STORY BEHIND THE STILL

Gareth Morgans explains a space-themed food shot that uses complex techniques

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NAME: Gareth Morgans WEBSITE: garethmorgans.com

IMAGE LOCATION: Studio in Bermondsey

TYPE OF COMMISSION: Personal

SHOT DETAILS: Phase One XF IQ3 100MP Digi back with 120mm Blue Ring Macro Schneider lens

ABOUT THE SHOT: While the phrase ‘out of this world’ is used to the point of cliché, especially in the context of food critiques, this image is truly unique. Gareth Morgans is an expert when it comes to food photography, and this shot is so effective because it uses the food itself for a novel purpose. No longer is the dish a literal study, but rather each aspect becomes an artistic tool, producing a scene built from scratch.

“The idea behind the shot was that I have always loved macro photography and I specialise in food, so I always come across interesting textural ingredients,” says Gareth. “I’ve always loved space, astronomy and the Star

Wars franchise! All my children have been introduced to these movies, and I guess the idea came from all this.”

The process behind the image was deceptively complex and called upon Gareth’s knowledge of lighting, exposure and focus control. “Each seed was shot separately, laying on non-reflective glass, with black card behind. We then cut out each seed and spice, and started to play with the scale of each one, building it into the space scene that we created in Photoshop, with the sun. I wanted each seed to be totally in focus, so I had to shoot a multi-focus stack of between 30-40 captures per seed/spice. This amazing camera (the Phase One XF IQ3 with 100MP Digital back) enables you to auto focus-stack an image by selecting the furthest and closest surfaces of a subject. It then takes multiple files at different focus points, which I then export via Capture One to Helicon Focus. This builds a single TIFF file. My camera settings were 1/250sec at f/8, ISO 50, and the objects were lit by a single Profoto D2 1000 flash head.”

Gareth’s effort paid off, and this image was a frontrunner in the prestigious Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year Competition.

Right SEED PLANETS

With meticulous shooting and post-processing, Gareth was able to produce a mind-bending perspective with mundane objects, transforming

these ingredients into celestial bodies