Still Life, Father's Day

Still Life #8425 for Karl, Father's Day 6-19-16

So many ideas, so many variations with the portrait elements but, so little time.

On the occasion of Father's Day I felt that I needed something new. That prompt sent me off on a quest to find new elements that would work to create a still life revealing some of Karl's personality, interests and talents.  Lucky for me a newly found shop on Chicago Avenue in Mpls. brought the purple satin fabric and the white  "Love" bird to me.

After my usual exercise of ironing the fabric, Karl helped me choose some of the elements used for the first several variations of the still life focused on

• his passion for the culinary arts BBQ sauces and spices gifted by his daughter, Carla,  
• his package containing Season 3 of The Game of Thrones, 
• whiskey in shot glasses and 
• fresh vegetables pulled literally off the kitchen counter.  

I loved watching the afternoon sun shine on the satin fabric. I couldn't help but think that the rich purple color reminded me of our MN Viking purple and gold team colors which was also appropriate because that is part of Karl's story as well.

I called it a day, literally when it was time for our Father's Day eve dinner and felt good about what we had created.

Summertime

Sumertime Still Life #8263

Variations on the Sunflower Theme

Well, it appears that the sunflowers "got a hold on me" again this summer.

Is it their big "face," their bright colors, their tall stature in the vase? I think I best give this some thought.  It might be said that I photograph more sunflowers than any other flower.

Shown below is what photographers call a contact sheet, which is an old fashioned term, if you think about it now.  I'm not laying down actual negatives on a sheet of photographic paper to create identical size reproductions.   Oh well, no worries.

These are what I'd call "test shots. "  They are the result of two different weekends with two different bouquets, environments, backgrounds and more.  Take a look at how simple changes can result in subtle changes in the image as well.