The Mystic Light of Food

The Marquis de Sade once pointed out that, ‘Those who define are the masters.’ And it’s hard to argue with the fact that those who make the rules, run the game. In commerce, this shows up when firms coin a new term that they hope will redefine the marketplace, thus providing a competitive advantage. I thought of this recently after receiving a press release from StockFood.com, which describes itself as ‘the world’s largest food media agency.’

In that regard it perhaps doesn’t have much competition but the firm clearly does offer a solid collection of stock photography and footage dedicated to food, comprised of images from more than 1,000 photographers. Beyond that, StockFood has a history of identifying ‘trends’ such as Blue Light, Shabby Chic, Berry Colors and ‘the strong pastel style known as Passion Fruits.’

Mystic Light is the latest of these and supposedly ‘shows the influence of the Scandinavian photographers who first exploited light effects of northern Europe, where Mystic Light originated. Cool Nordic lighting makes an effective contrast with much darker background colors, which are sometimes almost black. The minimalist arrangements of food and drink in these shots are reminiscent of the classic still life. Props are kept simple and frill free. Overall, the images create an impression of mystery, even fantasy, an effect often associated with the white nights of midsummer in the far North. The photographs evoke ancient myths and conjure new stories.’

The ancient myths angle may be a bit of a stretch but I can’t argue that the images, which include many shot by noted Scandinavian photographers, do stand out from current food photography, which is for the most part pretty banal. You can check out the images in the Mystic Light collection and decide for yourself. Personally, I remain unconvinced about Passion Fruits.

I’ve included a few more of their promotional clips below for no better reason than they’re fun to watch.

Hungry yet?