I always wished I had not sold my old Nikon FM 2 film camera. At the time it was considered one of the fastest SLRs. When I upgraded to digital, I decided I didn’t need it anymore. But when I started doing still life photography, I thought that my antique camera would make a good subject. But, recently a friend had some old camera equipment used by his father packed away in a closet. He was doing housecleaning and came upon a box of two cameras–a Canon and a Minolta, plus numerous lenses. He asked if I wanted it and I said yes because I simply wanted to photograph these treasures.
Orange Lilies, Pumpkins, and Candle
I love everything about the Fall–from the beginnings of cool crisp days, to even the end of daylight savings time. I love the colorful Autumn leaves. I decided to incorporate all the elements of this season into these images. Pumpkins are a big part of the season. I incorporated some lovely orange lilies to match the pumpkins. I added some green grapes to a green ceramic vase, as well as an upside down goblet with a white candle and flame. You can see more of my work on: marilyn-botta.pixels.com.
Orange Lilies, Ukulele, and Pears
I purchased some beautiful orange lilies. I decided to use them in some Still Life photos featuring a green hat, green vases, Bosc pears, and a ukulele my friend loaned me. I photographed these images against a black background so they would pop. I rather like them and I sure hope you do too.
White Daisies, Orange Lilies, and Ukulele
These lovely creations are my latest features in my Still Life repertoire. These are three very different Still Lifes using white daisies, orange lilies, limes, oranges and a ukulele. I found all of these vases in my favorite place, Goodwill. Each image uses a different vase. The orange lilies really spoke to me and I felt they would look beautiful against a black background with a green vase. The green ceramic vase spoke to me because it comes from Costa Rica and shows turtles as a design. White daisies added to the green vase really looked exquisite. For the last image I decided to add a ukulele to the picture with white flowers and green ceramic vase. Again, a black backdrop filled the bill. I love the varied colors and how I incorporated the contrasting colors to realize my vision.
Still Lifes with Blue Vase
I recently purchased a pretty blue vase at Goodwill. Someone discarded it but I picked it up and decided to use it for some studio still life photos with beautiful flowers. Someone else’s trash can become someone’s treasure. Here are four images using the blue vase, some similar, yet different. I decided to use lemons and yellow lilies in a wicker basket, some I used purple poms and oranges, in a glass beaker, as well as grapes. I used black backgrounds on some and one I added a texture.
Monroe and Stephen
In early June 2022, I asked a lovely couple, Monroe and Stephen, if they would be models for me in a studio shoot. They agreed and I had a wonderful day with them. They were such good models because it was so natural and they barely needed any prompting. You can see the true love in these pictures. It was such a pleasure doing this photoshoot. I used both a black and a white background. The black background I made into black and white. I did this is a Low Key way. The white background I added a color texture for the background. Here are the ones I liked the most.
Portrait Session with Gerry
I asked a friend on mine, Gerry, to come over for a portrait session. He was at my house recently, helping me with a project, when I noticed that he had recently grown a beard. I thought the beard was very becoming and it made him look distinguished. Not everyone can rock a beard but his looked especially good. So, he agreed to pose for me. I edited some in color and some others in black and white–some of the same picture sometimes.
Red Roses in Studio
I found some beautiful red roses and decided to play with them in the studio. Some are just with a white background, and some I added a texture for color. I put the roses into the tea cup for a different effect. I really liked the results.