A few years ago, I received an email from a pair of girls.

They said they went out for dinner, saw a large mirror, and since they were all dressed up nice, they decided to take a photo of themselves doing “The Karen Cheng Pose”. Complete with head tilt.

They sent me the picture, and omg I laughed and laughed! Oh it was too funny. Big wave to Sofia and Hanaa!

Then a few weeks ago, I received another email. Again, it was another reader doing The Pose. She wasn’t sure if she should send it to me, in case I got offended, but I assured her, I’m all for making fun of myself!!

I find it utterly hilarious (and a bit tragic) that my lazy-assed, self-portraits have become my signature pose.

So I hereby officially invite everyone to my new Facebook Group called “Doing The Karen Cheng” – devoted to the crazy people, a bit (or a lot) dressed up, taking their own photograph in a mirror. Not forgetting the head tilt!

To get things started, I’ve put up about 20 photos of myself taken over the years. I’ve also included little “how to” instructions.

Haha I’m looking forward to see what people will post up. Feel free to post links back to your own blog as well!

THANKS to all who wrote to me saying hi, after my TV appearance the other day!

For those who missed it, you can watch the video here.

Lots of people have asked, “What did you think of it?”

Well at the end of the day, it was a really interesting and fun experience, plus it was great exposure for me, my website, Darren and Neerav, and for the general profile of bloggers.

I must admit, that I was a bit disappointed. After the series of questions during the interview, I had the unbelievable impression they were actually interested in the social and cultural aspect of blogging, and possibly women and blogging, which is my area of interest.

But, when I saw that they changed it to “Look at these people who make money with their blogs!!” I wasn’t surprised at all. In the end, it is commercial television news. It’s a shame, because I just know there is a great feature story waiting here for some smart journalist, an in-depth look at blogging. Anyone?

Anyway, I’m completely happy that I didn’t get more air time than the others. I know that, although my blog is popular, it doesn’t fit into that “money making” category. My blog is a lifestyle blog, and it was rather funny that I was featured at all.

Firstly, to set the record straight, I don’t earn a six figure salary! Do you think I’d be cleaning my own oven if I earned a six figure salary? The answer is, HELL NO.

Secondly, I think it is so funny that MY HUSBAND’S SPERM IS FAMOUS! Way to go little guys! However, they looked more like exploding maracas, if you asked me. Oh you should have seen us laugh.

Thirdly, thank goodness I didn’t have my “porn-star” voice when I did the interview. But then again, maybe they would have used more of me if I’d had a husky voice. After all, it is commercial television.

This morning a Channel 10 film crew and reporter arrived at my house.

They were covering a story on blogging, and they were here to interview me and feature my blog.

A film crew! In my house! For an interview! Eeeeek! How exciting! You should have seen my lounge room, it was spotless. I had fresh flowers and throw rugs. There was not a crumb to be seen.

I can’t remember the last time I felt so FLUTTERY AND FLOATY IN MY STOMACH.

The crew was absolutely lovely. It was actually quite fun. I think I did ok.

I know this sounds a bit silly, but I really felt so honoured to be talking about blogging, being a blogger, mummy blogs, and why I love blogging. I’m so excited to see what this feature does for bloggers in Australia.

I had a really nice time at the Perth Bloggers Meetup! I met, talked and hung out with some lovely people, chatted to old net friends, took photos, drank a bit, and received gifts (thanks girls!). More photos here.

I also managed to get some online bits and pieces up and running again. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep them updated now!

My Wishlist (Amazon)
A few very sweet people were asking for my wishlist. So I’ve finally updated it and made a separate list for the kids!

My Twitter
Interested to know what a SAHM does all day? Ha ha maybe not? Well you can now follow me on Twitter. And you have to check out the tiling grass.gif I made 9 years ago. It’s SO 1999!

Me elsewhere:

Facebook

My Flickr

Stumble Upon

Technorati

Someone asked me whether I donated any money to charity, and which ones.

At first I was really surprised. Of course I do! But I realised that since I don’t talk about it on my site, it must seem like it’s never crossed my mind.

So I thought I’d let everyone know that yes, I have been earning a bit of money from this site in the last 2 years. And of that money, I have been donating a portion of all I earn to various charities that I feel strongly about.

And I would love to feature them for you -

The Cancer Council of Australia
My husband is a cancer survivor. In 2004, before the birth of our second son, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent radiotherapy, chemotherapy and two lots of surgery.

He is now in remission and now strives to live a healthy, stress-free life filled with love and laughter.

Each day that passes, we are thankful for the gift of life. We feel quite passionate towards giving a little of what we have towards cancer research, education programs, support for cancer patients and their families.

Starlight Children’s Foundation of Australia
I have 2 happy and healthy young children. Every time I see one of my boys do a flying somersault leap off the couch, part of me curses their boyish energy, and the other, thanks heaven that they can actually do crazy stunts like that.

Whenever I browse through the Starlight website, I am always so moved by the stories and pictures. I was always think – Am I waiting for my child to become seriously ill before I help in some way?

The Starlight Foundation supports and raises money for seriously ill children. They bring laughter, family escapes, fun centres, express vans, wish granting to the lives of seriously sick children and their families.

I have a secret personal goal to become a Starlight Volunteer one day.

National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia

Throughout my life, I have personally known 5 women who’s lives were taken by breast cancer. I don’t know if that’s a lot or little for someone my age, but I feel determined towards making a small contribution towards the breast cancer research, a cure, prevention, support and promotion.

I also really adore the worldwide PINK marketing campaign towards Breast Cancer. The movement is so uniting, beautiful and touching. I also buy a lot of pink chocolate too.

Oxfam Australia
Sometimes the trivial problems of our everyday life hinders us from seeing the bigger problems of the world.

Every day we turn on the world news and there are wars, earthquakes, train wrecks, assassinations, poverty, abuse, hunger. People are dying every day and yet, it all seems so distant when you’re sitting in air conditioned comfort watching it on a very expensive plasma screen.

It’s just not real. We are not affected by it, thus we’re not moved to give.

The challenge is to make it real, with knowledge. Make it personal, by giving.

I love what OXFAM has done – bringing the real issues of poverty and social injustice to us - the developed world that sees none of it.

I also love Oxfam Unwrapped. Where you can buy goats for your relatives. It just puts things into perspective when you read that “a $20 donation can pay for five household gardens to be set up in Cambodia. The vegetable gardens can help families to have a more diverse diet and decrease the chances of malnutrition.”

I made a promise to the lovely Simone of EnjoyPerth!, that I’ll be joining her and a bunch of other people (that I know by name and profile avatar) for the Perth Bloggers Meetup.

It’ll be my first time at a blogger meetup!

I mentioned that I’d write about it on my site, but I forgot to mention that I don’t actually KNOW how many people in Perth read my site.

I know three. My husband, my mother and my Aunty Flo. And I’m not sure if they can make it. They’d bring chicken curry for everyone, I’m sure of it.

So please come! Would love to see you there!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008.

7pm

Upstairs at The Brass Monkey
Corner of James and William Street, Northbridge

Perth Bloggers I want to meet : Cellobella, TFP, Kitta, Mooiness, Rodney, Krissy, Bronwen, Duncan, Priscilla, Nat. (Ok I’ve met some of you before, but it’d be good to catch up!)

As part of my regular posts on Blogging, Photography and Design, I’m also reviewing some blogs that I love reading, and greatly admire.

In the blogging universe of Mummy Bloggers, Metrodad is my shining star. He’s my all time favourite Daddy Blogger.

Metrodad is written by Pierre Kim, Asian-American, ethnically Korean with a French name, fashion executive living in New York, with his wife and 3 year old daughter.

My goodness, he’s so funny. I love his snappy ramblings about his daughter and fatherhood. His writing is refreshing, wickedly funny, yet oozes with warmth and love. It’s all good.

My favourite posts (just so happens all of them are parenting posts):

The Lazy List of Fives

The Eight Types of Playground Parents

An Open Letter to All Toddlers

Tales of Future Past

5-1, I guess she really is my daughter

I managed to ask Pierre some friendly questions.

Interview

Karen: When you’re having a really bad day, what are some of the things that will definitely cheer you up?

Pierre: Hugs from my daughter, kisses from my wife, a plate of homemade gnocchi from my favorite local Italian restaurant, and a nice old-school bottle of Montepulciano table wine.

Karen: What kind of father was your father? How much are you like him now?

Pierre: My father was a traditionally strict immigrant father who was raised in an absolutely horrible home environment. He was mentally and physically abused by his parents until he ran away as a teenager. Like many other Korean men of his generation, he was very shut off from his emotions. Hence, his idea of playing a role in my life generally consisted of being a provider and a disciplinarian. We did not have a very close relationship when I was growing up. Now, as we’ve both gotten older and mellower, we’ve learned to coexist peacefully for the sake of the family.

Suffice it to say, we are not very much alike. However, because of his hard work and sacrifices, I was afforded luxuries in life that have allowed me to become the person that I am today. For that, I am forever grateful.

Karen: What inspires you?

Pierre: Travel. Seeing as much of the world around me while I’m still here on this planet. I’ve been to 56 countries during my lifetime and I hope to visit many more. For me personally, there’s nothing more inspiring than exploring a strange city by yourself and meeting people who are never quite as different from yourself as you might presume.

Karen: What’s your favourite way to spend time with your daughter?

Pierre: Without a doubt, going out to eat with her. Food is a great passion of mine and I’m constantly tasting the amazing diversity of incredible food that can be found in a city like New York. Sharing this passion with my daughter is incredible. When my wife works late, my daughter and I will go out to dinner together and these have always been some of my favorite father-daughter memories. Not only does she love having Daddy all to herself but she’s also loves going to new restaurants. Blessedly, she’s an adventurous eater. She’s the only 3-year-old I know who has eaten everything from foie gras to raw sea urchin to clams casino.

Karen: What are 5 things you are working on right now?

Pierre: Becoming a better husband, father, and son.
Getting more involved in volunteer work.
Learning how to cook.
A television show.
Quitting smoking.

Karen: I can’t believe you buy clothes for your wife! And she likes it! What is the one thing that you bought for her, that backfired on you?

Pierre: My overall track record of buying clothes for my wife is pretty good. However, I apparently lack the gene that gives one the ability to choose handbags. For her past birthday, I spent over a month researching Vogue magazines and scouring all the handbag sites. I was absolutely 100% convinced that she would love the bag I selected for her. Totally backfired. She hated it. Thank god for generous return policies.

Now, I’m in full training mode. My wife will show me a handbag and ask me whether she’d like it or not and I have to answer right away. It’s futile. I’m a lost cause. What is it with you women and your handbags?

In the spirit of celebrating all things Australian, I thought I’d give a plug to a new Aussie Bloggers Blog launched last week.

Run by a bunch of really nice people, passionate about blogging and helping other Australians, they seem to be doing some cool stuff at the Aussie Bloggers Forum.

Ah how I wish I had as much time to devote to helping others on the internet. I can hardly find time to reply my emails, let alone write a post! I still feel that my priorities are to being with my kids and family FIRST, and being a blogger SECOND.

But this year I really want to be a bit more active in the internet community. So hopefully I’ll be popping in and out of the forums. Do come over, join up and say hi!

Nomination for The 8th Annual Blog Awards are on!

Every year I wonder how I should approach the “blog awards season”. Sure, they are always such a great way to discover new blogs, support my favourite blogs, and visit blogs that have dropped off my list during the year. But in terms of being nominated and voted for, I’ve learnt that it pays to beg shamefully and promise lots of love and eternal sunshine.

This is just nomination stage, so it’s really exciting to be one of the finalists. So please please nominate me! Thank you thank you thank you!

Go to the awards site and fill in the URLs!

You don’t have to register, but you do need to give your email (at the end) to validate the nomination.

You also have to make sure that at least three different blogs in total must be nominated throughout your whole nomination form.

And you have to nominate by Friday, January 11 2008. Quick quick!

So www.karencheng.com.au can fit into these categories :

Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog
Best Asian Weblog
Best Writing of a Weblog
Best-Designed Weblog
Weblog of the Year

These are my nominates (I’ve left out some categories, because I don’t know of any blogs in that category or I just can’t decide right now! Will update later!) :

Best Web Application for Weblogs
Wordpress - www.wordpress.org

Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog
Karen Cheng - www.karencheng.com.au

Best Asian Weblog
Karen Cheng - www.karencheng.com.au

Best African Weblog
Tertia - www.tertia.org

Best Photography of a Weblog
The Pioneer Woman - www.thepioneerwoman.com

Best Food Weblog
The Food Pornographer - www.thefoodpornographer.com

Best Topical Weblog
Tree Hugger - www.treehugger.com

Best Entertainment Weblog
The Superficial - www.thesuperficial.com

Best Writing of a Weblog
Karen Cheng - www.karencheng.com.au

Best Community Weblog
Postsecret - postsecret.blogspot.com

Best-Designed Weblog
Karen Cheng - www.karencheng.com.au

Weblog of the Year
Karen Cheng - www.karencheng.com.au

January 2007

My husband and I took a trip down south for my cousin’s wedding, where I wore THAT dress.

My boys went on their first fishing adventure.

I started eating a slice of toast and 1 egg every morning. I still do! Don’t know what that does to my health though.

February 2007

Callum started Kindergarten

I launched myself into organic gardening and set up a worm farm.

I started dressing my children the same. I have always loathed this practice. But now it’s just so much easier to buy the same shirt in a size 4 and size 2. No fights. No arguments. No room for the kid who wants to “try something different” and wear his pyjama shirt to a party.

March 2007

Sean turns two

For the first time in 10 years, I picked up a painted brush and some oils and started to paint!

This is probably my favourite photo of my two boys. I love how they look so completely and utterly happy.

My Organic Cheese and Chive Scone Recipe was a big hit with my readers!

April 2007

My mother turned 60, and we organised our first studio photography portraits.

Callum turned four

We started playing fortnightly social soccer with friends.

May 2007

One minute the kids behave in the most shocking and appalling way, then they’ll do something so unbelievably cute, you can’t help but want to cuddle them forever.

I love my husband.

What SHOULD kids eat each day. 7 months later and it’s still oh so very hard.

June 2007

A hour by hour breakdown of my day. One of my more popular posts for the month.

I ate a grub.

After I wrote about my Sheep Poo Tea, I think I received 70 emails in something like 2 minutes. Apparently it was not sheep poo, but a kind of blossoming tea.

Went to a great Hollywood Dress Up party!

July 2007

I turned 29 and had a whole festival of events! I also had a contemplative reflection on what it meant that I was turning 30 next year. I asked others what their thoughts were and I edited and compiled them into a post here.

Sean at 28 months began a very difficult “Terrible Two” stage.

I confessed to the world that I have joined some friends to put on a group art exhibition.

August 2007

Sean eats our hermit crab (kind of).

We went on a travelling camping holiday to Coral Bay and Exmouth. We stayed at an amazing and isolated campsite by the beach, but we had to take a scary road that looked like the surface of the moon to get there!

September 2007

The boys were baptised.

I wrote out the essence of my parenting experience, so far - “Parenting Is”. It was also one of my most popular posts.

The very first time my kids laid eyes on a video game (wii).

The Official Blurb for my upcoming Art Exhibition.

October 2007

The opening night of my group art exhibition! A complete success!

Sean gets a new bike.

We begin trying for a third baby, and I start “documenting” my steps and thoughts in my blog post series, Making Baby 3.

Tips for a Stay At Home Mum - How To Stay Sane! Another one of my popular posts!

I begin writing about photography and how to take great photos.

November 2007

I tried to do this crazy thing, which involved writing a blog post for everyday of the month. I changed the way I wrote posts, put heaps more thought and planning into each post, but I seriously burnt out in the end!

I write out two Photoshop Tutorials. How To Put An Object On A White Background, How to Select an Object from its Background and How to Enhance Your Photographs Using Layer Blending Modes. These posts were extremely popular!

An update on my boys, aged 4.5 and 2.5.

It’s been a year since my husband and I employed a babysitter, so we can have time alone together on a weekly basis.

Roast Vegetable Pasta Salad Recipe – Another really popular post.

December 2007

With new changes happening in our lives, and the Christmas and holiday season approaching, December was a really busy month for us.

My Play Dough Recipe was very popular.

Sean used to be excellent with his potty training at a really young age. But now he’s gone completely backwards, not sure why and I am clueless as to what to try next. The cloth nappies have been very helpful and we’re ALMOST THERE!

I found some old toddler photos of myself!

I discovered that I am very close to becoming An Uncool Parent!

As part of my usual Monday posts on Blogging, Photography and Design, I’m also reviewing some blogs that I love reading, and greatly admire.

I was first introduced to Karen Walrond several years ago, when she was a writer for Bloggingbaby.com. I clicked over to her personal site, Chookooloonks, and I fell in love with her daily pictures, words, and most of all her love for her daughter.

Not only is she stunning and a beautiful person, her daily writing is refreshing and she captures such a lyrical richness of her life through her photography.

Her site Chookooloonks (a Trinidadian term of endearment) is now a photography blog, but she used to write at her old site about parenting, motherhood, adoption, being a writer and being a pro blogger.

I managed to grab some of her time and ask her a few questions :

Interview

Me: Tell us a bit about yourself.

KW: In a nutshell, I’m a Trinidadian, wife to a Brit, mother to an American, lawyer, photographer, 40-year-old analytical extrovert with the soul of an struggling artist. More or less. I also make a mean rum punch.

Me: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

KW: There were several professions I was pretty intent on becoming when I was a kid. My mother tells me that when I was five, my earliest aspirations were to marry the garbage man (I’m told he was very nice to me). I then wanted to be a geologist, an archeologist, a paleontologist (I call that my “gist” period). Then I wanted to be a linguist. Then an architect. My father convinced me that my talent was in mathematics (it really wasn’t), and so I instead became an engineer. Then a lawyer.

I may do something else, yet. For the record, I never did marry the garbage man.

Me: When you’re having a really bad day, what are some things that will most certainly cheer you up?

KW: My three-year-old daughter, Alex, has an amazing sense of humour for her age, and is sensitive enough to know just what to say to get me to laugh. I have a kind husband who calms me down in a heartbeat. And of course, there’s always my camera, if I need to just get away and focus (hah!) on something else.

Me: You’re from Trinidad and Tobago. I’ve never been there before, can you describe it in a sentence?

KW: The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago is a country of great beauty, friendship, warmth, tropical Caribbean beaches, fabulous food, and incredible music. And I miss it terribly.

Me: A good and bad thing about living in Texas?

KW: A good thing: Texas, and in particular, Houston, is a very easy place to live. It’s really inexpensive, the people are quite friendly, the availability of culture — ballet, symphony, theatre, sports of all kinds — is impressive, and Houston’s variety of truly first class restaurants is its best kept secret.

A bad thing: Texas is a relatively conservative state, and for a multiracial, liberal family like ours, living here can sometimes be challenging.

Me: How did your love for photography begin?

KW: Well, many years (and many pounds!) ago, I used to model. I loved the magic that the photographers could make with their cameras, and I befriended one particular fashion photographer who gave me advice on buying my first camera, and helped me get started. I love shooting pretty much everything, but my first love, largely because of this photographer, is portraiture.

Me: What’s your favourite way to spend time with your daughter?

KW: Alex is actually a pretty great model, so we have a great time playing around with my camera. Lately, we’ve also taken to having chats at coffeehouses (I have cappuccino, she has very weak, milky, sweet tea), and we “discuss what’s going on in our lives.” I tell people that “language” is her superpower, because she’s always had a real facility with communication — so hanging out and talking with her is my absolute favourite thing to do.

Vote for Chookooloonks

Karen’s site has also been nominated for “Best Photography Blog” at the Blogger’s Choice Awards. Go vote for her!

As part of my usual Monday posts on Blogging, Photography and Design, I’m also reviewing some blogs that I love reading, and greatly admire.

Tertia Albertyn writes at So Close - a website that charts her life after infertility, with twins!

She battled through 4 years of infertility and went through nine IVFs. In Jan 2004, her son Ben was born prematurely at 26 weeks, and passed away 10 days later. In Jan 2005, she gave birth to twins, Adam and Kate, who are now almost 3 years old.

She writes about her daily adventures as mother, wife, author, blogger – her writing makes me choke with laughter, her everyday activities make me chuckle with recognition, and her infertility story breaks my heart and makes every molecule in me weep bitterly.

It’s a shattering and devastating journey, yet hilarious, wonderful, mischievous, and full of everyday joy.

As I pour through her site, my god, the way she tackles the issues and realities of her life, the way she bares her soul to the world… makes me pale with respect and awe. I truly am inspired.

Tertia has written a book about her journey, entitled So Close : Infertile and addicted to hope. It’s coming out on Amazon in April 2008. But I’ve found her book on Fishpond and Amazon UK, where you can place a pre-order.

I managed to grab some of her time and ask her a few questions :

Interview

Karen: On your blog, you write about your “life after infertility”. Sharing such an incredible, powerful, moving story with the world must have some blessings/rewards! What is the best thing that has ever happened because of your blog?

Tertia: Wow, so many good things. I guess the obvious best thing was getting a book deal out of it. A South African publisher read my blog and decided they liked the way I wrote and felt that I had a compelling story to tell, and offered me a book deal. I use the phrase ‘book deal’ in its figurative sense because in South Africa you do not write a book for money, you write it for love. There is NO money in writing a book in this country. But that’s ok, I wanted to share my story.

The real ‘best thing’ about my blog is the amazing connections I have made with people from all over the world. I thrive on it; it inspires me, motivates me, grounds me, connects me, teaches me, humbles me. Having a blog is like a 24 hour on call best friend, nurse, doctor, shrink, shoulder to cry on and friend to rant to. I have ‘met’ the most amazing people. After my babies were born, I got gifts from all over the world, the USA, Europe, Japan, Israel, New Zealand… it was amazing.

Karen: When you’re having a crap day, what are the things most likely to crack a smile on your face?

Tertia: The crazy things my kids say. They come up with the funniest things. Three is a damn cute age. They are naughty little shits, but they are damn cute too. I think I will keep them.

Karen: I know almost nothing about South Africa, except that you’ve got hot rugby players. Please summarise South Africa in one sentence!

Tertia: We also have hot bloggers.
South Africa is a country is country of intense contrasts, so much opportunity alongside so much poverty, so much optimism alongside so much fear (crime), so new yet so old, so first world, yet so ‘third world’, so sophisticated yet so rural. Black and white. Old and young. Rich valleys, lush forests, dry plains. Such contrasts. A painful past, a hopeful future.

Oh, you wanted just a sentence. So difficult. I am so passionate about my country. South Africa is a land of hope and opportunity.

Karen: What is the best and worst thing about being living in South Africa?

Tertia: The best thing – being in Africa. The rich earth, the space, the weather. This is a beautiful country.

The worst thing – without doubt, the crime. We have a terrible problem with crime here. Just about the worst in the world.

Karen: Do you speak any other languages than English?

Tertia: When I grew up in the apartheid years, we were forced to do Afrikaans at school. So I speak English and Afrikaans (which is very similar to Dutch / Flemish)

Karen: I haven’t read your book “So Close : Infertile and addicted to hope” yet, but I loved reading your thoughts on it. What made you decide to write a book and share your story?

Tertia: As I mentioned above, a publisher approached me with an offer. Everyone had been telling me for years to write a book, but I could only write it when I had my ‘happily ever after’. I started writing the book when my twins were a few months old. It was only once I had my final chapter that I could start the book.

The really exciting news is that the book should be released in the UK next April. Which means it will EVENTUALLY be on Amazon.

Vote for So Close

Tertia’s site has also been nominated for “Best Parenting Blog” and “Hottest Mommy Blogger” at the Blogger’s Choice Awards. Vote for her! She needs some love!

(I’m also nominated for Best Parenting Blog, Best Design Blog, Best Blog of All Time, and Hottest Mommy Blogger - but you can vote for more than one person in each category!)

As part of my usual Monday posts on Blogging, Photography and Design, I’m also reviewing some blogs that I love reading, and greatly admire.

Although I don’t blog exclusively about food, I am most certainly a foodie at heart. I LOVE MY FOOD, and I just LOVE food blogs. So, I’d like you to meet The Food Pornographer.

If you’re looking for super-stylised, magazine-perfect, unblemished photography - you won’t find it here. This site is about REAL FOOD. Real food sitting on a plate, steaming and glistening, dripping with oil and sauces. Real food that you can actually buy, or cook.

As I scroll through her photographs, every olfactory gland in my body erupts with a craving desire. My eyes swell as large as my stomach. I can SMELL that plate of hot fried noodles. I can TASTE that steak burger.

Things I love about this blog

I love the name of the blog. It’s hilarious. And as you look through her photos, there’s that extra dimension that adds originality, humour and a tongue-in-cheek wit that you don’t find in most food blogs.

I love her spontaneous photography - all pictures are taken with a completely ordinary camera. No special lenses or fancy lights.

I love her quirky everyday stories - with everything pretty much centred on FOOD!

I love her honesty. She tells it like it is. If the meal was awful, she’ll say so and explain why. Likewise, if it’s great, she’ll rave about it, and your mouth will water.

So here are a few questions that I’ve been dying to ask her!

Interview

Karen: You obviously take a lot of pictures of your food while you are eating out. Does anyone ever ask you what you are doing? Do they think you are a government health inspector? Or a spy from another restaurant? What do you usually tell them?

TFP: Funnily enough, no one’s ever asked me! I do get strange looks from customers at adjacent tables. Occasionally I get laughed at by people who notice what I’m doing. But as long as they’re not getting in the way of my shots, I can put up with it.

I do my thing, then put the camera away and eat my food. I try not to take photos when I know staff are watching though, just in case they get paranoid for whatever reason and tell me to stop.

As long as no one prevents me from taking photos, I don’t really care what they think. If anyone were to ask me what I was doing though, I would tell them I have a food blog (as I do when people at parties ask).

Karen: What is the most disgusting thing you have ever eaten?

TFP: I bought a Filet O Fish from a McDonalds recently - the fish was all shrivelled up and BROWN - it smelled absolutely revolting.

Karen: The beautiful way you write about your food reveals you are a woman of deep passions. Do you make noises - when you eat?

TFP: I think I eat very quietly. But I do tend to eat too quickly and burn my tongue on hot food.

Karen: Do you get to eat for free because you do reviews?

TFP: I was given a freebie meal once by a restaurant, but then I felt like I couldn’t write freely about what I thought of the meal. I didn’t like that feeling of being ethically compromised - feeling obliged to only write good things.

I’d love to be paid to write my reviews, but so far that hasn’t happened. I just write for my own pleasure and the pleasure of my readers - for free!

Karen: At your funeral, what meal will be served to the guests?

TFP: Hmmm. Hard to decide if it would be Western or Asian food. It would be cool to have guests eat some of my favourite dishes from childhood - lotus root soup, pongteh, minchee, Malaysian-style chicken curry and rice pork chok with all the trimmings.

But then a barbecue would be great too. A very meaty barbie, with sausages, lamp chops, pork chops, marinated chicken thighs, barbecued onions and garlic field mushrooms. Mmmmm.

Vote for The Food Pornographer!

The Food Pornographer has been nominated for “Best Food Blog” and “Best Photography Blog” in the 2008 round of the Bloggers Choice Awards (where I’ve also been nominated in four categories).

If you’d like to vote for The Food Pornographer, or me, or just surf some amazing blogs in a wide range of categories, then:

1) Go to http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com
NOTE: If you have already voted for me you won’t need to create a new user account – just skip to step 3.

2) Create an account - you do have to fill in everything, except the “choose a picture”, and you do have to give a real e-mail address. A message will appear telling you to check your e-mail for a confirmation message. Mine arrived in less than thirty seconds, and you click on the link in the message.

3) On the right hand side of the screen is a “search” box. Type in the word “FoodPornographer” or “KarenCheng” (all one word).

4) Click on the drop down menu called “Choose a Category to View this Blog” and you will see a list of all the different categories we’ve have been nominated for. Choose any one of the four nominations.

5) It will load up a little profile of the website, and there will be a yellow “vote” button. Hit the vote button! It will turn to a set of question marks, and then you can just quickly click on the other categories as well.

Next week – more blog loving!

Following on from my Photoshop Tips : How To Put An Object On A White Background, I thought I’d tackle the frequently asked question -
How do I select an object from a coloured background and place it onto a white (or different) background?

In this example, I will use a photo of my son Callum, during Christmas 2004.

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Last week I introduced the topic How Busy People Take Great Photos and how you don’t need an expensive professional camera to get outstanding results.

This week I’ve written up some tips to help turn an average photo into a great photo!

1) Get in close to the object – fill the picture with the object, play with the camera’s macro setting.

Example 1 : During our recent camping holiday, we stopped by the side of the road to take a picture of a termite hill. It was bigger than I was! It was huge!

In the left photo, I stood some way back and took a standard profile photo of it. Very plain. In the right photo, I’ve gone right up to the object and stooped down low, resulting in a more dramatic photo. I also wanted to bring out the texture of the mound, so I made sure the sun shone at an angle that allowed the lumps to cast shadows.

2) Lighting – as a general rule, natural diffused lighting is always best. Look at how the way the light falls on the object carefully in order use it to your best advantage. Try not to use the flash. I wrote about turning off the flash here.

Example 2 : Left photo with flash - harsh shadows, too bright and lots of glare. Right without flash - crisp and natural image.

3) Composition – Try interesting angles, don’t always put your object in the centre, add some depth, be mindful of how your eye will move through the image.

Example 3 : Again, during our holiday, we stopped to take a picture of this amusing road sign.

In the left photo, although the subject fills the whole frame, it looks very plain. In the right photo, I put the main subject in the bottom left of the frame and added depth by including the striking perspective of the long straight road.

4) Focus on the essence of the object / story – whether it’s the texture, or the strange form, or the eyes, choose one and run with it.

5) Design your photo – Before you take the snap, try rearranging some objects, change the background, add props, or change the position to change the shadow and light.

Example 4 & 5 : The other day, I wrote about Sean’s New Bike and wanted to take a picture for my post.

It was a very sunny day, and after taking a few photos of the bike – by itself – I realised that a boring photo of a bike won’t actually ADD anything to my story. Plus the sunlight was too strong, making lots of distracting shadows, and the colour of the bike got lost against the green grass and the pattern of the brick paving.

So I brought the bike to the deep shade (ie: indirect, diffuse lighting) of my gazebo, set the bike up against a light and plain coloured insect screen, and sat my smiling son on top of it! Although only half the bike appears in the photo, I believe the photo focuses much more on the essence of the image and narrative.

6) Know When To Stop - Sometimes too much changing, experimenting and playing with this and that, can distract you from the essence of the image and make it look fake or staged, rather than capture the natural beauty of the moment. Plus it take a lot of time.

In my experience, I’ve often found that my first or second photographs were the ones I end up choosing, even if I took a hundred snaps!

Thought I’d share this – Top 50 Australian Women Bloggers.

Aside from completely making my day, I’m deeply honoured and jittery with delight that my site - “Snippets of Life” is at THIRD place! Coooool!

It really is such a great way to get to know new women created blogs out there, especially with an Australian focus.

So if you’re an Australian woman blogger, or a woman blogger living in Australia, drop Leigh an email to let her know about your site!

So, it’s approaching that time of year again – Blog Awards!

I have been nominated for the Bloggers Choice Awards 2008 – in 4 categories! Thanks! I’m honoured! It be great if you could spend a few minutes voting for me! And, you can get to see some other cool blogs out there as well.

I must say, for a website about blogs, Bloggers Choice Awards website is a bit confusing, but if you follow these simple steps —

1) Go to http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com

2) Create an account - you do have to fill in everything, except the “choose a picture”, and you do have to give a real e-mail address.

A message will appear telling you to check your e-mail for a confirmation message. Mine arrived in less than thirty seconds, and you click on the link in the message.

3) On the right hand side of the screen is a “search” box. Type in the word “cheng”.

A list of entries will appear, and mine - “KarenCheng.com.au” - will probably be on top of the list.

4) Click on the drop down menu called “Choose a Category to View this Blog” and you will see a list of all the different categories I have been nominated for. Choose any one of the four nominations.

5) It will load up a little profile of my website, and there will be a yellow “vote” button. Hit the vote button! It will turn to a set of question marks, and then you can just quickly click on the other 3 categories as well, to vote for me in those categories.

THANKS SO MUCH! (I love you guys!)

Lots of people email me to ask, how do I take my photos? What kind of camera do I have?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some techniques I use for getting great images, and also tips and tricks in Photoshop to enhance dull photos.

If you have any more photography questions, let me know and I’ll try to answer them in my upcoming posts.

Firstly. I do have a professional design background, and having an indepth understanding of photography is part of the job – so I know about lighting, shutter speeds, apertures, composition etc. That helps a lot.

But, I’m also a mother – a busy one! Everyday I rush about here and there, carting around two boys, so I don’t have enough room in the pram for expensive, bulky camera gear, lens and tripods, not to mention time, or extra energy or brain space.

So how do I go about getting cool shots that defines THAT beautiful moment?

I’ve had to come up with various photography methods that work for me.

1) Find a camera that works for you!

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on pro camera gear and gadgets. I use a cheap, simple, compact camera, and carry it everywhere. So when the mood takes me, or a magic moment happens, the camera is there.

I currently own a Canon Powershot A700 which I throw into the bottom of the nappy bag. It rattles around with the water bottles, sun cream and sandwiches. It does get bashed around a bit, so owning an expensive pro camera is completely out of the question for me.

It’s also nice and compact, so when I’m out at a party I can pop it into my handbag.

The previous camera I had was a Canon Powershot S45 – but it mysteriously stopped working one day. The repair guy said that it had been “subject to wet conditions” so I presume my kids must have spilled something on it. The repair bill was more than a new camera.

My current camera was 6 weeks old, when I smashed the front of the lens casing. But it still takes pictures and it works just fine!

2) Turn off the Flash!

This is my number one tip for good looking photos. Most flashed photos produce a stark, over-bright, red-eyed, dark-background look.

I recommend going with natural, diffuse lighting. Pro photographers spend a lot of time getting strong diffuse light. Of course, when I’m out and about, I don’t have a strong diffuse light, so my images may blur a little.

For example – this is one of my favourite photos.

It was an overcast day (producing a nice diffuse light). I was panning the camera with the boys on the bike, so they are quite sharp, but Callum’s legs are blurred, as is the background. But it works, because you get a great sense of speed, and the effort Callum’s making. Flash would have ruined the moment.

This is a more recent photo.

I simply passed the camera (with flash already turned off) to my friend, with clear instructions “TRY not to move when you press the button!” Plus we stood very still.

Since the flash wasn’t set, the camera shutter had to be open for a long time. So the people moving past ARE blurry, and we were not. It has a nice soft light, and a cool effect in the background. This would have been a very ordinary picture with flash. It doesn’t always work, but I love the results overall.

To be continued…

I’ll be writing more about How To Take Great Photos - The Basics of Photography and Photoshop Tips and Tricks, and more!

There’s a small write up about me and my site in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper today. So welcome to all new readers from the SMH! Grab a cuppa and let me show you around!

There are over 700 posts here, on a wide variety of topics - perhaps you might like to start with a selection of my Favourite Posts, or use the categories menu on the right hand side.

Feel free to read through my month by month Archives, you may like to start with September 2006, August 2006, January 2005, February 2007.

Or look at a gallery of Graphical Headers I create for this site.

Or you can read About me and this site.

Or subscribe to my RSS feed.

And please do say hi here! Enjoy!

Over the years, I’ve been pretty crap with my email. I get lots. From simple hellos. To lovely long stories. To great suggestions. To interesting questions. To quick little responses to my posts. Even hate mail. I get LOTS of emails and I read every one of them. They really make my day. And each day, they convince me that this site is worth keeping up.

However, life has just been so busy, and being a mum is rather time consuming – so I haven’t been able to respond to very many of them. Please don’t think I’m ignoring you!

I’m going to try to respond to more emails from now on, and answer some frequently asked questions in my posts. So keep those emails coming! I love hearing from you all!