Moroccan Chicken Tagine...And Photo Problems

The only photo that came out was of the sliced olives.

So here's the deal -- last weekend, I made an EPIC Moroccan tagine-style stew ("style," because it was cooked in a dutch oven, not a tagine. It had chickpeas, a thick, tomato stew sauce, ripe green olives, plump raisins, and delectable, fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs. It stewed in fresh-ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and paprika, and the meat just exploded with those flavors. I ate it over a quinoa couscous which I made with chicken stock, cumin, parsley, and oregano. The dish was sweet, it was tangy, it was filling, it was satisfying -- and I don't have a damn picture to show for it. Not really, at least.

You see, I take my pictures with my real camera, not my camera phone. That camera is a four or five year-old Panasonic Lumix, a point-and-shoot, and it's taken some brilliant photos of breath-taking beauty. Glacier National Park, Israel, cherry blossoms -- this camera has done great.

Except my camera can't do low-light, and guess what? I cook at night.

The flash washes EVERYTHING out (and with food we want color and vibrancy!); without the flash, all photos are blurry. There are probably technical terms for all this, but I dunno.

Now, I know I could set up little soft, white light lamps and screens or something, but I live in a house with roommates and don't feel like constantly setting up and taking down stuff like that. Plus, I'm going on some big boy vacations this year (back home for Acadia National Park for sure; Mayan pyramids in the Yucatan for maybe) and want awesome, better-than-totally-amateur photos of these jaunts.

So, readers with answers: I'm going to invest in a new camera. I want it to be a high-end digital point and shoot, something that will take great pics, something worth learning the ins-and-outs of, but nothing SLR or huge/wicked expensive. Can someone point me in the right direction? I'll, you know, make you pickles or cookies or something.

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[Joanne]

What price range is "high end" point and shoot? I don't know, personally I think you should bite the bullet and consider going for the dSLR. I had a hard time with the though of paying for one (the cheapest one it seems is the Canon Rebel for $500), but if you are already going to spend $250 on the high end point and shoot, do you think it'd be worth spending another $250? The difference in quality between the two is pretty big and you can do MUCH more with the dSLR...and the dSLR should last you a long time if you take care of it. Just my two cents. Pete and I bought the dSLR not just for my food blog stuff but also for every day life, vacations, etc. It's just nice to have amazing photographs all the time =)

[yorday]

Sam! I saw a picture of your blog on facebook and decided I have no choice but to follow you! Then I saw this post and was thoroughly impressed! Moroccan tagine?! Nice work. I have a traditional clay tagine that I'll of course be bringing back to the states with me. Too bad I'm one of the worst cooks in the world and have barely touched it. Come to Reno after I come home in November and you can actually put my tagine to use AND eat Ethiopian food at my mom's restaurant!!!