Grab Your Fork’s food blogger, Helen Yee, leaves readers drooling, thanks to tantalising images and juicy descriptions of her frequent dining experiences.

Helen Yee’s love affair with food began at an early age. Childhood memories of weekend trips to yum cha in Chinatown make up some of her “happiest memories”. She fondly recalls these occasions as “a whole sensory experience”.

“From the train ride into the city and then entering the chaotic dining room filled with a traffic jam of dim sum trolleys and waiters calling their wares."

“There was always a squabble over the Har Gao prawn dumplings and the egg custard tarts and no yum cha was complete without a steamer basket of chicken feet braised with black beans and chilli,” she remembers.

These days Yee’s penchant for fine dining and food of all flavours and nations has earned her a reputation as one of the country’s leading food bloggers. Her blog Grab Your Fork has an avid following of foodies and allows Helen to combine her two passions, food and photography.

Indeed Yee says she has always “loved the idea that taking a photo enables you to freeze a moment in time,” explaining “there’s also something special about choosing exactly what part of the scene you want to include in your frame.” And what better occasions to capture, than dining out with family and friends?


Right: ‘Bunny Chow’, Photo by Helen Yee. Nikon D90, 50mm f/2.5, 1/1000sec, 1250 ISO
Left: ‘Durian’, Photo by Helen Yee. Nikon D90, 50mm f/2.8, 1/1000sec, 400 ISO

Yee recalls with excitement the moment that she stumbled upon her first food blog in 2004. “I remember that moment of revelation that self-publishing existed, and realising there was a community of people out there who were as obsessed with food as I was! There weren’t many food blogs in Australia at that moment, but it only took a week for me to take the plunge and start my own.” Yee believes that the wonderful thing about blogging is that it’s a leveller – “anyone can do it.”

“It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you live. As long as you have access to the internet, you can share your thoughts with anyone and everyone in the world. You can analyse your traffic statistics but you never really know who’s reading it - I’m always pleasantly surprised when I meet readers of Grab Your Fork!”

She thinks the key to keeping her readers engaged is to “always write with honesty” and comments that “including your personality [in a post] is half the fun”.

She admits that she tries to “celebrate” food with her blog as she is fascinated with food from all cultures. “I have a commitment to nose-to-tail eating. If we’re going to eat an animal, I think it’s only courtesy to eat everything, and besides, it’s amazing how delicious tripe can be! I love sweetbreads
and livers and deep-fried brains!”

Of course Yee’s blog also features some great images of all the dishes she’s become acquainted with during her food blogging adventures.

“I’m a very visual person, so I find that food photos are an essential part of my blog posts. You can describe a dish in intimate detail, but a photograph of an exquisitely plated dish will always stop someone in their tracks. Writing about the food is still important - a photograph doesn’t convey how a dish smells or tastes or the textures you experience with each mouthful. I also find people read blogs at work, on the train, on their phones - sometimes people don’t have time to read every word, but compelling food photos are a powerful way to maintain their interest.”

This article is courtesy of the ‘My Nikon Life’ magazine, Issue 3. For more inspirational stories and images, join My Nikon Life and subscribe for your free bi-annual magazine. You could also WIN your camera of choice simply by subscribing for the magazine. Find out more here.

For more information on a selection of cameras that Nikon have chosen especially for food photography fans whether you are a compact point-and-shooter or a DSLR user, visit our Nikon gear page to see which one suits you.

For Food Blogging Nikon recommends: The Nikon 1 advanced compact camera system - a simple point-and-shoot that is compact enough to fit in your bag but with unique features and interchangeable lenses for advanced image quality and creative flexibility. Find out more.