Tulips, European Style

Tulips, European Style, 2018, no. 9504 

Red Roses 2018

Red Roses 2018, no. 4608

Winter Floral Still Life, 2018

Winter Floral Still Life, 2018, no. 4353

Roses in November

Roses in November, no. 4212 

Summer Sunflowers 2015

2017 Photo Art Calendars

2017 Photo Art Calendars

2017 Photo Art Calendars - Still time to purchase photo art calendars. You've seen, and hopefully loved, many of the still life photos by Wendy H Blomseth Fine Art Photography. Now you can have them as mini-masterpieces of your very own. Contact me today at wendyhblomseth@gmail.com

Still Life en plein air

Still Life en plein air,  #3198,  2016, 

Love In Light

"Love in Light" Still Life, #9221

How Do I Love Thee?

Falling In Love, 2016

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I love thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

 

For the artist who falls in love with their own work ...  "thee" can be anything, from a person to a plant. Today, it was the Light. Capital "L."  For me, a life long photographer, it's always been and always will be about the Light.

At around 5:00 pm today the angle of the sun created a beautiful light and shadow pattern illuminating the fabric that still hung from last week's portrait session.  It was truly breathtaking and caused an internal alarm that almost shook me. I literally fell in love at first sight.  But I knew that I had a finite amount of time to create the artistic still life portrait I desired.

I started with the beautiful flowers purchased last week from Bachman's that were still looking good eight days later. I loved seeing them each and every day this week even though I was aware of  many minor changes as they aged and wilted.

While I was freshening the flower arrangement and changing the vase I was reminded of comments repeatedly shared by artist friend Jim Marion Foreman that "as we create our favorite art pieces we fall in love with them. We develop an intimate relationship with them that, in that moment, is an intense love affair between the artist and the art."

This was more true than ever today.  

I loved the first session of portraits that was just the flower vase when I was merely "flirting" with the sunlight and shadows. Then the Muse, who was my stand-in, caught my attention as she communicated that she too had an extraordinary attraction to the warmth and embrace of the sun. 

To add a thoughtful conversation to the budding relationship I added two big art books "so we'd have something to talk about" and liqueur in a glass so we could whet our thirst after talking.

As the sun went down and the colors became softer and warmer with a golden palette, the final token was shared, pearls. Pearls that spoke of our sophisticated, sexy and sensual affair that lasted only as long as the light illuminated our scene.

Standing in the dark later I couldn't see the vase or the Muse or the pearls but I remembered the deep love that we had shared during those moments together in the sun and the shadows.

How do I love thee?  

Truly, let me count the ways.

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 - 1861

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

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!

Dreams

Dreams, 2015

 What would you do if someone invited you to create your own still life from their supplied elements?  Would this be a dream come true, or a nightmare?

This portrait was created November 2015 during the annual Vine Arts Center member show. I set up elements of a still life and invited exhibition attendees to move things around, make it feel like their own and then create a portrait using the mobile device of their choice. 

This blue tint, cyanotype, was my creation with the added touch of my earring on the ring finger of the hand statute.

I apologize for the big gap between postings this past fall, 2015 when I was working toward curating the group art exhibit, The Space Between The Words, at the Vine Arts Center and late January 2016.

As time and energy allows, I'll go back in and fill in some art and stories about the exhibition process.

Thank you for understanding.

2:05 Video: How to Create a Still Life Portrait

You may be interested in how one can easily create a still life portrait.  This 2:05 video demonstration is while working at our cabin in northern Minnesota with the minimum of technology.

Some of the key things to think about are:

• The angle and intensity of the sun
• How you're going to control it and bounce it back into the subject
• Backdrop material, hopefully without a lot of wrinkles  
•     (I've never ironed so much since my mother made me do it.)
• Needs of the flowers so they stay fresh looking
• Angle of the table top the object is sitting on
• Angle of the surface the camera is placed on
• Angle of the camera to the subject
• Reducing camera shake by setting a delayed release

Next time I'll bring up a few more tools. But really, it's all about how the light is directed on and around the subject and getting your angles straight. 

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.

One More Still Life ... before I depart

One More Still Life... before I depart

Click here to view a slideshow made on the new Steller app. When it opens up, click on the individual arrow to turn the page.

https://steller.co/s/4d4MzjgnLc3

I'm hoping you can view the slideshow. It's a quick story about my love for creating still life portraits.  It's kind of a quirky drive that keeps me wanting to create new still life's. But it's who I am right now, what I can do with what I have and a challenge to keep it fresh.

Moments In My Urban Garden

Here's a short quick slide show from the new Steller app with a short story about how the seasons turn, especially in Minnesota, when we plant our seeds, when the flowers start to sprout and when they can be cut and placed on display in a vase.

https://steller.co/s/4Zh62vE9SBR   


With these slideshows I don't feel there is a need for a lot of talk here.  But if I'm missing something, please let me know.

The Light. The Lens. The Love.

Still Life: The Light. The Lens. The Love. July 2014

The Light. The Lens. The Love.
Truly a labor of love to create this still life portrait.

We all have our challenges to create our art work. Yes. I believe it.

These roses were a gift from Anne P., a friend and a client. I loved them when they were freshly presented to me. But since that time they had been moved around several times and were no longer fresh when I finally had the time and the natural light available to create the still life.

As always, I experimented around with 10 different variations of light at sunset aka "the golden hour" and finally fell in love with this one.

I hope it is obvious that the lens theme spanned a variety of technological eras.
All of which I've lived with and loved at various times. Even my iPhone had to get in the picture because that is my image capture device now more often than it should be.  And I wanted to bring in my oldest camera because the camera, like the roses, were past their prime, but both still loved, nonetheless.

All About The Light

All About The Light, July 2014

I was laying in bed thinking about making a still life picture, got up, dressed and saw the light coming in from the east window into the purple room aka the guest room.

I quickly grabbed a couple of things, like my camera and my tripod, and hid a couple of other things.

Here's my first photo of the day. It was ALL ABOUT THE LIGHT.

Art Exhibit Tip: Know Your Audience

Thinking and researching all the fun details of putting together an art exhibit.

Here's 10 Ideas for How to Promote Your Local Art Show or Group Exhibition
http://emptyeasel.com/2013/09/17/10-ideas-for-how-to-promote-your-local-art-show-or-group-exhibition/
Thank you  www.EmptyEasel.com

Fortunately, I know my specific audience:
Artists who have been engaged aka visited the Art Salon For Fertile Minds between inception, February 2011 until the approximate exhibit time in 2015.

woot hoot!
I'm excited!

Look at Everything As If For the First Time

Floral Bouquet for St. Patrick's Day 2012

As much as I loved this image in color with a blue background, I've fallen in love with black and white imagery all over again.

I've always been a "seeker of light, still seeking."  This is a perfect example of how the spirit of the image comes alive and more 3D with the light as the main focal point instead of the colors.

I feel the need to reconnect with my photography and reconnect with the light source that guided my photographic journey.

"On each and every one of these 365 days, 
I will look at everyone and everything
as if for the first time,
especially at the smallest things."

                        Paula Coelho
                        Chronicle - As If For The First Time

Pink Roses x 3, 2013

Pink Roses x 3

Flowers.... yes again.

I don't expect anyone else to enjoy these floral studies like I do.  But that's just fine.

I have no desire to become an actual florist.  There are plenty of extremely talented people who do that much better than I do.  But since I'm in Minnesota in early March and it's not too colorful outside at the moment this is the next best thing to being outside enjoying Mother Nature.

I get the total joy of receiving this bouquet as a gift from my husband, Karl, and documenting it for my everlasting enjoyment.