Can I just say that I love Sonoma? So down to earth compared to the Napa area. It's a place where you can walk into a restaurant and get invited over to a local vintner's house for a nice glass of wine. It's where food and wine go hand and hand, with a little wide open space on the side.

And my favorite new restaurant - The Girl and the Fig - is on the corner of the main square. And even the fact that it has a cool main square is just so awesome. I wonder if they need any food photographers up there? : )

Tilting towards yumminess

A wise man once told me a food photography secret... Never underestimate the power of a good tilt! Sometimes, just having a nice little tilt when shooting your food subject can make the difference between an ordinary photo and a extraordinary one. Mangia!

Candied Orange Peel

Got inspired by a recent Martha Stewart article about candied orange peel, so I decided to make my own. 'Twas a delicious blast and a half.

And they were even better dipped in Scharffen Berger chocolate!

Overall, I was quite pleased with the specular highlights on these delectable morsels of yum.

Scones and Jam

So, I was in the middle of photographing another item when I had to run an errand. Out of a corner of my eye, I noticed these cranberry scones in a bakery window. They were just calling out to be photographed! And so I did : )

A spoonful of cherry jam makes the perfect accent for the scones. Pulls the colors all together.

Donuts with Sprinkles

What is it about sprinkles? Photographing the little circles of joy is so fulfilling. Personally I think it's the repetition of the shapes, the many colorful little balls all over the topping. It's like a party for your eyes! And, as you can see, each one of the sprinkles has it's own little highlight to give the topping some nice depth.

I picked this particular donut as it had a nice clumping of sprinkles towards the middle, as well as some lovely stray random dots at the front.