Through My Eyes

Food + Family · Julia Busuttil Nishimura

Today we continue ‘Through My Eyes’, our new photo essay series, in partnership with Olympus.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura is an Italian teacher by trade, and a passionate local foodie.  Julia has a brilliant blog called OSTRO, where she documents the delectable dishes she makes at home, along with snaps of her home life with husband Nori and super cute bub, Haruki!

Julia has an intuitive way of capturing intimate family moments on camera. Today she shares a beautiful series of  photographs inspired by food + family, taken on the new Olympus PEN-F.

Written
by
Julia Busuttil Nishimura
This series is proudly supported by Olympus

‘Our table is the centre of our home and is always covered with platters of seasonal fruit. At the moment it’s all about quinces, pears and Victorian walnuts.’ says Julia. Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘My Mum has been teaching me some of her Mum’s Maltese recipes lately. We made this rabbit pie together and ate it for lunch with a crisp salad.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘A slow Sunday with a roast, rosemary potatoes and a glass of red’. Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘Haruki and Nori hanging out in the front garden. Haruki absolutely LOVES trees and flowers.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘I have a thing for cheese and I always pick up something special every week at the market. This was the most amazing French goat’s milk cheese branded with a leaf.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘I bake my own bread a few times a week. It’s super relaxing and amazing warm from the oven with freshly made butter. On colder days I prove the dough on the warm oven door.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘On the weekends we often eat a traditional Japanese breakfast of rice, miso and tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled egg omelette). They’re my favourite kind of breakfasts!.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘I love the ritual of having coffee at home. Nori makes it every morning and if I’m lucky I get to drink it in bed.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘The mantle is where I sit some of my precious items – a small painting that belonged to my grandmother and some ceramics from Japan.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

‘Haruki in our lounge room. Now that he is crawling, he is always exploring.’ Photo by Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

Writer
Julia Busuttil Nishimura
12th of May 2016

I live in Melbourne with my husband Nori, our eight-month-old son, Haruki, and our cat Momoko. I’m constantly in the kitchen cooking, preserving or baking. I share my recipes over at OSTRO and am always planning new dishes or preparing for upcoming workshops. I also teach Italian and in my spare time curate an online shop of Japanese homewares called Minami with Nori.

I started documenting my cooking when I lived in Italy six years ago – it was really food heaven and I loved taking photographs of the food I would create in my tiny apartment. Although I’ve always been enamoured with food styling and have poured over cookbooks and food magazines since I was really young, it was Italy that sparked my love for food and the desire to document and share it. At first, I shot everything on film, as I had a lot of time to invest in the whole process. I started shooting with an Olympus camera last year when I moved away from film and into digital photography.

The food I love to cook is seasonal and simple, with lots of textures and comforting flavours. For me, food needs to sustain but should also please the senses – it should always be a visual feast. My favourite meals to prepare are the ones where we’re all in the kitchen for hours together – it’s a real joy! I tend not to mess around with the flavours too much, and prefer to see and taste the food for what it should be.

Julia at home documenting her latest culinary creation – a baked cheesecake with roasted grapes and walnuts! Photo by Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Writer
Julia Busuttil Nishimura
12th of May 2016

While I’ve always been snap happy, since having Haruki, my camera has become an extension of myself. Everyday he changes, learning something new, and I never want to miss a thing, so am always trying to catch those special moments. I particularly love capturing moments between Nori and Haruki – the way they look at each other is like nothing else!

I loved using the Olympus PEN-F camera for these shots – it was even more compact than my usual Olympus and was comfortable to use. The ability to change lenses was useful for different situations. For my food and family shots, I like to use a 45mm 1.8 prime lens – great for capturing the fine details!

For this series, I was inspired by the notion of home. For me, home is my family and my food. It is where our lives are right now, and it is lovely. My happiest days are spent here with Nori and Haru, cooking, chatting, eating, gardening and just being us, a new little family! Now that I spend more time at home, I take great pleasure in appreciating the small and quiet moments.

For the true camera enthusiast. The Masterpiece : Olympus PEN F.

Julia and Haruki in the garden! Photo by Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.