Shutter and Spoon: Combining My Passion for Photography and Culinary Creativity

Apr 2

When talking about my love for photography, I often talk about how I was immediately swept into this creative passion at a very young age. It was sort of a long journey to where I am at now, working and developing this thing into something more than a hobby.

I remember my first camera, a not so wonderful, silver point and shoot camera. It could take about 5 images before the memory was completely full. I definitely didn't know about SD cards at the time, but I think that discovery would have opened a world of possibilities for me.

Over time I acquired a variety of new devices that had some kind of camera on them. My mom's old point and shoot cameras, to my first cell phone - I was always using these things to take photos of everything and anything.

Taking it back in time a bit, long before the original silver camera ever existed, I was helping my mom in the kitchen and learning to cook and bake. There was always something so fascinating and rewarding about being able to take something from scratch to a finished plate.

I definitely started with nothing much more than the dinners I would cook for my family, not much of an art but it was something to fill everyone's stomach. As I cooked more and more, looked up recipes online and in cookbooks, I found out how much more creative the culinary world was. From that moment I was hooked.

Thanksgiving was always an exciting holiday for this reason, it was all about the food in my head. I took it upon myself to make all of the desserts this year. I was 13 at the time with big ambitions to elevate the traditional Thanksgiving desserts. So I did, researching recipes, making everything from scratch and adding my little pie crust embellishments - and here is what I served to my family that year:

In terms of my professional pursuits, there wasn't much to boast about when it came to photography or baking, but we all have to start somewhere. I remember spending time editing a photo, finding the right lighting by the window, and sharing it with the world. Little did I know that years later, as a college student, this would lead me to study and work towards a career in creating images like this! To this day, cooking and baking remain my favorite hobbies, and I now take on the responsibility of planning, preparing, and cooking my family's entire Thanksgiving dinner each year (with a little help from my loved ones, of course).

This year has been a significant shift and deep dive into my portfolio, and I'm excited to explore this subject that brings me so much joy. As I begin this journey, I can't wait to see where my culinary adventures take me and what kinds of things I'll get to capture through my lens. The possibilities are endless!