My beloved little dude is such a ham, what can I say. When he’s roaming around the house, he just wants to be where I am at all times. When I’m cooking, this means he likes to be RIGHT at my feet, which can make moving around the kitchen a slow and tricky process.
Mortimer is a Cherry Head Red-Footed Tortoise and he is the cutest thing that ever lived, next to our fluff ball of a dog of course. He’s currently all of 9 years old, but he likes to act like he’s still a hatchling (except when he starts doing a mating dance with his hut… don’t ask). He has a hint of pyramiding from the life he had before he came to be my best bud, but since then his shell has continued to get smoother and smoother (I’m neurotic about his diet and humidity levels). But enough tortoise facts… I could go on forever.
This is his typical hang out spot when I’m cooking… please ignore how desperately I need a pedicure.
If I’m trying to take photos of my food, often times my limited counter space is full of cooking implements and doesn’t have any room for “staging” purposes. This is where my floor comes in handy. I can sit down there in some good natural light and take photos of my food to my heart’s content. One problem: Mortimer.
He is convinced that he needs to be paid attention to at all times, which means that he needs to be as close to me as physically possible. (He’s lucky he’s so cute).
When I’m having to constantly pick up all 5 or so lbs of Mortimer and move him away from my food setup every 30 seconds, it takes a heck of a lot longer to take photos of what I need to than I would like. My expertise is really just in the cooking portion of things if I’m being honest. This whole photo business takes some serious time.
I highly recommend taking your food photos out of reach of your favorite dinosaurs. If they’re anything like Mortimer here, they’re going to want to be right where you are at all times, especially if there is a veggie or fruit involved. Then again, having him follow me around the house is half the fun. Proceed at your own risk!
