I always loved sunflowers; all different sizes. The blooms, bright yellow, are so beautiful but the backside of the flower is exquisite. It is just as expressive and lovely as the front. I decided to concentrate on doing a close up. I had not used my macro lens lately, but I found the closer I zeroed into the lush, complex, green petals of the backside, the more excited I got. I always think an image, especially a sunflower, is so much more dramatic when moving as close as possible and photographing just a portion of the flower. I think this vivid picture was exactly what I had envisioned.
Green Grapes and Pears and Table
I decided to do a still life with the color theme green and brown. I like those earthy colors because they blend so well together. I already had a small, green ceramic vase, and rather than my usual red grapes, I felt that green grapes would be in keeping with my theme. I bought some yellow chrysanthemums to offset the green and brown tones. Once I had the specific composition mapped out, I assembled my vision on a shiny brown reflective desk. The brown pears, green grapes and all the elements came together. For a dramatic flair, I photographed the scene against a black background.
My second image is similar except it is assembled on a wooden board, taken against a white background. I then used a texture in Photoshop to add the blue background. It is similar to the first, yet different.
Purple Hydrangeas and Plums
I came upon some beautiful purple hydrangeas and decided to incorporate them into a still life. I had a multicolored purple glass vase at home that I had picked up a few weeks before. I love the look of wicker baskets and fruit, so I added a round wicker basket filled with a few plums to my arrangement. It really started to take shape when I incorporated the elements on a brown wooden board. I felt that a green background would best bring out the composition that I was aiming for. I photographed the scene against a white background and added a green texture during editing. I think the contrasting colors and shapes make for a very pleasing image.
I decided to experiment with the elements that I had used in a prior image. However, this one would be against a black backdrop, photographed on a black table. I used the round wicker basket, and purple plums, but I substituted a clear glass purple vase and added a small gold glass. It is amazing that just by changing the elements of an image, a whole different composition will emerge. They are similar yet different. I like the reflections on the table too.
Hydrangea, Pears, and Plums
I have never used hydrangeas in a photo before and wanted to see how it would look. I came upon some in a store and thought I would somehow incorporate these delicate blue flowers into a still life. I had a pretty wicker basket at home already and decided that some brown Bosc pears and red plums would complement the gorgeous colors of the hydrangeas. I set this up and decided that a black backdrop would create a perfect contrast to the vivid flowers and fruit. I was pleased with the composition. I was about to give up for the day when suddenly I got a brain storm and this whole creation fell into place. Luckily I persisted.
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.
