May is National Photography Month.  Today we are presenting a quick photography guide.  While most of these tips will apply to many subjects, our aim today is food photography.  Because food plays such an important part in all of our nesting efforts it accounts for about 40% of the posts here at Today’s Nest.  We cover lots of other topics, but let’s face it… we all love food.

Please keep in mind that the following is just a quick guide to get you started.  Photography is fascinating and there is much to learn.  Beyond the technical stuff, you must find what appeals to you.  You are producing a creative extension of yourself.  Every tip won’t work for everyone.  Find what works best for you and make your photos your own.

savour… a thousand words

Pizza is one of our favorite things.  It is for many people.  Really GOOD pizza is hard to find.  The good news is making it at home is easier than you may think.  The trouble for most who try it at home unsuccessfully is that they want the desired results, but they aren't using the right tools.  

Today we are revisiting one of our very first posts.  You may not have been following then.  This is such an important topic to us that we thought it deserved another shot.  There is a follow up post for the actual making of the pizza.  We'll be cleaning that one up soon.  In the meantime...

savour... being well-equipped

I've been putting this post off long enough.

I don't know if the word has finally spread or if it's because it is National Photography Month, but my calendar has been full of photography jobs lately.  Of course, I don't mind, but I am admittedly a little surprised at the amount work coming my way.  That's the last I'm going to say about it before I jinx myself.

I have intended to write this post and share some behind the scenes stuff for many months now.  I received a couple of emails lately that sparked new interest in this post for me.  Now seems like the perfect time.

savour... the inside track

When we first met, my would be wife and I lived on the East Coast.  We travelled frequently to Myrtle Beach for fun in the sun.  There is a terrific boardwalk there and plenty of stuff to do.  As has always been the case, our adventures circled around food.  There is certainly no shortage of food or restaurants in Myrtle Beach and, in fact, I had what I believe to be the best service in a restaurant EVER at Rossi’s Italian Restaurant… but that’s another story.

One of our very favorite things to take away from the beach, like so many others, is Saltwater Taffy.  Not only does this scream beach trip, but also summer.  As we approach the season and celebrate National Taffy Day, we thought it might be a good time to offer up our favorite saltwater taffy recipe.  Our recipe is, and will remain, soft.  Not all recipes will call for glycerin, but we use it because taffy making without it can result in a big, hard, albeit tasty, lump.

savour… summer sweetness

We hope you are enjoying the look and feel of our newly improved site.  We have been cleaning up some of our older posts over the last week or two to make the look consistent.  Also, quite a few of these posts were written long before so many of you began visiting our site.

This post, The Right Tools: Baking Cookies, was written within our first week blogging, but I feel so strongly about it that I knew it would have to be re-posted to get the attention it deserves.  It is vital information for anyone who loves to bake cookies.  I added one or two things I left out the first go around and updated the photos just a bit.  Enjoy...

We're on a mission to 'take back the weekend'.  It's so hard to balance it all.  Ambition and checklists often take over.  In this life, where the goal is not to enjoy the destination but the journey to it, we sometimes forget to explore the goodness in our own backyard.

This weekend we drove over to one of the gems of Dallas, the Bishop Arts District.  The entire area is just a few blocks total, but they have managed to squeeze in mad taste in a small spot.  Here are some pics from our fieldtrip. Enjoy...

Last night we had our third monthly Nest Chat on twitter.  It was a great deal of fun and loads of links and tips were shared.  I put out a call to Giada DeLaurentiis to join us, but she couldn't make it... I guess.  Maybe we'll catch her the next time.  Speaking of that, our next scheduled chat is on Wednesday, June 20 at 8pE 7pC.  I hope you will join us!

After the jump you will find a summary of the entire chat.  I have pulled out as much of it as possible while still keeping the integrity of the conversation.  Read as much as you wish, but do take some time to check out some of the links that were shared.  For example, I cannot wait to learn more about  Grilled Pears & Drunk Cookie Crumble.  

Learn more about all of the folks who joined us on Twitter.  You can see a full list of all NestChat attendees to here.  If you came, thanks a million. If you didn't, we hope you will next time.  Until then...