Steamed Pork Mince with Salted Duck Egg (photo: ATFT / Billy Law)
I'm impressed with Billy's work in the same way I pause to appreciate the skill of a great landscape artist. What I see is dedication to a specific form of the craft, a finely honed talent that has been applied with conviction. The result is emotive, expressive and lovely.
Variety is the spice of life, and getting variety into food shots is much harder than it looks. I doubt Billy does much studio work to publish photos on his website, they seem to be in-situ images with available light. I love that for starters. I might even argue that by working with available light you get even more inspiration to draw from, compared to the contrived environment of a studio. Billy breaks up the food with vignettes of people, rooms and artifacts, and finally he brings it together with great flare.
Presentation is important of course, so it helps the Billy is a designer and knows how to build a website. Again I observe that the crossing of artistic areas produces great things. Any of us photographer could likely rummage through "A Table for Two" and take inspiration on the presentation, plus discover where to get coffee in Melbourne's lanes, a Russian feast in Sydney's suburbs or help victims of war in Cambodia.
Variety is the spice of photography.
