Photo Diary: Food & A Photography Masterclass


Waking up early on a Saturday is not something most people would do, and when I say most people, I mean me. That said, the lovely people from Simplyhealth had me leaping out from beneath my covers for a special workshop that included food and photography – two of my greatest passions in life.

The event started with a mini masterclass with the photographer Paul Hames. He taught us the basics of using a D-SLR on manual mode, something which can seem a little intimidating at times. I will admit that I’ve been lazy in the past and flicked my camera onto auto and just gone with the flow. So this gave me the kick up the derrière that I needed. It also gave me the push that I needed, to finally decide on buying a Canon…now I just need to figure out which model.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand! After Paul had shown us around the basics of a D-SLR, he took us out for a wander around Kings Cross, to try out our newfound photography skills. We headed to the viewing platform behind Kings Cross Station, which gave me a view of the area that I’d never seen before. It was the perfect place to take some snaps of London. It began to get a little crowded though so we headed alongside the canal to take some portrait shots in the gorgeous sunshine. Sarah, Jess and I became a threesome for the project and found a nice shady spot to take our photos. Both ladies were the perfect models. Although I may have got a little carried away taking photos of Sarah’s gorgeous tattoos. All that snapping finally took it’s toll on us though, and we were ready for food! Luckily the Kerb street food market was on so we headed over and wandered off in search of sustenance! Marlene and I paired up and headed to Bill or Beak for one of their amazingly juicy sandwich-burgers…I’m still not sure what to class it as. We soon found a shady spot to to keep our delicate skin from burning (it still didn’t save me) and to enjoy our food. After we’d all enjoyed our food we headed back for some more photography chit-chat with Paul, who taught us how to take a good photo.

I had such a wonderful day and was so inspired by Paul that I’ve been taking photos like there’s no tomorrow…on manual, of course. So thank you to everyone who made the day so great!