Hi, I'm
Sarah Venegas!
sarahvphotos.com
Instagram: sarahvphoto
Food is a way we make connections with others. A considerable amount of our time is spent determining what food we consume—creating a shopping list, preparing a meal, deciding what to get at a restaurant, and, best of all, eating it. Our current disconnect with real food may reflect itself in other ways. What we choose to consume affects both our mental and physical health, indirectly influencing relationships, work and time management, and outcomes in life. Accordingly, through macro photography, capturing and showing food in its unbothered state can serve as a medium for reestablishing that important relationship and igniting curiosity to try the raw subjects observed in the photos. Macro photography offers a glimpse into the world of small beings and objects. It is carried out by using a specialized macro lens that magnifies the subject to appear bigger than they are in real life. Such magnification allows viewers to see fascinating details not easily viewable to the human eye.
In addition, I underwent this project because I wished to challenge myself to go through all the technicalities of macro photography, namely magnification, lighting, and especially depth of field with focus stacking. Focus stacking is a digital image processing technique that combines multiple photos from different focus points to obtain a final image with a greater depth of field (i.e., a wider range of focus). This process is done with specialized editing software such as Photoshop and Helicon Focus, both of which were used. On average, about 20 photos were combined for each final image, ranging from three to 84. Ultimately, these final images are for your viewing pleasure. Their simplistic yet sharp, detailed, and colorful appearance makes for appetizing subjects I wish I was eating at this moment.
Lastly, I would like to thank Beth Staub for her enthusiastic teaching style inspiring me to continue photographing food, Amy Horn for her tailored insights on macro photography based on her years of incredible work, and Sam Minkler for his positive and encouraging comments about my capstone project.
Macro raw food photography: Reestablishing a connection with real food
