Another Christmas dinner, yet more photos of food – apologies, I will go back to something more interesting soon!

While I’m on the subject of food, however, thought I’d point out this really really scrumptious website. Not only does smitten kitchen offer some great recipes (I’m going to give the Chocolate Guinness Cake a go between Christmas and New Year), the photography is absolutely beautiful and far better than any food pics I am producing! (It probably doesn’t help my kitchen has horrid horrid strip lights in it!) Anyway, have a browse and make something, or just drool over your keyboard!

Just a note on my food pics so far, actually – all have been taken with my Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, which is a super cheap and super brilliant little lens. Wonderfully shallow depth of field thanks to that aperture, but I’m using it far too much at the moment! Must get the telephoto back out. I’m in Norwich tomorrow, so I might grab some nice architecture with it. There’s a lovely cathedral, Norman castle and just some funky buildings, so stay tuned.

It’s finally the Christmas season, so I thought I’d better get some pictures up on Flickr of this year’s celebrations. So far I’ve had a carol service, house party, two Christmas parties and a Christmas dinner, with another dinner tomorrow to follow last night’s. And all of that even before we’re halfway through December.

Christmas is a great time to take photos of food – there’s so much of it, lovingly prepared, that it looks as well as tastes gorgeous. Friends coming round, the house done up nice – all of it lends to great photos of happy times (unless, of course, you have a rubbish Christmas, in which case there’s probably not time between the arguments even to think about picking the camera up).

Hit the photo on left to reach my Christmas 08 set on Flickr; I hope you enjoy! (Also make sure to check out the A Very Christmas Flickr pool, which contains some great images.

Walking to work this morning, I saw the low winter sun streaming over Clapham Common and couldn’t resist a shot (especially since I’d had the foresight to pre-empt the rush hour on the Northern line and be at work 30mins early). Took a little while to get anything useable; I’ve not tried shooting this kind of lighting situation before, so it was worth it from both an aesthetic and a technical point of view!

Speaking of Clapham Common: as with just about every other imaginable place on Earth, there’s a Flickr group dedicated to pictures of the Common. A couple of mine from this year’s Clapham Common fireworks are up there, along with this one.

Last night I was at the UCLUCU (that’s University College London Union Christian Union…) Carol Service in St Pancras Church on Euston Road. (Interesting story: on my way there, this happened.) Anyway, it was a lovely little service, though the lighting was a bit difficult. I did, however, manage to get a couple of good shots, so here you are:

Click the picture to follow through to the Fickr set.