Food Photo Competition 2013 No 3 : Entry Number 31

In the flame light of a pizza oven. Well done for this interesting, original and very tasty shot. Perhaps more focus on the pizza would have been better for this theme, holding the eye on the pizza rather than the fire.

This shot was taken at one of the inaugural events for a new mobile wood fired oven business owned by a friend. The oven is actually mounted in a custom built trailer. The oven's opening is relatively small, but the oven is a large dome inside and I wanted to catch the roundness and some of the dome, with the drama of the flames and the bubbling of the pizza toppings. I had to literally hold my camera inside the 1200 degree oven, but could do so for only a few seconds to avoid damaging it (or me). This left little time for focusing, so I had to rely heavily on my autofocus. The camera was my Nikon D700 with Nikkor 16mm Fisheye lens. I'm quite happy with the results and the photo is being used in promotional materials for the business! Thank you for the Mark of Excellence! Kimberly Herold, Alachua, FL.