The Food Lens

 1.  This isn't a recipe. 
2.  This is about photography.
3.  Deal with it.

A lot of my friends and readers ask me what kind of camera i use.  In the end, the body of the camera doesn't matter as much as the lens you put on it.  I have a decent DSLR (digital single lens reflex, the kind that has an actual shutter and a mirror inside, like real cameras), but what makes all the difference is my food lens.

Canon 50mm f1.8

It's actually called a "fast" lens, because it allows you to open up the aperture super wide.  That means that the hole that allows in the light is opened up real wide, like a HUGE window versus a tiny window in your house.  Bigger aperture = lots more light.  Anyways, what this means is that 1) you can take amazing indoor pictures without flash, and 2) you can achieve tons of bokeh.  Bokeh is the pretty blur effect you get in the background. 

This lens is what i take all my food photos with, so I call it my food lens.  The wonderful thing about it is that it costs only $100 (compared to other lenses, this is amazing) and is an amazing deal for the money.  Sure, my telephoto lens is great for when i travel, but this food lens is short, squat, and very light.  Perfect to have on for everyday needs.

Here are some other shots with the food lens...this was taken at night (which is when i do most of my cooking) with no flash.

Course, whenever possible, natural light makes a huge difference :)

So yes, if you're itching for a new lens to get, but you don't have a lot of money to spare right now, the $100 food lens is a phenomenal investment. 

It also takes pretty good pet pictures too.  Only if you're into that sort of thing.  I'm not really. 

Have a great week!