Week Eight - Seven Days with one Still Life

Day 50 - The Creamer

I mentioned in last week's blog about the 365 day challenge that it might be interesting to spend one week with one subject. I decided to do it out of a certain sense of ennui. The weather has been horrid and it is February. And historically a lot of artists have revisited a subject over and over like Monet with his waterlilies, conveniently located in his back yard, and Chartres Cathedral just down the block. Photographers too have seemed to make extended studies like Ansel Adams of Yosemite National Park or Ranchos de Taos Mission.

Besides what could be easier for a photographer than daily photographing a still life arrangement set up in her studio? Just a bit of rearranging, adding or subtracting a minor player, changing the light, picking a different time of day, or rotating the base to catch the light in the windows differently?

I posted on Binford-Bell Studio Fan Page seven photos of my still life with creamer but I took a lot more. So this week on this review of the last seven of the 365 days of 2013 I am going to post some of the also rans.

Day 52 - Also Ran

Same arrangement as Day to but on a sunny day with the studio lights on for the shadow. Warmer colors because of warmer light. I was drawn to the shadows on the basket and so played in the dry darkroom of my computer to bring them up to greater prominence in the composition.

Day 52  - a black and white

Day 53 - Dried Amaryllis flower added

I added an element on day 53 and rotated the tile base just a little and turned on more studio lights to heighten the shadows. I also turned the creamer just a bit to almost a profile view.

Day 54 - Light from windows only

Subtract flowers, turn off lights and try to catch the effect of just the morning light coming through the windows of the studio. Notice the dust on the creamer? Back to the 3/4 view of the spout. And I used a selective focus post process program.

Also ran for day 55

I polished the creamer and the brass vase. Brought back the flowers and added the ball. Right after I took the picture I noticed the yellow seed or something just in front of the candle snuffer and used the scratch remover to delete it. Was going to post that version for the day but decided to play. Ergo the real Day 55.

Day 55

This one when posted has been mistaken for a painting of mine as opposed to a photograph. And I guess in someways you could say it is a digital painting of a photographic image. And available as a Giclee print. I do not do prints of my paintings but all photographs when printed are Giclee which is just blown ink. All my photographs are for sale in a size of your choosing and printed on paper or canvas. This one on canvas would look even more like a painting.

Day 56 - Creamer takes a bow

The polishing of the creamer allowed a wonderful play of reflections of the studio windows and plants. Always have to make sure as a photographer I am not in the picture but the curved surface of the creamer made that easier than mirrors.

Interestingly enough I have not dismantled the still life in the studio. Who knows some interesting combination of light and shadow may cause me to snap it again. I learned a lot from this concentration on one subject. I feel as if I have taken a graduate seminar in photography.

BTW this next week will be very different. Weather improved and another photographer and I decided to erase cabin fever with a road trip through the neighborhood. I promise no creamers.

And just to close off an also ran in Black and White.

Shapes and shadows

Oh, and I did not post day 51. Check out the link to catch that one. Frankly it was the lessor of all posts this last week.