Just a quick post today to show some of the still life photos I've been working on.
In the 1980s, I had a hard copy Crabtree and Evelyn catalog, that I would spend a lot of time looking at, marvelling at how the stylists had put together all of the products, surrounded by lush velvet fabric, delicate crystal goblets and overflowing vases of flowers.
It created a burning desire in my life to improve my still life photography, especially of flowers. I may be only starting the journey towards this goal, but we all have to start somewhere. This week I found myself with a lovely bouquet of pink roses, and thought this could be a great opportunity to finally start my training.
I only took a few photos but I wanted to record my progress - I've been doing a little every morning and I'd like to be able to look back and see how I've improved.
I just kept it simple for the first set, taking close ups of the rose blooms.
Mmmmm....I just love roses so much!
Next I tried mixing in a few items to create a still life. I have never thought of these arrangements as still life (although of course they are), I've always named them "tableau" in my mind. I'm not quite sure of the difference, although still life I would imagine refers to inanimate objects whereas a tableau, especially a tableau vivant, would include people. At any rate, they both seem to be defined as something like "a striking or artistic grouping", which is exactly what I was aiming for.
In this one I switched around the pink and clear crystal containers, and created a little more space:
These ones focus a bit more on the teacup:
The last one I took as a still life on the windowsill:
Which one did you like the best? What do you think worked or didn't work? I'll definitely be practicing and posting more soon, as there are so many summer flowers to take photos of at the moment. I want to seize the day before all the blooms are gone!
