Images for Altered Esthetics group exhibitions

Sunflowers Still Life

Tulips Still Life

Urban Garden Still Life

Standish Avenue Peonies

Spring Daffodils

Summer Sunflowers 2015

September Sunflowers

September Sunflowers, #9730, 2016 

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.

Serendipity and Sunflowers!

What a fabulous coincidence! Serendipity! Fate!

As I was driving with Karl to the store at Moose Lake, I impulsively asked to be dropped off at the Moose Lake Flea Market and look for some fresh local flower bouquets.

I casually commented that I wondered if T.J.'s daughter was selling her home grown sunflowers up at his store, T. J.'s Country Store (Home of the Best Wurst)  in Mahtowa, MN.  But, no, we didn't have to drive up there today.  I was thinking that we'd go up there next weekend and buy some brats and bacon.

I got out of the car and walked through the row of vendors outside the Flea Market warehouse.  At the very last tent there was a family of three selling beautiful sunflower bouquets in glass jars. I commented to the group that I had wondered if T.J's daughter was selling sunflowers today, but we didn't drive up there, so how lucky I was to come across their sunflowers.

They all made eye contact with each other and the women said  "I am T.J.'s daughter, Sarah, and this is T.J.'s  granddaughter." Not wanting to be ignored the man jumped up and said "I'm T.J.'s son-in-law, Dave.
We all laughed at that one. They talked about their sunflower business, "Sunflower Sisters" and their  farm.  I relayed several compliments about their delicious brats, sausage, bacon and their sunflowers. Can you imagine that the next person who joined our friendly conversation was none other than the "J" in the name T.J., the wife of the owner.

I recounted my story of being held "hostage" by their bouquet of sunflowers I bought last year (August 2014). I must have taken 30+ pictures over three days up at the cabin. I kept making minor variations on the angle of the light, fruit, vegetables, serving platter, etc.

Still Life: Sunflowers in August,  2014  (available for purchase)

Sara said "Come up to the farm sometime and you can see all the sunflowers in the field."  Hopefully that will happen someday.

We drove home and Karl went to his easel, canvas and paint brushes to "work."  I went into the cabin aka my Studio Up North and set up a still life portrait commemorating our upcoming 16th Wedding Anniversary with today's sunflower bouquet and the wine bottle given by Betsy & Jack Doyle at  our 1999 wedding celebration. I'll be creating this into one of several different  wedding anniversary cards  for Karl.

Still Life: Sunflowers, Aug 15, 2015  (available for purchase)

I am very pleased with the simple composition and rich saturation in the colors, especially the flowers, of course.

But, tomorrow is another day and quite possibly, if the sun comes out for me, I'll be held "hostage" once again creating a new still life portrait being kissed by the morning light.

Still Life: August Birthday Bouquet

Well,  what do you plan  for your Birthday Eve day?
I had two totally different mind sets depending on our lovely, unpredictable,  Minnesota weather.

Nice, sunny day,  do the Walk For Scleroderma with my friends and then go bicycle riding. Or rainy day, who knows?  Come up with Plan B.

Well, I kept going back to sleep and just couldn't get up early to join the walkers. Sorry, friends.  I was exhausted and needed to sleep in.

When I finally got up, I had a slow morning of coffee and sorting through the Plan B options because it didn't look all that nice outside.

Eventually, around 12 noon I suggested we drive over to the neighborhood Farmer's Market on Lake Street and buy some fresh flowers for my birthday bouquet.  I bought two bouquets and then started the process of sorting, cutting, arranging, posing and photographing my birthday bouquet still life photo portrait.

I knew that whenever the next still life occurred I was going to use my set of three vases that I bought at a shop in Ouray,  Colorado.  The nicest gal, Nancy talked me into all three vases and of course, I couldn't resist them.  I'm so glad that I bought all three. 

Test shot early in the afternoon on my mobile device resulted in the basic layout.

Test shots early in the afternoon

I really wish I had an endless supply of wrinkle free fabrics.  I tried to use a solid purple background that I had purchased from a craft store but it was going to take an act of God to iron out all those creases.  And I tried, really.  But they were too visible in the test shots.

After a dozen or two different photos based on the changing light in the late afternoon, I decided this one was my favorite because of the light that was cast on both the sunflower and on the vases.

Still Life: August  Bouquet (available for purchase)

For those interested, I've found that I prefer an  ISO 400 or ISO 650 so there is high contrast and then a depth of field like F11 or F16 depending on how much of the background I want sharp.

I have natural harsh light coming from the west so I put up a white lace curtain to diffuse the west light while simultaneously setting up a white reflector on the opposite side (propped on a painting easel I don't use for painting) to bounce the light back into the side of the set.

This portrait is a bit busy with the patterned shawl as my background and my pink scarf as the table covering but it's got the right colors and textures so it works for me.

Hope it does for you, too.