Honoring Flowers = Becoming Mindful

Have you ever read a new perspective on an art form, to be precise your art form, that keeps you thinking about it days afterward? An idea that makes you look with fresh eyes at your long sought after passion?  

I've photographed over 100 floral still life portraits.  Most of them cut flowers in a beautiful vase placed in dramatic lighting with long shadows. All of them I love, the subject, the process and the final image. However, I keep thinking about this conversation between an art instructor (Julius Weisz) and an art student (Cymbeline) in Europe, circa 1910 in the novel, "Eight Girls Taking Pictures" by Whitney Otto.

http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Eight-Girls-Taking-Pictures/Whitney-Otto/9781451682724

"What do you think about photographing flowers?" she asked.
"It depends if you're talking about living flowers or cut flowers."
She was about to ask him about the difference when he said, "One is memento mori, so to speak. Its life is ended, its appearance in rapid decline. As a photographer you have a completely different set of problems to solve when you photograph cut flowers."
"Like this picture with the reflection of the water and the table and wall? she asked. They were looking at de Meyer's hydrangea blossoms.
"Sure, okay. Let's take this picture. There is the problem of the light bouncing on the reflection of the water, the glass the tabletop, and the wall. But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces--it's one of death. You invite a profound theme into your work when you choose cut flowers. You are talking about mortality and time moving forward. You are saying that everything, everything we see and experience and love happens uniquely and happens only once. When you take a picture of a flower in a glass you are, paradoxically, capturing evanescence. You are also showing the indifference of Nature. There is no mourning in a flower photograph, only a shrugging of the shoulders."
"I think it's beautiful."

Now I am being more mindful of what I'm photographing and how many flowers are dying for my photo still life portraits. I think it's time for something new.

Becoming Mindful, #0712, June 2018 

How about if I literally frame the flowers to hold them sacred and do them no harm?

#9 Tulip Series 2018

#9 Tulip Series 2018 

 And in the end, the tulip stems lose their strength, the petals fall and the series ends.

#8 Tulips Series 2018

#8 Tulips Series 2018 

Oh, black and white imagery, how I still do love thee.

I fell in love with black and white film photography back in 1976 when I discovered and fell madly in love with the work of Edward Weston  (1886 - 1958).   http://www.artnet.com/artists/edward-weston/

Even though I'm photographing 100% digital image capture and 95% color these days I'd like to think I will always see images as though I'm creating for black and white film developing.

#7 Tulips Series 2018

#7 Tulips Series 2018 for Scott W. 

Thanks to the creative adjustments one can make with photo apps on our mobile devices a portrait that was perfect in its original form can be adjusted and customized to convey a different mood and message within a matter of minutes.

While continuing to enjoy the pleasure of my creative moment I read on social media that the father of a friend of mine (Scott) had passed away unexpectedly, less than a year after he had lost his mother and his precious dog Lucy.

I felt compelled to take this portrait and adjust it so it felt more translucent, less substantive, more mysterious and ghost-like.  I added a few words and sent the message with sincere condolences to Scott and his family.

#6 Tulips Series 2018

#6 Tulips Series 2018 

Words cannot describe the magical discovery of new spring light coming in from a south window that has been dark for months.  It is nothing less than magical.

A magnetic force pulled me toward the window to admire the light, feel the warmth of the sunlight and notice the shadows coming through the sheer curtains. 

The light felt fresh and new while conversely, you could see that the tulips were starting to lower their stems, losing their strength and beginning to let go of a petal or two when they were moved, less than gently.

#5 Tulips Series 2018

#5 Tulips Series 2018 

Before running off to work these tulips forced me to stop and admire the soft morning light and the sweet shades of gray embracing them, from curtains on the left and right and the shadow falling behind them on the wall.

Who could resist?

#4 Tulips Series 2018

#4 Tulips Series 2018 

I arrived home from work and saw that there was enough late afternoon light to create this still life before it was too late and the light would be gone.

Quickly pulled a pashima shawl off a chair and some poetry books off a nearby shelf and created this portrait. 

#3 Tulips Series 2018

#3 Tulips Series 2018

Simple. Quiet. Elegance. Black. White. Gray. Light. Shadow. Texture. 

All this spoke to me in a matter of seconds and prompted me to create this still life.

#2 Tulips Series 2018

#2 Tulips Series 2018

#1 of Tulips series

#1 of Tulips Series 2018 

What does a good photographer (me) do when guests arrive with beautiful tulips wrapped in a ribbon? 

She invites the friend's daughter, Audrey to help her pick out a pretty vase, arrange the flowers (quickly) and finally to create a still life portrait of the flowers together on the iphone.

And so began a week long connection with these beautiful tulips as the flowers changed, aged and eventually dropped their petals. Bittersweet friendship that ended too soon.

Gifted Tulips Inspired a Video and 7 Days of Images

On the eve of Easter 2018 dear friends of ours arrived with a sweet bouquet of tulips.  Strangely, this year I had intentionally chosen not to buy tulips and simply bought a mixed assortment of flowers with gerber daisies and more.

Little did I know that those tulips and I were going to have a deep connection over the next seven days that resulted in some of my best images thus far in 2018 and creation of a short video:

"One Subject
Photographed Over Seven Days"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNQBWOBUg8Y

Photos to follow in chronological order.

Honoring the Change of the Season

Honoring the Change of the Season, #3113, 2016 

September Sunflowers

September Sunflowers, #9730, 2016 

Still Life On White

Still Life On White, March 2016

Still Life on White is another extraordinary collaboration with a little help from my friends.

It's funny because when I started this floral still life project ten years ago I was usually working alone.  It was just me, the sun and the objects being photographed.  I was able to pull things together pretty well with available props in my environment plus artifacts that my husband or I had collected.

Now it's quite the opposite. The portraits that I love the most have been created with the help of, usually, one of the neighbors on either side of my home.  Sometimes even guests who stop by for dinner gift me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers or something.  So unbeknownst to them, they are my co-collaborators on the portrait.

This portrait On White was partially pre-planned with the background ironed for 15 minutes to remove most of the wrinkles and hung up the day before.  I actually had planned it for a new business head shot to update my previous one that is over two years old.  But I was gifted with everything seen in the portrait so I felt compelled to put them all together in a portrait. 

Thanks to Sharon for the bridal wreath flowers in the vase, Sarah for the fresh onion bun and goat cheese rolled in dill and Patrick for the limoncello liqueur.

Headshot will be postponed for a couple of weeks, I guess.

Bread, Wine, Cheese and Thou

Bread, Wine, Cheese and Thou, 2016

All my images are a photo journal of my life events, of course, so that means they also overtly or covertly represent my spouse, family and friends.  This image is a Valentine's Day still life created with the intention of representing the lovely verses by Omar Khhayyam

XII

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough.

A Jug of Wine, A Loaf of Bread--and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness--

Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

I love how I get focused on a theme or a verse and it all magically comes together into a still life portrait. When others see the still life portrait they see the objects, but I see and feel the people who helped bring it all together and the magical creation process. 

Today this portrait started with a backdrop curtain gifted to me from friend Sarah M. when she moved out of her previous studio. I'd been waiting for the right opportunity to use it and thought it would be ideal for a Valentine still life that would look like a classic painting. 

Coincidentally, the second friend who contributed was also a Sarah.  Our neighbor Sarah S. had generously shared hearty sour dough bread, Newton label red wine and Stilton blue cheese, all yummy. Sarah was alongside Karl and I when I purchased the lovely flower arrangement at Bachman's during their Winter Farmer's Market open house.

The remaining objects called to me asking to be included in the portrait also,  i.e. set of poetry books,  olive oil and vinegar from Vom Foss, an orange, nuts and lastly, cinnamon candies.

I created about 20 images as the afternoon winter sunlight peaked in and out of hazy clouds and illuminated this scene. As always I had the camera firmly planted on my Bogen studio tripod and a reflector positioned to bounce back the available light. But this time I did a little experimentation for a change at the prompting from an art exhibit attendee who I chatted with recently. He queried why didn't I photograph at the wide open end of the focal settings such as f1.4, f2, f4 and the like so it looked like a contemporary photo.

My answer was basically that, for my purposes I feel I get the desired effect by photographing at f8,  or f11 so everything is sharp and in focus and has the look and feel of a classic painting. 

But, just for a little variety and to overcompensate for the hazy sunlight I thought I'd play at both ends today and compare the results.  

I'm happy to say that I loved three different images at three different settings:  f2, f5 and f10 so I had test prints made of all of them so I could carefully examine them up close.

Final favorite that is now going to the next production level, a canvas enlargement, is the f5 image because it helped to soften the pattern of the curtains and yet keep all the objects in sharp focus. 

I just love it when I get to play, experiment and do something a little different each time.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Still Life with Fruit

Still Life with Fruit, #8740: September 2014

What an awesome experience to transition to a new photography series that excites me just as much as some of my past work.  I guess an artist CAN change.

After two decades of focusing on the beauty of the human figure in various locations and lighting patterns I've discovered the quiet beauty of  the still life as a serious body of work, not just an occasional random portrait.

No surprise really, if one looks at the countless number of floral studies I've done.  Again, simple beauty and about as minimalistic as one can get.

But now, let's add quantity, quality, light, shadows, reflectors and a life time of experience and see what comes up.

Let the journey begin.

Cooking with Homegrown Carrots B&W