A pan full of coriander and mustard seeds being dry-fried before grinding down in a pestle and mortar to be used in a curry.

I took a risk by “dancing on dangerous dice” (as DM might say), using my precious 100mm macro lens while a whole load of very hot things were jumping around only a few inches from the lens. Yes, the shot was taken as the pan was on the stove and the seeds were popping – you can see them splitting in the focus plane if you look carefully.

However, I like the effect and as far as I’m aware I’ve done no damage to my 100mm lens.

We’ve been eating pretty shoddily of late – I’ve not had much of an appetite in any sense of the word so this meal was perhaps the most complex I’ve done in weeks. Curries are always complicated. Lots of little bits and bobs making up the whole.

Last year, life was a bit more glitzy!