On this, the last day of Fall Break for our kiddos, I had high hopes of tackling a long planned project. I’ve been itching to practice more food photography, and that desire coincided beautifully with my sudden urge to bake something autumnal. So today, after Paul had finished working and loaded up the four remaining kids who had not yet had their parent teacher conferences and went over to the school, I began my labors.
First, I had to get the table cleaned off, because of course it was covered in the detritus of half a day of kid snacking. Jacob and Ellie helped with clearing, and Jacob washed the table and swept, because of course the floor was covered with napkins. While they were tackling those tasks, I had to get out my lights and set them up and get them all connected to power, etc. Then I had to get out all the ingredients for the dessert I planned to both photograph and bake. This involved finding the right containers for some things, getting other things out of their packages and looking attractive, and even washing the apples so they would look fresh and pretty. And then of course, arranging everything exactly the way I wanted it so that it would fit in the frame.
My preparatory stage took almost two hours – both because it was a meticulous process, and also because I had to work till the pain stopped me, rest, and repeat, many, many times. I decided to document the first stage with my Pixel 9-Pro, and this is how that turned out:
Once I’d managed to create a satisfactory still life, it was time to demolish it so I could bake the dessert – and take some food pics in the process. Once again, this was a laborious endeavor. I can’t remember the last time I worked this hard for four hours straight, but that’s what it ended up being. Paul left with the kids at 12:30, and I finished putting the crumble topping on the last pan at 4:33 – just in time to head out with Natalie to her volleyball practice. Jacob asked if we were stopping at QT could we pick up a drink for him, and I was happy to oblige, considering he was staying home to wait for the oven to heat up and then put the desserts in to bake for me.
I had worked so hard that it was a relief to get into the van and drive for a spell. We had to leave early enough to stop at the barber shop to drop off Jordan, who wanted a fresh hair cut before going back to school; and then we had to stop at the ATM in the same plaza; and then we drove to the school to drop off Natalie; and then I took Xavier to McDonalds because he wanted a $6 meal; but when we got there the drive-through was really backed up, and as we sat waiting our turn, Jordan called to say he was finished, so I bugged out of the line and went back to get him, and then because I had gone that far already, decided to go to the other McDonalds just a little further away where they always have fast service even when the drive through is busy, so we went there, and Xavier got his meal, and then we went home, and I was exhausted but I had not been able to stop earlier at QT because of all the rigamarole with two different McDonalds, so I called him from the van in the driveway and after he’d removed the now baked desserts from the oven, he came out and we zipped to Shell’s where we both got a fizzy. Back home again, he insisted I lie down. I did not argue. By that time I had just a little under an hour to rest before getting up and going back to pick up Natalie again. About 6:30 Jeff called to say he needed some help with his CGM again, so I told him if he made it to my place by 6:55 he could ride along to pick up Nat. I was opening the front door at 6:54 just as he was opening it from the outside, so that was good timing, and off we went, with Ellie along for the ride just for fun.
Finally back home, I got him sorted, we watched a Farzad Tesla video while he had a little supper, and then he took off and I cut Ruben’s hair, and then, FINALLY, I was able to start working on my photos.
I am very excited – and astonished, actually – that I was able to complete this project. I might be paying for it tomorrow, but I will definitely be using this experience as a springboard to attempt some more “impossible” projects!
