Camera Gear as a Photographer
I wanted to have a chat about the professional photography equipment that I use as I get asked this question regularly.
Being a professional photographer in Perth the cost of a camera isn’t as much of a problem to me as these are my work tools. In general when I shoot in a café it’s natural light, so I don’t add in any flash or artificial light source, nor bounce any light of reflectors etc.
My camera is a Canon 1Dx, which is the top of the range latest model from Canon, with a full frame sensor and 21Megapixels. In most cases I shoot with a Canon 50mm f1.2 lens, and the other times I use, Canon 70-200mm f2.8, Canon 24-70mm f2.8, Canon 16-35mm f2.8 lenses. It all depends on the café that I walk into and what the lighting is like. I always have 2 cameras on me and 1 back up, just in case.
When I’m on a commercial job or a wedding, I can’t take any chances so the 1D cameras are the best for me. One of the huge features is that each photo is in 2 places at each time as the camera
In general most cafes don’t know who I am and I try to conceal the camera, so I only walk in with one of them. Once I get my coffee I then take out the laptop and camera so the product is on the table and ready for me to drink and take photos.
Today we went to Sherbet again, we do enjoy this place and my daughter loves their cupcakes and other sweet things. Today she decided to have one of their brownies with cream, as you can see a before and after shot here, it went down like a treat.
Coffee was also exceptional – as usual. You can definitely get an excellent coffee here each time you walk in, irrespective of who is on the coffee machine. One of the biggest issues is cafes is staff change, where each person has their own way of making coffee, so to get your staff lined up with a little variance is important, so when we “customers” come in we can get a coffee that is made and tastes just like we remember and like it to be.
Chocolate Brownie
And all done – a good sign
VERDICT: Yummy brownies.
Read MoreSherbet Cafe – Long vs Mini Machs
I did a little comparison to show how much coffee vs milk in a mini or long mach. You can see that the volume of milk is significantly bigger in a long mach, hence the “long”. Still in a glass, so you can see the coffee and milk ratio.
Mini Mach on Left and Long on Right
And now with milk in it:
Machs with milk
And for the individual shot of the Long Mach:
Long Mach
And another shot… couldn’t help myself:
Long Mach
Check out Sherbet Bake Shop.
As usual, coffee was sensational here at Sherbet. No matter when I walk through the door it’s always buzzing with great atmosphere and coffee is exceptional. If you’re into cupcakes and other cakes – this is your heaven, you can dine in and enjoy a cupcake or piece of one of their other cakes. If you need a cake to take home, order one ahead of time as they do get busy here with their orders, you can take credit for it when you get home.
Sherbet is Perth’s Cupcake central.
Cupcakes at Sherbet
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Long Mach at Lincolns 102 Cafe
A couple quick shots of my coffee at Lincoln 102 Cafe in Highgate. I must admit the coffee was exceptional, well extremely well, temperature was spot on. I couldn’t fault if I tried.
The Aqua Coffee Machine
My Long Mach
Latte art on top
Coffee like food tastes better when it’s presented well, and a touch of latte art makes all the difference, it doesn’t take too much effort to do this pattern, it is the most common one applied to top of coffees but makes all the difference.
Read MoreThe Daily, Swanbourne Cafe – Review
At “The Daily” at Swanbourne shops today. A new place that opened last year (2011) and a very good contribution to this area. This strip needed a good coffee shop, and “The Daily Espresso Bar” answered.
The Dancing Goat is across the railway from these guys, but it’s healthy to have 2 or a few top spots close together, this way you have a good selection to go to when you need a great coffee.
The atmosphere in this place is very trendy, cool, with exposed bricks, light wood coloured book cases (crates) and a very cool service bar. Sitting is on stools, at bars, so no tables to sit at, but bar chairs, so once again adds to the whole great feel in this place. Cool tunes, a small kitchen supports this 14 seater café. I can imagine that this place does a roaring trade in the morning for the training work crowd.
You can get a full suite of coffees here as well as flat bread, cakes, muffins and croissants.
Long Mach at The Daily
OK, over to the coffee. Served in a glass, my medium mach started off very well, sensational crema and temperature, good to drink straight away. Coffee was not burned or tarnished in any way, so it tasted sensational.Wish I had more time to have another one, but it will have to wait till another time.
I didn’t ask, nor were there any bags showing the brand, but the coffee tasted like 5 Senses – I know the taste pretty well now, so I’m 99% sure it was – unless someone out there is roasting the same beans in the same way.
The cafe is pretty small but it got a good volume of traffic flow through it while I was there, so they are doing things right as people are coming and going. Each customer is treated in a very friendly manner, which is great to see. It shows that the staff here enjoy what they do and the locals keep on coming back.
I watched the barista make another coffee and all care was taken heating the milk (fresh each time), pulling the espresso and also the making of it all.
This is my second time here, and it’s very friendly and nice to be here.
Contact details for The Daily in Swanbourne.
Read MoreChapels on Whatley – Tea Heaven
I can only handle so many coffees in one day, so when I am still ready to keep going, I go to a tea place. A perfect spot on Whatley Crescent in Maylands exists, it’s called “Chapels on Whatley“.
If you are into tea, you may already be aware of this sensational place. I love my green tea and appreciate a good cup. Recently I started to explore teas a bit more than usual and am slowly working my taste buds through their extensive range.
At the moment I’m drinking their Bai Hao Silver Needle tea, which is a white tea. This tea is the premium of teas, and it’s the 1st leaf that appears on the tea tree, it’s only picked once a year which is in spring. The tea comes from Fuijian province in China. It’s the most expensive tea you can get your hands on, it’s the one with most antioxidants and least caffeine in it. So if your body needs some antioxidants, you’ve found your perfect match, as this is as as good as it gets.
Here are some photos of Bai Hao Silver Needle Tea
This tea has a slight yellow colour to it and is very easy to drink, I brew mine in a large mug and let the leaves loose to extract, allowing them to sink naturally. Most people don’t like the leaves floating, but they sink and they don’t end up in your mouth, so I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. I can drink 2 to 3 cups of this tea easily in one night, it’s great to drink.
At Chapels, they run Tea Tasting classes which are only $15.95. It will be worth doing and introduce your taste buds to the world of teas and appreciate what is what.
More about Chapels in Whatley Read More
