Mediterranean Sardines – Duo Rough Trail Hydra Sardine Ultra

The past few months have been a bit hectic with so many images of products for spring catalogues and websites, so much so that I’ve had little time to play and be creative. This morning was different, some time to play and combine the fruits of my labour from the garden with some beautiful products I’ve had sitting in boxes to be photographed. One thing is that there’s something so satisfying about doing an early morning harvest when the dew is on all the fruit, vegies and herbs.

Combining the Sardine Ultra design of the Duo Rough Trail Hydra with a selection of home grown Mediterranean fruit, herbs and spices creates the ideal Sunday lunch.

Over the past two years I’ve been using the Godox AD600 Pros, which have proven to be incredibly reliable and perfect for all lighting situations, but they are big and heavy. Though great they are not necessarily ideal for all work, the new AD300 Pro is the perfect studio light for smaller products, insitu work and products that don’t require power lighting.  Their compact lightweight size is great for travel but also maneuverability, being able to quick change to angles quickly, without effort on a C-Stand has been one of the main winners for me.

Flat-lays aren’t usually my style but I see so many food groups and blogs using this style and one thing that to me is that it is not necessary best suited for my usual lens choice, a Tilt Shift or Perspective control lens and more towards an auto focus lens. The new Nikkor Z 85mm lens is almost the perfect lens for food photography, stunning image quality corner to corner incredible sharpness, clarity and rich vibrant color. Combine all this with my trusty old Sekonic L508 Light Meter and the X-Rite Colour Checker Passport for perfect metering and colour.