoots, provide recipes and other foodie facts, share with you whatever inspires us (be it photography, design, cook books, our latest favorite food finds etc), get all techy & nerdy about techniches & equipment or just let you know what's on our minds.

If you don't already know what we do well the name pretty much sums it up - we are a new online photolibrary selling a unique, steadily growing collection of food ingredient images on pure white backgrounds, retouched and ready to drop straight into design layouts.

Check out the website and let us know what you think.