On Sunday, I photographed Taste of the Nation, a fund raiser event to end childhood hunger in the USA. Some 20 or so restaurants were represented atop the Solamar Hotel, each with a little table, whipping up bite sized specialties. Tickets were around $100 per person (another photographer perk... I get in free of course), and food and drinks flowed non-stop.

The highlight was an Iron Chef competition, in which 3 pro chefs were aided by a kid sous chef. The youngest was 8, and the oldest, 14, I think. The secret ingredient... English Peas. What makes them different from other peas? I don't know. Note that the kid chef uniforms were also pea green. Coincidence? Are they drinking champagne or sparkling cider? Hmm. The girls came from a new local school program in which kids grow their own veggies in a garden patch, and then cook them to eat. What a great idea.

I noticed other photographers had brought their flashes along. The sun was very bright, which meant harsh shadows on faces; thus a flash would've been a good idea - a "fill flash" would've softened the shadows without sacrificing depth of color. I lightened my photos quite a bit so that the shadows wouldn't be too dark, and the pics may have turned out a little over exposed. Well, I'm still learning on the job.