"lighting" news and stories

Earlier today, Bob Sassone posted here about his milk gone bad. Anatomic Factory together with artist Bombo were thinking about the same subject. They created these bizarre milk carton shaped lights. They look like plain milk cartons, but they reveal a weird world of mold playing in the carton when you turn them on.

I choose to dump my old milk and not think too much about what might be going on in there. However, I must admit that these would make for really cute kitchen lamps.

What's next? A light designed to reveal the mold on an apple juice glass left out on the counter for too long? Umm.. wait... that happened in my house, no art light needed.

How interested are you in accessorizing your cereal? Personally, I'm quite satisfied with my relatively plain bowls and prefer to spice up my cereal - especially hot cereals - with actual spices or sugar. When it comes to using cereal to accessorize other things, I'm willing to be a bit more open, so the idea of the Cereal Bowl Light is an interesting one. It is a real light that has been built into a cereal bowl and is topped of with real Fruit Loops and a spoon. When the spoon is touched, the light turns on.

The seller says that it is "the best thing that you will ever buy in your life," and while I'm not trying to cast doubt on the seller's sincerity and think that the light is interesting in a pop-art sort of way, it's probably neither the best thing you will ever buy nor is it "the coolest light on earth." It is the best, and possibly only, cereal bowl light and a must-have for anyone who really loves their cereal.

[via coolhunting

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There are many food bloggers out there who take stunning, professional-quality photographs of food for their websites. There are an equal number who seem to suffer a bit from poor lighting and blurry images, though. Photographers will get better with practice, but it helps to have a good eye for composition and the ability to hold the camera steady when you're trying to take pictures - especially ones of food, which tend to be from close up and trying to capture a lot of detail. It's safe to say that there are three major elements that will really help anyone looking to improve their photography: a quality camera, good lighting and a tripod or stand,

You're on your own for the camera, but the Photo Studio in a Box offers the other two in a neat little package. It includes an adjustable camera stand, soft light box and backgrounds, two high output table-top lights (to eliminate unflattering shadows and highlight the details of your subject) and a nylon diffuser screen. It also comes with a custom carrier so you can use the studio when traveling, although restaurants probably won't be thrilled if you try to set it up on the table.

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All you aspiring food photographers (and some of you professionals) should have a look at photographer Michael Ray's Food Photography Blog. Organized more as collection of Ray's articles than as a blog, the site has tons of interesting tips and techniques that pros and amateurs will find useful. Granted, those of us that take pictures for our blogs probably aren't going to hack up our barbecue grills and install lights and gels underneath them when we photograph our tuna steaks. Nevertheless, plenty of Ray's insights about lighting and composition are good to keep in mind for when we're in our own studios, er, kitchens. This step-by-step photo walk-through of setting up a shoot is especially cool.

[Photo: Michael Ray]

The Idaho Potato Commission and scientists at the University of Idaho are concerned with how their potatoes are lit at supermarkets. While accent lighting often makes produce more appealing to customers, researchers have found that some types of lighting are far worse for the noble Idaho spud than others.

When potatoes are exposed to light (and warm temperatures) they begin to turn green and sprout. With that greening come certain toxins, and, although you'd have to eat a whole lot of potatoes to actually get sick, green potatoes should always be avoided.

Since less green is better for sales, potato specialists at U of I tested several types of lights and found that fiber optic lighting caused potatoes to go green the slowest.

Now I'm pretty sure that my grocery store uses fluorescent lighting and I don't know that they'd change all that around just for the potatoes. Also, I doubt any of you will run out and add a root cellar to your house to keep your spuds in the dark. Still, it's good to keep in mind that if you want your potatoes to stay fresher longer, keep them dark and keep them cool and, if you have fiber optic lighting in your kitchen, all the better.

[Photo from Fresh Plaza]

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