[Mikell]

New Orleans is famous for music and food...above all. Here are some of the photos I took on these themes...a feast for both eyes and stomach.

Breakfast in a GO CUP - New Orleans is famous for "go cups". When you leave a bar to go out on the street, you ask for one and they transfer your drink into a paper cup to allow you to carry it around to your next destination! Or you just get all your drinks in Go Cups so you don't have to bother...a lot of bar hopping is the norm every night. This restaurant offered Breakfast in a Go Cup - a mix of grits, scrambled eggs, sausage and gravy - with a crisp bacon "stir stick". My husband ordered it twice while we were there.

Beignets at Cafe du Monde - probably the most famous eatery in NOLA. This large open air cafe is ALWAYS full of patrons and they only serve cafe au lait and beignets, which are deep fried doughnuts with a ton of powdered sugar on top...three at a time. We stopped by this main French Quarter attraction about a half dozen times...it's open 24 hours. Tip: Don't wear black on a windy day!

Charbroiled Oysters at Drago's - a friend recommended this place and this dish ...and it was amazing! Acme Oyster Bar is also supposed to be good. Great seafood is everywhere.

Bread Pudding - one my favourite desserts...I heard NOLA is famous for it and I found three different places to try some. This was just the best picture I took. Hot bread pudding in a whiskey sauce...had it for breakfast too.

[hobkyl]

Are you using a filter or are these all HDR? I like them

[Mikell]

Not HDR....I have been using Topaz Adjust (Photoshop addon) on most of my photos lately. I really like how it brings out detail and improves exposure.

[Matt]

Topaz Adjust is powerful. I can kind of recognize what you are using... is it Photo Pop?

Any descriptions for the delicious-looking food?

[Mikell]

Matt: I use a variety of pre-sets to start with...depending on the photo. Natural Detail, Crisp, Clarity ...are a few I use regularly. Then, I adjust exposure and strength settings from there until I like the effect. I also like Spicify and Vibrance...although I use them less lately. Once I have created a filter I like, I also save it as a personal preset. I just upgraded to Version 5 (free upgrade) and it adds a lot more presets and some other tools (like Curves and Borders). I really love using Adjust....the results can be dramatic and often turn a mediocre photo into a standout for me.

I just went back and added a few cutlines for some of the food photos...they are really New Orleans specific delights!

[Matt]

I just went to 5 too.. find myself using the new presets on a new layer and then reducing the opacity of the new layer to tone it down a bit. The presets in 5 are outstanding. I used a few... i forget which ones, to bring out the detail in snow I have Topaz detail and texture in my snow photos (likt this one : http://nyfalls.exposuremanager.com/p/ne ... inter4_2_3 )

Thanks for the descriptions on the food. It al looks and sounds great!

[ApproachingLight]

Nice. I like!