I came upon a Chinese guardian lion statue which I originally thought was a gargoyle. I had never seen this before but it looked intriguing so I picked it up. On the same day, I found a zebra bust that someone had discarded. But, another man (or woman’s} garbage can be another woman’s treasure so I bought it too. I also found an animal print vase that spoke to me. I wanted to incorporate these three elements into a a fantasy still life using flowers and a candle. I arranged these items on a beige cloth and photographed the scene against a white backdrop. I then turned the white background into a texture befitting the image. I think I achieved my vision of creating a beautiful fantasy still life.
Pink Lilies and Pears
I have always loved lilies, the way the buds keep blooming for days. I decided to highlight pink lilies by placing them in a blue ceramic jug. To enhance the beauty of the flowers, I surrounded them with a brown and beige lit candle, and a white and black ceramic vase. I felt that this composition would be enhanced by two green pears. I placed the candle on a black iron ornate candle holder. My creation was photographed against a white background. I added a texture with an orange hue to enhance the beauty of this unique still life.
Green Hat, Yellow Lilies, and Chess
I love putting together lots of different props to create a cohesive composition. I gathered a brown candle, green hat, vases, a chess piece and yellow lilies. Who would think that these unrelated items could come together to form a masterpiece. My composition was arranged on a muslim cloth featuring yellow lilies in a terracotta vase. I positioned a green fedora hat, between two vases containing the flowers. An ornate candlestick holder holds the brown lit candle. The objects are arranged on a textured surface against a muted backdrop, creating a serene and balanced scene. The two images are different in that they both have different background colors.
Ruth’s Vase and Green Apples
I went to visit my friend at Brandon Wilde a few weeks ago. I had admired a vase she had on her desk and thought nothing of it. But the next time I went, she insisted she wanted me to have it. I thought it only fitting that I use this beauty in a picture. I had some beautiful lavender lilies so I added them to this porcelain vase with a southwestern motif. I felt that the green in the Granny Smith apples would offset the vase’s design. I photographed this scene against a black background for dramatic effect. I felt the red candle holder and flame would enhance the composition. It was a labor of love for my wonderful friend.
Boots, Lilies, and Skull
I had these old brown boots in my closet that I had not worn in a while. I wanted to use them in a photo, but decided to add a few items. Why not use the boots as vases? I absolutely love lilies, especially the gorgeous pink and purple ones, so I placed them into the boots. I felt the green stems and pink blooms would offset the brown in these boots. I decided to use a red candle holder and a skull. One would think that the elements I chose for this image would not work if taken by themselves. But together, the contrasting colors, shapes, and subjects form a pleasing, distinctive, yet unusual composition that somehow pleases me. For dramatic effect, I chose to photograph this creation in my studio against a black background.
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.
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.
Food and Flowers in Studio
Since we are in a lockdown due to the Pandemic, I have been coming up with creative photo ideas in my studio. What do I like most?–Food and flowers! So, I set out to make some fruit plates with cheese. I put everything on this silver plate that I got from Hobby Lobby as a prop some time ago and never used. I added a lovely lily that had bloomed in a vase at home. The resulting images are just what I had envisioned.
I also took some photos of the same lily and added different textures as backgrounds. It is amazing how a background can make the same image look different.
