No photography details for the photo above - it was taken with my iPhone 15 using a medium zoom setting. And one of the most popular subjects posted on social media are photographs of food. Should we all be paying more attention to this popular genre of photography?

The subject is a roast vegetable pie (I'm vegetarian), purchased from The Upper Crust pie shop at Long Reef in Sydney. The pie shop is directly opposite my studio/office and an ongoing temptation.

As you can clearly see, the pie has no upper crust, rather a lower crust only. However, I'm assured that meat eaters can purchase pies with upper crusts as well, hence the nomenclature retains its authenticity.

The lighting is from overhead halogens, unfiltered and way too contrasty, but in the tradition of great documentary photographers like David Oliver and Michael Coyne, I have used available light. Key to the photograph's expected and unmitigated success is the striking composition using an office-supplied white China plate, creating a strong curve through the top of the image, and the bright, saturated splash of colour provided by the red capsicum garnish (also know as red peppers for our Northern Hemisphere readers). There's a red cherry tomato buried in there (or half a red cherry tomato if the chef is running low on stock), but that is incidental to the composition due to a lack of visibility.

The trick to this photograph is ensuring the red capsicum doesn't stick to the inside of the paper bag in which it is delivered. Hot out of the oven, the pie is transferred with stainless steel tongs to the brown paper packaging, the paper ends twisted shut and the bag placed on the counter. I take the package back across the road to eat, but during the transfer, complicated chemistry is at work on the inside of the paper bag. The capsicum adheres to the inside of the top of the bag and were it not for my carefully observant photographer's eye, I would miss out on it. Fortunately, it is attention to details like this that make the difference between a great pie and an average one, and a great photograph and a lesser one.

Maybe I should re-title this blog with 'Don't Forget To Have A Pie'?