I just got Instagram on my new phone (purplehousecafejh).
I feel strangely legitimized in the food blogging world, and relieved that finally – finally – my life can look as vividly beautiful (or as duskily vintage) as everyone else’s looks.
At long last, I can showcase my burlap-laden table with it’s ironed napkins in complementary colours, a few scattered leaves, my casserole/pie/pasta as the centrepiece and possibly, just possibly, an adorable little child-hand-photobomb, reaching in to sneak a taste of my lovingly prepared, healthful dinner.
Okay, there are things I have to admit: I am a complete sucker for Instagram and other social media pics that fall into the above category. Also, I am guilty of constructing such images on this blog.
For the latter, I think of my images as fantasy brought to life: they are what I dearly wish my meals and their surroundings looked like when I ate them, but they are not.
I think, though, that we are all guilty of falling into the trap we’ve set, portraying lives (and literally applying filters to those portrayals) that are just a little more perfect than we are truly prepared to let on.
Is it a dangerous path to consumerism and an existence wrought with the feeling that our lives are just a little less than everyone else’s? Or is it simply an opportunity and now, an ability, to shine a light on the most precious of what our real lives have to offer, with the deliciously satisfying outcome that we realize that our imperfect worlds have shimmers of perfection indeed. Shimmers that are that much more lovely in “Rise.”
Note: for the recipe for the delicious biscuits pictured above, come back on Friday!!
- Beets (4 very large or the equivalent number of small ones), peeled and cubed
- Chicken broth (enough to almost cover the beets in your favourite soup pot)
- Half an onion, diced
- Salt, pepper and dill to taste
- Sour cream, feta cheese and dill to garnish
- Put all the ingredients in a soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat until the beets and onions are very soft.
- Use a food processor to blend to your desired consistency. Serve hot with a big dollop of cold sour cream and some feta crumbles.
this description: “duskily vintage” = so true! sometimes i find myself trying SO HARD to emulate a kind of existence when in actuality, i’m dining at the coffee table, tv blaring and eating with my hands , gracelessly shoving food in my face. nothing vintage or charming about the situation. also, i never remember to have my husband do a hand photo bomb! it would end up looking too contrived anyway.
Yeah, completely agreed. Not to mention that despite the fact that it’s a well-known fact that I’m a food blogger (to both my hubby and to everyone I might be dining with) I actually feel like a bit of a tool pulling out my phone to take a picture, even when the meal or the setting is particularly charming (which, don’t get me wrong: it is never. It is always involving a squirrely toddler and someone else’s snot on my face).
I am also never quite pleased with the shots I get on my camera. I have a Samsung, which I think is just large enough to cause a bit of camera shake on my part. Do you use any kind of editing app for your phone pics or just what’s available on Instagram?
i also feel like a tool! but then i offset it by making fun of myself and i can be quite scathing at times.
i also use a samsung, a galaxy 3 i think. the editing tools i use for photos on my phone:
Little Photo – not as often
Pixlr o-matic – not as often
Pixlr Express – the most. i graduated from pixlr o-matic and have been using this app for awhile, i like it a lot.
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