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I do have a fondness for still life photography.   It is sort of like painting, you have a blank canvas before you, that you build upon one object at a time until the final subject is completed.

Still life photography unlike other types of photography that we are all familiar with like street, landscape or flowers…in still life you control the creation of the image.  You choose the subject, arrange it and light it anyway to your choosing.  You really have complete control of the creative process. which is a reaffirmation of your composition and lighting skills…and can also be a learning process as you work through building the image.

 

In this series of still life images I have chosen to include books in a series of images.  Because I am using other objects along with the book arrangements, it sometimes become questionable, is it the books or the accessory object that are the main subject?  However, in this series of images it really doesn’t matter because the images are left to the viewer to decide what within the image draws their attention.  I prefer to follow a minimal approach with not too many objects in the image. The main lighting for most of the images is early morning window light with sometimes a small handheld portable light to highlight  an area, this combined with a black background to produce a Rembrandt style image.

Camera used SONY A7II…I can be contacted at nymacc@gmail.com for any inquiries about this post or past posts.

Photographic Still Life Simplicity

 Still life photography is a genre that allows you to create and compose objects within a pleasing presentation.  The layout of the objects should be arranged in a simple composition that allows a viewers eye to focus on the main object in the arrangement.  The space required for this genre can be as simple as your kitchen table.  The lighting can be any combination of window light and a portable LED light.  The background used can be two pieces of black poster board on a tabletop setting.

The use of flowers can make for a colorful still life.  In this post I use a series of different flowers separately composed into simple arrangements using singular props to accent the arrangements.  I have kept the layout simple in order to have the color and shapes of the flowers be the main focus of the viewer’s eyes.  However, the composition can be as creative as your imagination.  

All images were photographed using a Sony A7II camera.  I can be contacted for comments or questions at nymacc@gmail.com

Photographing Chachkas

Over the years I have collected a number of small items, that for the most part are simply dust collectors, but for one reason or another they may have some sentimental value connected to them.   They are scattered about the house sitting on a table or a bookshelf, reminding me of some time in the past with maybe a story connected to them.  If you are from the Bronx in New York City, there is a Yiddish word for them; they are referred to as Chachkas.

So you might ask, what has this got to do with this blog on photography?  I have found many of these items useful to include in still life photography.  Still life photography is the photographing of inanimate objects arranged into a pleasing setting.   There is a certain adventure in searching out these items and gathering them into a scene to create a still life image.  You have to take a little time and examine these items and how they may or may not relate to other items you wish to combine in a still life.  Adding one or two to a particular setup as you see fit.

The next area of still life creation is (1) the background and (2) the light.  I prefer to use indirect window light, in other words light that is soft in nature and not hard like direct sunlight.  I have found this light to have a sort of Rembrandt painting effect.  I have also found that a small flashlight or a reflector made from aluminum foil can be useful in ether opening up the shadows or directing the light toward an area within the still life.  I prefer to use a black background for all my still life images because there is no distraction with the background from the objects I am photographing and the viewer’s eye is concentrated on the subjects presented.

Still life photography teaches you three things, how to control (1) composition, (2) lighting and (3) lastly artistic expression.  You only need a small space and your lighting as I have said can be simple sunlight from a nearby window and an extra accent light from a flashlight.  Unlike any other type of photography, you have complete control of all three of the above elements. 

All images were made using a Sony A7II camera.  Window light was the main source of light, with a small portable light used for accenting in a few of the images.  If you like what you see or have questions I can be contacted at nymacc@gmail.com   

One Image Per Day-Part One

During this period of COVID-19 semi-quarantine,  I have explored the idea of making one image per day within my limited space called house.  It is a means of keeping my sanity as a photographer and allowing me to experiment with the art of seeing.

So, for seven days I decided to create one image for each day of the week.   Picking up the camera each day has a positive effect on my psyche.  I find it to be a way of rejuvenating my visual senses and challenging my creative thoughts.  

All images shot using a SONY A7II camera.  You can address all comments to me at nymacc@gmail.com

 

Photography and The Coronavirus

Having just got over the flu and quarantining myself in the house for 14 days, I found my photographic pursuits rather curtailed during this period.  However, I can look back on it as performing the humane task of not wanting to spread my infection among those I came in contact with.

So if you are a person that is always out and about with a camera in one hand and eyes surveying the world around you, what do you do under a lock yourself up scenario?  My choice to keep my mind and eyes busy was work on some still life photography.

Still life photography began in the 19th century where photographers attempted to copy the style of painters who in paintings depicted inanimate objects as their subjects.  These items can be anything such as household items set on a table in a pleasing composition. 

So, with this type of photography in mind I decided to keep both my camera and eyes busy creating various still life images using simple window light.  I have the good fortune to have a kitchen area that at certain times has both direct sunlight and indirect as the sun changes its path.  What this affords, is a choice of hard light and soft light depending on my subject and what I wish to convey.

Mastering the use of light in photography is as basic as learning how to use the controls on your camera.  Before you consider composition, you should be looking at your subject and how it is lighted.  Because it is really the light that can make your subject stand out and pull the viewer’s eye into your image.  So with the ambient light available to me I used two sheets of black tile, various household objects and light from the window to explore still life photography.   Besides the abundance of light the windows have blinds that offered other benefits such as controlling how the light fell on my subject and patterns created by the slots of light falling on subjects.

All of the images were shot during 14-day isolation.  I particularly enjoy still life photography, because it allows your imagination to create and capture the every day objects you see daily.   Camera used is Sony A7 II, shooting mainly using ambient light.  Any comments can be addressed to nymacc@gmail.com