Things & Stuff
We went to Apothecary last week for drinks and snacks during happy hour. I stuck with a pink bubbly (my current favorite thing), while Justin had a red.
We shared a huge bowl of olives (mmm, Castelvetrano – the only type of olive I actually love), baguette with herbed olive oil, and baked brie with crostini. The brie came with balsamic marinated grapes, which were a perfect complement.
It’s a cozy little place. 🙂
Hey- lovely photos! Hope you don’t mind my asking, but since I have the same camera and have had some trouble taking indoor photos in low light, what lens and setting did you use to take these pics? Did you use a flash?
I haven’t been too crazy with photo results from the built-in flash and am contemplating picking up a Speedlite. Sorry for all the questions. Just going through the trials of learning as a newbie photography enthusiast 🙂
Thank you! I don’t mind at all, but I will preface this by saying that I’m self-taught in photography, so I’m not really sure about terminology and things. I only have the stock lens right now (though I’m planning to buy a new lens soon), and I never (ever) use the flash. I imagine that it would be helpful if I was taking photos of friends at a dark party, maybe, but in general, if I can’t get the photo without a flash, I just don’t get the photo. Which is why I have very few photos of some of the darker restaurants in town.
For low-light, I either use the no-flash auto settings (but sometimes manual focus) and stay very very still, or I go manual and adjust for white balance and shutter speed. I just kind of mess with things until it works.
The other part of it is Photoshop. Justin has shown me a few things (he’s a graphic designer), so I’ve been editing/cropping/sizing my own photos for years. I also have the free Photoshop actions from Pioneer Woman and from Totally Rad, and I’ve been playing with those more lately. With these photos in particular, I think I used either the Lux or Troy action from Totally Rad, and it lightened them up quite a bit.
Wow, that was a long answer, and probably not very helpful. I will try to pay attention the next time I’m shooting low-light stuff, so I can actually tell you what the heck it is I’m doing. 🙂 And yay for Canon Rebels!
Thanks Crystal! Appreciate the tips. And thanks for letting me know about PW’s Photoshop actions- I hadn’t seen them before but they look cool. I’ll have to check them out.
You’re welcome! Also, I took some more low-light photos last night, and I went with the no-flash auto settings and manual focus. I think that’s what I usually do in restaurants so I don’t have to spend a lot of time adjusting settings for the photo. I like to just shoot quickly so I don’t interrupt the dinner or make our food cold. 🙂
Ooh, I’ve been on a baguette kick lately – have you tried making your own with a no knead recipe? This recipe http://steamykitchen.com/6795-no-knead-baguette-stecca.html is wonderful!
Mmm, again with the power of suggestion. I now want bubbly and some crusty bread and creamy cheese for dinner!
Omigosh, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I love Steamy Kitchen, but hadn’t seen this. I might have to try it out this weekend (and then I might have to eat an entire loaf by myself). 🙂
I’ve got a batch going myself! 😀
Okay! I’ve just mixed it together, so we’ll see how it turns out tomorrow night!
I love the idea of balsamic marinated grapes
Right? It would be easy to do at home for a cheese and bread dinner…
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