Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Saturday 10 December 2016

How to make and photograph Blueberry Pancakes

A few years ago a friend gifted me a blueberry plant, and this year we've had a nice little pick from i. I've been guilty of eating them straight off the bush. But I thought what better way to celebrate the blueberries summer goodness than with Blueberry Pancakes with cream and lemon curd.


 I saw a recipe in a foodie magazine, but I adapted it slightly. It is such an easy recipe and the lemon curd adds a little zing. So here is my recipe for how to make Blueberry Pancakes with lemon curd.

First off just make your pancakes using your favourite recipe. I used my pikelet recipe. 
So easy to remember - 4 tablespoons of self-raising flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 egg, and half a cup of milk. Do you see the formula? 4, 2, 1, and a 1/2.


 For the lemon curd recipe, I used a variation of my lemon meringue pie filling recipe, but used about half these amounts - 

2/3 cup lemon juice, 
3/4 cup white sugar, 
1/3 cup cornflour, and 
1 cup water. 

Combine all in a saucepan and stir till smooth. Stir constantly over a medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and quickly mix in 55 grams (2oz) butter or margarine till completely melted. Cool. 

To serve stack your pancakes in individual serving plates. Dollop on some lemon curd, a spoonful or so of thickened cream, and blueberries. Dust lightly with icing sugar. Yum!


 In case you were wondering the food images you see here were taken in RAW and the settings I used were - F 5.6, ISO 100, 1/13 sec exposure, 100mm macro lens, DSLR camera mounted on a tripod with a plug in shutter release. A little processing in Lightroom.  I chose a blue checked tea-towel to team in with the blue edging of the plates and the blue blueberries.  Take shots vertically and horizontally, review and move things about a little, and don't be afraid to crop the plate!




 As you can see below I just set the blueberry pancakes up on my kitchen bench which has a fairly neutral top. I set up a white card opposite the light to bounce light back in on the opposite side. The bounce card is white "foam core" card which you can buy in a framing shop.
 

Recently I finally bought myself a light for photography - you can see it set up above. I LOVE natural window light and that is my preference, but there are times as a food photographer where you might not have natural light. I have been looking and researching for a long time and finally came up with this LED light which I think will suit my purposes. It is a Edgelight LED light. 

This is a continuous light which is what I was looking for, as you can see straight away what your set up looks like lit. It has variable brightness adjustments and adjustable temperature from amber tungsten 3200k to white daylight 5600k. The light itself is thin, and the lights instead of being directed outwards, are directed inwards and diffused through the front, which means there is no harsh light on the product, and can also be used for portrait photography without the subject having to squint into a bright light. It comes packed flat in a portable padded carry bag. In addition you will need to purchase a light stand to mount the light. It runs on batteries or can be plugged into mains power.  

 The one I bought is a 52cm round panel which cost nearly $1,000.00 Australian, so not cheap. But there are smaller cheaper options. There are different styles available, and even one that can be mounted on to the top of a DSLR camera. I bought mine in Perth, but here is a link so you can look into it further - Protog - Edgelight
and here are a couple of little videos I found on the web - YouTube - Flapjack LED light 
and   You tube - Behind the Scenes



On the same day I made the blueberry pancakes I made these ones topped with crushed nuts and cream, and drizzled with caramel sauce. I had fun trying to drizzle the caramel sauce and take the picture at the same time. A remote shutter release will help you with this. The advantage of a remote shutter release is that there is no movement of the camera when you press the shutter, which is important if taking images in low light with a slower shutter speed.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this post. Do you like blueberries? Do you have a favourite blueberry recipe? Perhaps you'd like to share it in the comments. 

Natural light outside under my patio
I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

 

Mosaic Monday 
Life Thru the Lens 

Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday
 
The Lovin' Life Team over at Lifestyle Fifty
The Weekly Postcard







19 comments:

  1. Those blueberry and lemon curd pancakes are simply divine to look at and I bet taste good as well. Great tips for food photography Jill. I'm still learning a lot about landscape photography. I have a long way to go!:)

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  2. I love your recipe Jill, and you've made it easy to remember with the formula :) In England with my Mum and partner who love puddings and sweet things, so I'll make it for them and try and photograph it, but won't be as professional as yours. If we do move back to Bunbury in the near future, I would love to collaborate more with you in some way or another ... thinking caps on. A new blog ... Jill and Jo Cook and Look? I don't know!! LOL!

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  3. I really don't care what type of light is used. I am more concerned with the outcome. I love that you have found ways to get the shot you want! Thanks for the recipe, too.

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  4. Great post thanks Jill, great to see your new light it action. It looks perfect for what you do.
    My favourite Blueberry recipe at the moment is from "The Healthy Chef" Blueberry, Chia and Banana Pancakes
    https://www.thehealthychef.com/2012/02/blueberry-banana-pancakes/

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  5. I really enjoyed your post. I just start to learn photography. I'm still just reading the camera's manual. :))) So I shoot my photos mostly with my phone. It is always at hand. :)
    And the blueberries! Well... They always run out before I can bake something with them. :)
    Thanks for kind comment on my blog. Have a lovely week!

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  6. So that's how to get a truly top notch result, I don't think my little point and shoot is up to the task somehow. I did enjoy the food staging tutorial and it was good to learn that it's o.k. to crop the plate!
    It's been lovely to have your company for Mosaic Monday since I began hosting 4 months ago, Merry Christmas from Normandy!

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  7. Marvelous photos of the blueberries and a fabulous receipt. Delicious !
    Best regards, Synnöve

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  8. Stop right there, I would be in pancake heaven just as you made such beauty in the way you placed these for your photo shoot, add the lemon curd and fresh blueberries, you have tantalized my taste buds. I am trying so hard to lose weight and get healthy, but oh this kind of meal would satisfy for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even dessert for me. Beautifully done my friend. Hugs~

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  9. Mmmmm - looks delicious!!!
    Thanks for linking up at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/12/dominus-flevit.html

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  10. OMGosh just gorgeous and your photography tips are spot on!

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  11. Jill, you say you are having a difficult time selling restaurants on having you do their food photography. Do you have a portfolio to show them your work? Perhaps you could trade photography for meals, just to get your foot in the door. Good luck!

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    1. Life Images by Jill14 December 2016 at 10:28

      that's a great idea Tennessean. I did have an old portfolio, but I really need to start a new one with my newer better stuff. I've improved over the years.... I think! Thanks!

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  12. Thanks for the recipe and for the photo tips. I seems to have a lot of problems getting good light and getting rid of shadows. This setting helps me to udnderstand how to get good photos. #WordlessWednesday

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  13. Yum! Those blueberry pancakes look delicious!

    And thanks for the tip on taking great foodie images. I don't have anywhere to set up a light like that, but if I did, I would definitely be purchasing. Great images are worth the cost, imho! :)

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  14. So gorgeous! And I bet so tasty too! Yummy! Have a great week! Great job in photographing the pancakes.

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  15. Lovely images! And - although I don't eat fruit (yes, I know!!!!) they look delicious! #teamlovinlife

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  16. Great photography. The leaves make it!
    #TeamLovinLife

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  17. This is a really good read for me, That You Must admitted are one of the best bloggers I ever saw. Thanks for posting this informative article.

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I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog. Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I read and very much appreciate every comment and love hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return.