As a photographer, I sometimes find my images start to mirror the gloom that seems to permeate our present environment. So it is time for a little change.
This blog post is devoted to a bit of fun. I have decided to look at things with a curiosity and different perspective and maybe a smile. This post it is basically photographing a couple of items that have no relation to each other, a sort of mixed up imagery. Take some shoes and add a dash of flowers and you have a flower’s in my shoe post.
What you see and what will work as a photographic image is something all photographers deal with. This process is not just seeing but visualize the image in your mind and how it relates to what you were thinking or feeling at the time you made the image. The photograph has an ability to convey emotion, mood and an idea, depending on the perception of what the photographer sees and feels.
Presently what we see and feel during this period of uncertainty can affect your psyche and the imagery your mind conjures. There is a certain amount of fatality and yet at the same time hope. So, how do you depict this isolation? I think your images have to depict a certain amount of darkness and brooding in order to illustrate this dislocation from perceived normal reality. I have chosen a series of surreal like images that depict the feelings, me as a photographer, feels trapped within.
The following images are an exercise in visualizing through photography the shadowy visual imagery that the mind and camera has captured in an attempt to conjure up this feeling of being adrift in this sea of nothingness.
All the images were created using a SONY A7II camera with some postproduction in Photoshop. If you have questions or comments they can be addressed to me at nymacc@gmail.com
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
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.
