Daniel Greene

Category: Photography

Posts with photos, about photos, and about photography itself

  • Homemade chicken Caesar salad – a product of love

    Some people make fun of me for posting photos of my food (my husband included). No, wait– people make fun of me for taking photos of my food. The posting part is beyond belief. Other people say, “I love your food pictures!” Or, “Thanks a lot, Daniel. Now I’m hungry!”

    I like taking photos of food because food is beautiful, food is delicious, food is comforting and nourishing. Eating is not being hungry. Eating healthy food is being healthy. A good plate of food is supposed to delight your eye and make your mouth water. A good plate of food is an accomplishment– it means you earned your food, you planned your meal (or improvised it), you prepared (and/or cooked) your food, and you plated it with love and gusto.

    This meal was a collaboration between me and my husband. He marinated the chicken while I was at work. After I came home, he grilled the chicken while I soaked some croutons in Caesar dressing, tossed in some bagged romaine lettuce, and shredded some parmegiano reggiano cheese. While I was slicing the rind off part of the cheese, I nicked my thumb and drew a bit of blood (it didn’t get on the food). Andy put a bandage on my thumb and I put it up to his lips so he could “kiss it and make it better.” I smiled and said, “That was almost worth getting a boo-boo for.” And then we ate our meal together.

    So I take this photo to celebrate the glory of food, to express thanks for the food I receive, and to remember the love, humor, and partnership that went into making this simple meal. It is a blessing.

  • Andy & I celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary simply

    We didn’t go out to a fine French restaurant or the Compass Room with its 360º view of the Valley. No. This year we just got Pizza Hut stuffed crust pepperoni pizza and chicken wings. We watched Bounty Hunter which, little did we know, ended with the phrase “Happy anniversary, darling.” And we took a walk around the neighborhood. A nice simple afternoon / evening together.

  • Adventures in Grocery Shopping

    Halva floss, yogurt soda, and sesame bread sticks from Aziz Market. We’re pretty adventurous eaters at the Smithers–Greene.

    Review? The halva floss tasted good, but I thought halva necessarily meant made with tahini (sesame butter) as many “halvas” are. Now I guess it just means candy. The yogurt soda was unique– pungent, goaty, and tart. Very strong flavor that would probably go best with Greek or Middle Eastern food. The sesame sticks are, well, less sweet than your typical breadsticks. They are heavily coated with sesame seeds which gives them a slightly bitter taste. Good though.

  • Pretty perspective



    Pretty perspective
    Originally uploaded by Daniel Greene.

    Pretty view through the blinds looking out at our patio and backyard. I’ve been holding onto this photo for a while but just wanted to share it because I think it’s so pretty. It also makes me feel grateful to have a home with a patio and backyard, to live in a beautiful city, and to live with a handsome husband and our two playful, loving, funny dogs. It’s the little things.

  • How to upload vertical video taken with a mobile phone

    This is a brief video I uploaded to see if a movie rotated in QuickTime 7 Pro can appear on YouTube in vertical format. I took this video with my Nexus One upright (vertically) at the Sea Life Aquarium in Tempe at the Arizona Mills shopping mall. Looks like it worked! How to do this? Quoted from QuickTime 7 Pro help:

    To resize or rotate a QuickTime movie:
    In QuickTime Player 7, choose Window > Show Movie Properties.
    In the Properties window, select a video track and click Visual Settings.
    To resize the movie, type new numbers in the Current Size fields.
    To keep the same height-to-width proportions, select Preserve Aspect Ratio.
    To rotate the movie, click one of the rotate buttons.