Who Wants Seconds?

DMBLGIT? #11 - The Results

The judges have judged (with many thanks to Anthony, Jeanne, Keiko, Reid, and Sam), the votes have been voted, and the scores have been scored tallied. There is a very clear winner, but first- a bit about the process.

Each of the five judges assigned a score of 0-10 points for each of three categories- 'eatability', aesthetics and originality. Each entry was given a score (out of a possible 50) for each category, and a total score (out of a possible 150).

I will list the overall winner, plus the 2nd and 3rd place winners. Then, the top vote holders in each category who were not in the top three places. If your entry is not listed, and you'd like to know your scores, please drop me a line and I'll send them right off to you.

1st PLACE:  Lex Culinaria (124 points- E42, O40, A42)

"Stunning- and probably technically challenging! Great composition, right background, steam beautifully captured." "I wanted to eat this entry more than any other."

2nd PLACE: The Traveler's Lunchbox (119 points- E41, O36, A42)

"Drooling as I type. Carefully thought out composition, great shapes and colours, perfect light."
"Professional quality photography." "Yay for narrative!"

3rd PLACE:  Spittoon Extra (111 points- E39, O31, A41)

"Beautiful shot. Great light, great composition with the sunlit leaf against a dark background.
"Effective use of light in a gentle way." "If you have to eat your greens, they may as well look this good."

TOP ENTRY - 'EATABILITY': Gluten Free Girl (38 points)

"Worth risking your teeth for." "Great use of DOF." "

TOP ENTRY - ORIGINALITY  (A TIE): One Hot Stove (33 points) AND...

"If only all 'charts' could be so good looking."

TOP ENTRY FOR ORIGINALITY (A TIE):   Stephen Cooks (33 points)

"Nice use of warm colour scheme and DOF." "Dangerous? Pfffft! Lovely set up, though."

TOP ENTRY - AESTHETICS (A TIE): Nosheteria (37 points) AND...yet again...

"The girliest entry; very pretty." ""Beautiful use of DOF, and great pink backdrop."

TOP ENTRY FOR AESTHETICS (A TIE): STEPHEN COOKS (37 points)

 

I'd like to give my thanks to everyone who participated, and my apologies for the technical difficulties early on. Congrats, of course, to all the winners! Photography in the food blogging world is improving exponentially, and your photos are fine examples of what we should all be "shooting" towards.

Lastly, but not leastly, big props go to Ronald, of IMBB?, who started this who darned thing....what a guy, what a site, what an event. I'm not sure who's hosting next, but as soon as I know I'll update this post. Cheers everyone!

DMBLGIT? #11 - The Lines Are Closed...

...and the entries are off to the judges to be judged! Cross your fingers, say a prayer, sacrifice a sausage to the blog gods (a la Dr. Biggles), if you must...just make sure you're back here on December 1, as that's when the results will be posted, one way or the other.

Good luck, everyone!

DMBLGIT? #11 - The Entries, Part II

In retrospect, it seems a bit unnecessary to have split the round-up of entries into two parts, as I haven't gotten as many more as I'd expected. But, with that said, I think it will work out well in the end, as I can add any straggling entries that come in after this point right here. Which means that due to the kerfuffle at the beginning, I'm going to extend the deadline through the end of day, 27 November GMT. It seems only fair to the folks who haven't sent in their resends yet, and for anyone else who's running late for the party.

Again, without further ado, the good stuff, pt. 2:

ENTRY #33:

TALENT: Stephen
BLOG: Stephen Cooks
LOCATION: Southern Maine, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Fiery, Dark, Dangerous Chocolate Soufflé
EQUIPMENT: Nikon D100, with 24-80 zoom lens
NOTES: "Color correction with Photoshop 7."

ENTRY #34:

TALENT: Nick Zukin
BLOG: Extra MSG
LOCATION: Vancouver, WA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Blue Corn Quesadilla with Queso Oaxaca (Oaxacan string cheese)
and Flor de Calabaza (squash blossom)
EQUIPMENT: Nikon Coolpix 2100
NOTES: "Taken on the streets of Mexico City's Centro Historico."

ENTRY #35:

TALENT: Helen
BLOG: Grab Your Fork
LOCATION: Sydney, NSW, Australia
SUBJECT: Golden Century Haymarket
EQUIPMENT: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P10
NOTES: "Auto-focus, macro, no flash, hand-held (thank goodness for powerful Chinese restaurant lighting!)".

ENTRY #36:

TALENT: Jeanne
BLOG: Mommy Cooks
LOCATION: Southern California, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Making Garam Masala
EQUIPMENT: Canon PowerShot A520
NOTES: "Natural sunlight from the window (flash turned off, macro on)."

ENTRY #37:

TALENT: Laura
BLOG: Cucina Testa Rossa
LOCATION: Paris, France
SUBJECT: Mushroom Ceviche with Miso Aubergines in a Ginger Ponzu Sauce
EQUIPMENT: Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital Elph
NOTES: "I took this last week in NYC at Public."

ENTRY #38:

TALENT: Tanvi
BLOG: From The Pantry
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Ka'kat Snack Breads
EQUIPMENT: Canon Powershot
NOTES: "Set to macro."

ENTRY #39:

TALENT: William Conway
BLOG: Never Trust a Skinny Chef
LOCATION: Atlanta, Georgia
SUBJECT: Pint of Guinness
EQUIPMENT: Canon G6
NOTES: "(Taken) at the Guinness Storehouse Bar in Dublin, Ireland. I...used Photoshop to touch up levels, crop and other minor adjustments."

ENTRY #40:

TALENT: Sarah Lou
BLOG: One Whole Clove
LOCATION: Quebec, Canada
SUBJECT: Custard, Chocolate and Caramel Tart
EQUIPMENT:
NOTES: "I used Picassa, cropped the photo and used the 'I'm feeling lucky' button."

ENTRY #41:

TALENT: Jason Truesdell
BLOG: Jason Truesdell: Pursuing My Passions
LOCATION: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Channa Gobi Masala Nests For a Neighborhood Gathering
EQUIPMENT: Minolta S404
NOTES: "Macro mode."

ENTRY #42:

TALENT: Sarah
BLOG: The Delicious Life
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Thai Dumpling
NOTES: "I took it with the natural lighting in the restaurant."

DMBLGIT? #11 - The Entries, Part I

Holy cow, peoples, there's a lot of talent out there! Nothing new in that, of course, but still- it's a thrill to put a post together that's full of quality photos from around the world. Warms your heart and brings a tear to your eye, I tell you.

Since my computer malfunction a couple of days ago I've received a number of "re-sends", but not all. Listed below are all of the entries that I have so far, in the order that they were received. If you don't see yours included, please send it to me again immediately. On the other hand, if you haven't sent an entry in at all yet, and you'd like to, get your okole in gear! ;-)

I'd also like to thank everyone for their support over the past few days. As Jeanne reported, I almost had an aneurysm the evening that it happened, but I'm much better now and really looking forward to seeing the results. Food bloggers rock!

Without further ado, the good stuff:

ENTRY #1:

TALENT: Jennifer
BLOG: Taste Everything Once
LOCATION: Spokane, WA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Dark Chocolate Panini
EQUIPMENT: Nikon Coolpix 3200
NOTES: "No special equipment or filters, just a lucky shot."

ENTRY #2:

TALENT: Ed Charles
BLOG: Tomato
LOCATION: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
SUBJECT: Chilli Chocolate Truffle Three Ways
EQUIPMENT: Pentax Optio
NOTES: "On auto, using natural light."

ENTRY #3:

TALENT: Adrienne Handler
BLOG: Nosheteria
LOCATION: Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Babycakes with Apricot Buttercream and Chocolate Ganache
EQUIPMENT: Cannon Powershot A40

ENTRY #4:

TALENT: Nic
BLOG: Baking Sheet
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Gingerbread Skeletons
EQUIPMENT: Casio EX-Z750

ENTRY #5:

TALENT: Rachael
BLOG: Fresh Approach Cooking
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Gravlax
EQUIPMENT: Kodak Easyshare DX6340
NOTES: "Set to macro."

ENTRY #6:

TALENT: Joe
BLOG: Culinary in the Desert
LOCATION: Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Harvest Pumpkin Bars

ENTRY #7:

TALENT: Shauna
BLOG: Gluten Free Girl
LOCATION: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Fran's Grey Salt Caramels

ENTRY #8:

TALENT: Anne
BLOG: Anne's Food
LOCATION: Stockholm, Sweden
SUBJECT: Cloudberry Vanilla Souffle
EQUIPMENT: Olympus C-8080WZ
NOTES: "I've tinkered a bit with the light in Photoshop."

ENTRY #9:

TALENT: Nupur
BLOG: One Hot Stove
LOCATION: New York, NY, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: A Gallery of Dals
EQUIPMENT: Fujifilm FinePix 2800
NOTES: "Taken in natural light."

ENTRY #10:

TALENT: Alanna
BLOG: A Veggie Venture by Kitchen Parade
LOCATION: St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Secret-Ingredient Chocolate Cake
EQUIPMENT: Nikon Coolpix S1
NOTES: "In my backyard, in St. Louis, before frost hit!"

ENTRY #11:

TALENT: Kevin Weeks
BLOG: Seriously Good
LOCATION: Knoxville, TN, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Half Life
EQUIPMENT: Canon S40
NOTES: "I used Paint Shop Pro to enhance the original and saved it. Then I created a sepia version and saved that. Last, I clipped images of the colored fruit and pasted them into the sepia version."

ENTRY #12:

TALENT: Indira
BLOG: Mahanandi
LOCATION: Boardman, OH, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Gongura and rice mudda(ball) on sabudana(sago) papad
EQUIPMENT: Nikon Coolpix 5400

ENTRY #13:

TALENT: Andrew
BLOG: Spittoon Extra
LOCATION: London, England, U.K.
SUBJECT: Autumn Salad
EQUIPMENT: Canon EOS350D
NOTES: "I used an 18-55mm lens. No tinkering, light is natural sunlight. The cushion came from Habitat, the dish from Debenhams, and the fork from John Lewis. Salad constructed from various bits from Waitrose and my veg box people."

ENTRY #14:

TALENT: Melissa de Leon
BLOG: The Cooking Diva
LOCATION: Panama
SUBJECT: Delicia de Coco
EQUIPMENT: Sony Cyber-shot 7.2 megapixel

ENTRY #15:

TALENT: Clea
BLOG: Clea Cuisine
LOCATION: Genoble, France
SUBJECT: Tarte Choconoisettine aux Poires
EQUIPMENT: Nikon Coolpix 5200

ENTRY #16:

TALENT: B
BLOG: Culinary Fool
LOCATION: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Buckwheat Blini
EQUIPMENT: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200
NOTES: "Macro mode, no flash."

ENTRY #17:

TALENT: Sweetnicks
BLOG: Sweetnicks
LOCATION: New Jersey, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Payton Enjoying Her Cupcake
EQUIPMENT: Kodak Z730
NOTES: "No retouching, just cropped it."

ENTRY #18:

TALENT: Dagmar
BLOG: A Cat in the Kitchen
LOCATION: Gothenburg, Sweden
SUBJECT: Autumnal Walk
EQUIPMENT: Olympus Camedia C-3020

ENTRY #19:

TALENT: Fahara
BLOG: Souperior
LOCATION: Warwickshire, U.K.
SUBJECT: Happiness Is...(part2 in a series)
EQUIPMENT: Casio Digital Camera
NOTES: "Taken...in a farmhouse belonging to a friend. The meat was bought as a spur-of-the-moment buy at a food fair in Essex, and it roasted so perfectly I couldn't resist taking a picture! A roast in the perfect way to warm up when the cold wintery nights draw in as far as I'm concerned."

ENTRY #20:

TALENT: Kalyn Denny
BLOG: Kalyn's Kitchen
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: The End of the Tomatoes
EQUIPMENT: Casio EX-Z57

ENTRY #21:

TALENT: Angie
BLOG: Crazy Salad
LOCATION: San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Festa della Castagna
EQUIPMENT: Nikon D-70
NOTES: "I shot this in my hotel room at midnight, with the light from a small desklamp. I got in as close as I could and set the camera on self-timer mode."

ENTRY #22:

TALENT: Lynette
BLOG: Lex Culinaria
LOCATION: Edmonton, Canada
SUBJECT: Wild Mushroom Ragout
EQUIPMENT: Sony DSC S90

ENTRY #23:

TALENT: Magictofu
BLOG: slurp & burp
LOCATION: Ottawa, Canada
SUBJECT: Garlic in Oil
EQUIPMENT: Canon G3
NOTES: "I placed the camera, in my hands, on an upside down bowl on the counter top."

 

ENTRY #24:

TALENT: Cookiecrumb
BLOG: I'm Mad and I Eat
LOCATION: Santa Venetia, CA, U.S.A.
SUBJECT: Dessicated to the One I Love

ENTRY #25:

TALENT: Melissa
BLOG: The Traveler's Lunchbox
LOCATION: Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.
SUBJECT: Comfort by the Cup
EQUIPMENT: Nikon D70

ENTRY #26:

TALENT: Cin
BLOG: A Few of My Favourite Things!
LOCATION: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
SUBJECT: Just Clowning Around with Burnt Butter Cupcakes

ENTRY #27:

TALENT: David Hagerman
BLOG: EatingAsia
LOCATION: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
SUBJECT: Dum Dreams
EQUIPMENT: Canon T-90 with an 85mm 1.2 lens, on Fuji Vilvia 100F slide film.
NOTES: Scanned with a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000.

ENTRY #28:

TALENT: Mia
BLOG: The Skinny Epicurean
LOCATION: Singapore
SUBJECT: Satowa Kitchen - Beef Sashimi
EQUIPMENT: Sony Ericsson K750i

ENTRY #29:

TALENT: Monkey Gland
BLOG: Jamfaced
LOCATION: U.K.
SUBJECT: Penne with Red Chard and Pecorino

ENTRY #30:

TALENT: Simona
BLOG: Lo Spazio di Staximo
LOCATION: Italy
SUBJECT: Bocconcini di Maiale alle Olive e Limone
EQUIPMENT: Canon Powershot S70
NOTES: "Manual mode, indoor light, no tripod."

ENTRY #31:

TALENT: Grace Ediza Virlouvet
BLOG: The Food Journal
LOCATION: Luanda, Angola
SUBJECT: Grilled Mussels with Apricot Sauce

ENTRY #32:

TALENT: Dan
BLOG: Saltshaker
LOCATION: Buenos Aires, Argentina
SUBJECT: Mock Abalone
EQUIPMENT: Canon C-3020z

DMBLGIT?#11 EMERGENCY

Hello everyone,

I've just had a major malfunction of my computer, resulting in the loss of every last DMBLGIT?#11 entry email.

If you've sent me an entry/your information/a link in the past 72 hours...basically from Saturday, November 19 to Tuesday, November 22 @ 10:00 pm GMT....could you please (cringe) sent it to me again?

I'm so, so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but it was an accident and can't be helped. I so think it's still early enough to turn out o.k., though- as long as everyone sees my post either here or on Food Blog Scool rather quickly (fingers crossed!).

If you're reading this post and know a fellow blogger who's entered, could you drop them a line and give them a heads up? Many thanks to all...

DMBLGIT? - 11th Edition

Thank the blog gods, I've just been reminded by Andrew (of Spittoon and host of DMBLGIT?#8) that's it my turn to host DMBLGIT?, now in its 11th incarnation. To participate, please email me your entry by November 26th, and I will post the results at the end of the month.

Your email should include:

1. The url of your post/entry.

2. Your name.

3. Your location.

4. The equipment you used, and any settings and technique notes, if possible.

And now, the fine print:

1. You may only submit one photo.

2. Your photo must be food and/or drink related.

3. Your photo must have been taken by you.

4. Your photo must have appeared on your blog in the month of October.

The judges are an all-star cast from the food-blogging world, including Sam from Posh & Becks, Jeanne over at Cook Sister, Reid of Ono Kine Grindz, Anthony from Spice Blog, and Keiko at Nordljus. Fantastic bloggers and photographers all, I know that they're really looking forward to seeing all of your entries. Step up to the plate, peoples, and show 'em what you've got!

Thrilled to Bits

The results of the February 2005 installment of 'Does My Blog Look Good In This?', graciously hosted by Ronald over at Is My Blog Burning?, were announced on Friday.

Whoo-hoo! I co-won! I co-won! I co-won! [Moi grabs the kids and dances around the room wildly] Um, ahem, o.k...I did get more than a little excited about this.

Huge congrats and back slaps to the illustrious Grab Your Fork, my partner in 1st place, and to all the other photographers in this very challenging competition- all of the entries were fantastic.

Here's looking forward to this month's competition!

Does My Blog Look Good In This? Fourth Edition

click to enlarge

It's time for the fourth edition of Does My Blog Look Good In This?, a monthly food photo contest hosted by the worldly Ronald of Is My Blog Burning?. I've entered a photo for the first time (the one you see above from my post on Cinnamon & Cardamom Buns), thanks to the support and encouragement of so many of you.

Please, vote early and vote often. There are many lovely entries to choose from (you may check up to three on your ballot), and you're sure to find something to tickle your fancy. Of course (naked ambition alert!), I hope my photo is one of those somethings. ;-)

**Edited 25 Feb. 05 to add: Ronald at IMBB? has decided to switch to a panel of judges to choose a winner for DMBLGIT?. If you're interested in participating, drop him a line at: foodphotovote@gmail.com.