Leeanne

Mason

There is nothing more Christmassy than a Gingerbread Cake with Gingerbread Cookies. I used Chiroscuro lighting for this to give a winter feeling and allowed the colours from the buttercream icing to stand out.

I love Sticky Chai, everytime I open the packet I smell the delicious spices and flavours and wanted to represent this visually. Combined with some yummy homemade banana muffins I tried to draw the audience into the scene using colour and the golden ratio composition.

Citrus and bitters. Using a dark field lighting, flagging my softbox which was back lit behind my scene and deliberately using etched glass helps reduce reflections in your image.

This Cheese Selection is from @bodalladairy in NSW, Australia. This is their Bush Tucker cheese selection which includes:
Gumleaf Smoked
Tasmanian Pepperberry
Outback Saltbush
Chilli with Wattleseed

Dressing a Chocolate cake, it can be simple, or complex. You can go to great lengths in making sure it looks perfect before serving or you can just let the ganache drip where it wants and let the berries fall where they may. It all tastes the same when you eat it, delicious!

This recipe is a called a Citrus Pie however its more of a slice than a pie but it looks great in a pie dish. Using ingredients and utensils in the frame tells a story and using those ingredients as a garnish is a way to add creative flair.

Succulent Half Shell Scallops with Anchovy butter, Camembert cheese, and a garnish of fresh dill created by the talented Head Chef, Andy J Park from the renowned Contentious Character Urban Winery, Canberra, Australia. @contentiouscharacter

Exquisite dry-aged duck breast with barley, pumpkin jus, Witlof, and pickled Shimeji mushroom with a dill and parsley garnish. Created by talented Head Chef, Andy J Park from the renowned Contentious Character Urban Winery, Canberra, Australia. @contentiouscharacter

How to make the humble mashed potato look appealing? Using colour and props to tell the story, fresh green herbs added to the dish, scissors midway through cutting the chives, using linen to replicate the fold of the silky smooth potato. The visual weight of the spoon ready for someone to pick up and scoop up the buttery goodness.

These are Cherry Lime Mint Pops made with a seasonal summer cherry harvest. I think this was the perfect recipe to showcase the texture of these frozen cherries. Letting them melt a bit and smearing the juice around was a compositional choice.

This is called a Magic Bean Cake. It is made with kidney beans coffee and dark chocolate. I 'dressed' it with chocolate ganache and fresh berries.

Creating something by hand is a mindful process. That's what I love about photography, being immersed in the moment. By focusing on the manual muddling of some fresh pesto in a mortar and pestle is a methodical feeling and helps you savor the process and enjoy the end result so much more.

This was shot at a 45 degree angle with Godox AD300 lighting with a 60cm modifier and grid to create the illusion of morning light.

Pesto Eggs. Adding pesto provides a delicious flavour bomb to poached eggs and with some wholemeal toast you have a Winter Warmer brunch treat. You can scramble the eggs and pesto together to make an omelette, or just enjoy them as a topping.

I used a 60 cm modifier on a Godox AD300 from the side and slightly from above to simulate winter light.

Deconstructed Basil Pesto, shot overhead with a very simple one light set up. Using a Godox AD300 through a Scrim and placing a reflector opposite.

Handmade pasta, I love the texture and softness of the flour and egg together and by using hands in frame this brings the viewer into the scene and the lighting and shape of the pasta creates movement.

Parfait au chocolate with Orange Liqueur, Summer Berries and Raspberry coulis.

I made these delicious BBQ Vegetable Kebabs with a green salad and chilli oil and spring onion garnish. I used all of the accompaniments to help tell the story and show abundance.

I found an old window in its frame at the recycling center and a friend gave me some olive branches from her olive tree which both were used to create this scene. I angled my Godox AD300 through a scrim to emulate winter window light and to illuminate this delicious Spiced Carrot and Walnut Bundt Cake.

This is my Mille Feuille with Ruff Puff Pastry, topped with Pickled Strawberries in balsamic vinegar, infused with rosemary and vanilla. The layers contain piped sweetened Ricotta. The flavours were so amazing, they just balanced themselves perfectly.

This is my Pancake Spaghetti. I tried to replicate a traditional pasta dish photo, instead of parmesan I topped the dish with grated white chocolate, I used raspberries instead of tomatoes, mint leaves instead of basil and Maple Syrup, just because..