Here at Slashfood, we are so lucky that La Tartine Gourmande, one of the best cook/food photographers on the web, frequently uploads her pictures to the Slashfood Flickr pool. Her images are always of gorgeous food that is made even more appealing by the settings and dishes she photographs it with. I try not to feature too many of her photos, mostly because she makes the rest of us look bad, but today I couldn't resist this image of a Roasted Tomato, Red Onion and Arugula Tart. This particular image is actually a couple of years old, but as we're heading into the summer tomato season once again, I thought it was the perfect thing to whet your appetite for the cooking to come. You can find the recipe here.

One of the many Digital Photography Blogs, in this case I Speak Film, has published a nice interview with Matt Armendariz. Who is he? He is the highly talented chap behind the Matt Bites blog that many know.

I first ran across his blog after he designed a logo for Does My Blog Look Good In This (foodporn photo competition) and was captivated by the high quality of the photographs that adorn his site. Reading the interview, it became clear why the photos are so good - Matt is a professional photographer. Working at his home studio in the Los Angeles area and on location, Matt has created images for companies such as Whole Foods and Bristol Farms.

The article is worth reading for all the tips and advice that Matt imparts.

Some super submissions to the latest round of foodography photography challenge over on flickr. I particularly liked this one from the Abstract Gourmet. Matt is the guy behind the blog - which you should go look at too - and has caught a get shot with his Canon EOS30D. Those highlights on the rim and on the wine certainly add much to the image. Not so much foodporn, more glass porn. Very professional.

I have just posted this over on our Digital Photographer blog but I thought it worth repeating here - The Observer, in conjunction with Seeds of Change, is hosting a food photography competition with prizes up to £10,000.

FOr all you budding foodporn merchants: you need to impress! They have set up three categories: Food and People, Food and Thought, and Food, Glorious Food. So plenty of opportunities for demonstrating your creativity. Entrants can submit up to 5 photos per category, and short listed exhibitors will receive a subscription to Practical Photographer magazine. UK only I believe.

Entries are due by June 30th, and can be submitted on-line.

My favourite food blogging event - Does My Blog Look Good In This - is a monthly food porn photography challenge. The winners for the 14th round have been announced by the Cooking Diva. The picutre here is the winning image - great isnt it! It is by Marcela in Argentina.

Just one point separated this image from the second place winner while two points separated the first place and the third place winner (which was my cheese image; shame I thought for sure I was gonna win - sob). Winners described here while all entrants can be viewed here. The next round is to be hosted by Tomatom in Australia who is having a gastro-fling around Vietnam at the moment but is sure to announce it soon.

The start of a new month and a new theme for the food photography challenge that is better known as Foodography. A theme of Green has been set by Sam of Becks and Posh opening the subject to anything from spring greens, olives, peas, packaging, food colouring through to green liqueurs such as Chartreuse.

The joy of foodography is that you don't need a blog or website of your own to participate, as everything is hosted by flickr. You can also add your own views to each submission, as critical appraisal is the best way to learn and improve ones efforts in the realm of food porn. Entries have been taken with top-of-the-line digital cameras through to ancient compacts held to gether with tape and if you just like an excuse to take a pic and not receive any comments you can do that too by leaving a "No Critique" under your submission.

I know for certain that most of us here at Slashfood cannot get through a day without just a little in the way of foodporn. Some might call it "research," even "inspiration," but for me is it more about the photography skills. And some people - like the winner of the photo section of the Food Blog Awards - are blessed with spoonfuls of the stuff.

To showcase their very best images and skills a huge number of people join in the Does My Blog Look Good In This monthly competition (which I am hosting over at spittoonextra with two other slashfood writers as judges). But for inventiveness and experimentation - or just to get a fix of luxury food porn - you should scroll through the submissions to the Foodography challenge over on flickr.

The theme for this first round is Oranges Aren't the only Fruit - so we have tomatoes, bananas, persimmons and jams. There are experiments with colour combinations, quirkiness and interesting recipes. The image here is best viewed full size to see the wonderful texture of the fruit. What is great about flickr is that you can leave your own comments. Which is your favorite?

The flickr group I manage with Sam of Becks and Posh under the Foodography name is certainly producing a host of wonderful and diverse images.

The theme of Oranges Aren't The Only Fruit is beginning to produce some interesting interpretations amongst the amateur snappers. Now this image isn't hugely innovative, but the texture of the orange is delightfully realised and the shaft of light in the top left really pushes the eye into the centre of the image. If I have a niggle with it though is that the stalk, the focal point of the whole picture, is not that sharp. The photographer wont mind me saying this as wheelie680 is my little sister!

You can join in the fun by joining the Foodography group on flickr.

Pecorino with peppercorns from the Eastbank Farmer's Market, August.

I didn't keep track, but I must have eaten thousands of dishes in 2005, and tried hundreds of new foods. While I won't admit to how large a percentage "toast with peanut butter" and "breakfast: one cookie, one coffee" were in my personal dietary pie chart, I will offer up some of the unarguable highlights. The following is a photo essay on some things that warmed my stomach oh-so-well in 2005.

Marinated salmon and onion with citrus and cucumber, Tani's Sushi, November.

Crisp, melting, sweet, tangy, citrusy, flavorful, refreshing. One of my favorite dishes in the city.