Marilyn Botta Photography

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Lilies, Apples, and Limes

March 31, 2025 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

I always feel that a black background adds a dramatic flair to a composition. This still life creation features a blue vase with orange lilies. Green apples sit at the base of the blue jug. I had a martini glass and added four limes to match the apples. I added a thick orange candle placed on a pewter candle holder. The orange in the candle offsets the orange in the lilies. The black background enhances the reflections.

This still life creation features a blue vase with orange lilies. Green apples sit at the base of the blue jug. I had a martini glass and added four limes to match the apples. I added a thick orange candle placed on a pewter candle holder. The orange in the candle offsets the orange in the lilies. I placed green apples at the base of the jug. The composition is set against a muted background, highlighting the vibrant colors of the objects.


 

 

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: art, artistic, beautiful, beauty, black background, bloom, blue, candle, candle holder, color, composition, fine art, flame, floral, flower, flowers, fruit, green, green apples, jug, lilies, lilly, lily, lily flower, limes, martini glass, nature, orange, orange candle, petal, pewter, photography, reflections, still life, the blossom of lily flowers, vase, vintage vase

Roses and Pears

August 8, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

 


Roses come in many different colors, but to me, the red rose is the most beautiful. I love the way the delicate fragrant soft petals are enfolded so perfectly. I decided to use these beauties in a still life along with some pretty brown pears. I placed the roses into a green ceramic vase to offset the red in the roses. I placed a red lit candle on top of a wrought-iron holder and added a single red rose at the bottom. I arranged the pears at the foot of the vase. The entire composition was situated on a beige table cloth. I then selected purple and blue textures for the background to enhance the vivid colors of the elements of this creation.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: artistic, background, beautiful, beauty, bloom, blue background, botanical, bouquet of roses, candle holder, ceramic vase, color, colorful, elegance, flora, floral, flower, flowers, fruit, fruits, glass vase, green vase, iron candle holder, leaf, lit candle, orange flame, pear, petal, photography, purple, red candle, red rose, red rose petals, romance, romantic, rose, rose - flower, rose thorns, roses, still life, studio shot, table, valentine, vase, warm, wax candle, yellow pears

Raindrop on Flower

July 9, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment


As I was leaving to go walking on Sunday morning, I noticed raindrops on my Crepe Myrtle tree. I knew it rained Saturday night so I thought there may be some pretty droplets on the delicate flowers. I just so happened to have a camera with a macro lens upstairs luckily. So I went back in and grabbed it, came out and started shooting. It was so hot and steamy that morning that my lens was getting fogged up. But I kept wiping it off with my cloth and managed to actually see what I was photographing. The background is softly blurred in shades of pink and green which highlight the beautiful droplet on the flower.

Filed Under: Flowers and Trees, Macros Tagged With: background, beautiful, beauty, beauty in nature, bloom, blooming, blossom, botany, card, close up, closeup, color, colorful, delicate, drop, droplet, droplets, drops, flora, floral, flower, fragility, fresh, green, green color, in bloom, leaf, macro, natural, nature, outdoor, outdoors, pastel, petal, petals, photography, pink, pink color, plant, rain, rain drops, raindrop, raindrops, raindrops on flowers, rainy, soft-focus, stem, tree, water, wet, white

Baby Elephant

July 8, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment


 

I was out looking for some inspiration for a still life when I came upon an adorable Lenox elephant. It was hard to believe that someone gave this away to Goodwill. But their loss was my find. I bought it because I thought it was just so cute and beautiful, not really knowing what in the world I was going to create. I had some old stones that I collected a while back sitting in a plastic bag. I thought that at some point I would think of something to do with them. I had a brainstorm and this is what I came up with. I used a texture to bring out the beauty and soft lighting of this lovely cozy scene.

 

 

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: abstract, beautiful, beige candle, buddhism, buddhist, candlelight, candles, candlestick, ceramics, colorful elephant, craft, decorative, elephant, elephants, exotic, flame, ganesh, glass vase, God, green candle, green glass, harmony, hindu, lit candles, photography, prayer, soft lighting, souvenir, spiritual, still lifesculpture, stone, stones, tan candle, temple, thai, thailand, tusk

Retro Cameras and Candle

March 18, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment


In keeping with the vintage theme, I decided to rest two film cameras (Canon and Minolta) on some old photo albums and newspapers. I had these albums tucked away in my closet. I recently acquired a candle holder and candle at a consignment shop. I decided it belonged in this image. In creating this composition, I tried to convey the beauty of these treasures that took such beautiful pictures in the past, but can still be used. A fresh green apple sitting in the front adds a pop of color to the arrangement.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: album, backdrop, beige, beige table, blue background, books, candle, candlestick, canon camera, cream, creme colored, film, film camera, flame, granny smith apple, green apple, minolta camera, old, old albums, old newspaper, old photo, pastel, Photo, photograph, photography, retro, snapshot, studio shot, style, table, tablecloth, texture, vintage, vintage camera, white, yellow

Vintage Cameras

March 7, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

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.


Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: aged, antique, aperture, art, background, black, camera, canon, classic, color, composition, equipment, exposure, film, film camera, film dust, filmstrip, glass, image, isolated, lens, lenses, manual, megapixels, minolta, monochrome, negative film, nostalgic, old, old-fashioned, Photo, photo camera, photocamera, photograph, photographic, photographic equipment, photographing, photography, professional, retro, shutter, studio, vintage, vintage photo effect, zoom lenses

Ruth’s Vase and Green Apples

February 11, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

 


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.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: apple, Apples, background, beautiful, beauty, bloom, blossoming, bouquet, bright, candle, ceramic, composition, flame, floral, flower, flowers, food, fruit, glass candlestick, granny smith, green, leaf, life, lilies, lilly, lily, petal, photography, porcelain, porcelain vase, red, red candlestick, smoke, still life, still life with flowers, summer, vase, vase of flowers, vase with flowers, white, white candle, white vase

Deep Red Rose

January 25, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment


I have always loved roses. There are so many varieties and colors of roses, but to me, the most beautiful is the red rose. I envisioned a deep red rose with water droplets on the petals. I decided that a close up of the rose would reveal the mystical beauty of this gorgeous flower. I then spritzed the flower with water droplets, which clung to the delicate petals. I chose to photograph this spectacular beauty in a dark setting, thus bringing out the red color. It is really such a rather simple photo of a flower, but the deep red against a dark background made for a rather dramatic effect and enhanced the elegance of this exquisite flower.

Filed Under: Flowers and Trees, Still Life Photography Tagged With: aroma, background, beautiful, beauty, bloom, botanical, bright, celebration, close up, closeup, colorful, dark, dark red rose petals, dark rose, deep, deep red, deep red rose petals background, dramatic, elegance, elegant, flora, floral, flower, fragrance, fragrant, gardening, gorgeous, love, lovely, macro, petal, petals, photography, pretty, red, red rose, red rose petals isolated, rose, roses, ruby, soft, solid red, sweetheart, vibrant, water, water drops

Yellow Sunflowers

September 11, 2023 by Marilyn Botta

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.


Filed Under: Flowers and Trees, Still Life Photography, Uncategorized Tagged With: art, back, back of flower, back of sunflower, beautiful, beauty, bloom, botanical, bright, bright yellow, close up, close up photography, closeup, colorful, flora, floral, flower, flowers, golden, green, green leaf, green leaves, green petals, green. growth, horticulture, leaf, leaves, macro, macro flowers, macro nature, macro photography, natural, petal, petals, photography, plant, pollen, stem, studio, sun flower, sunflower, sunflower back, sunflower outline, sunflowers, yellow, yellow flower, yellow flowers

Green Grapes and Pears and Table

September 11, 2023 by Marilyn Botta

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.


Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: artwork, background, beauty, black, black background, bosc pears, brown, brown desk, bunch, bunch of grapes, ceramic, ceramic vase, colorful, conceptual, cuisine, fine art, flora, flower, flowers, food, freshness, fruit, glass vase, grape, grapes, green, green ceramic vase, green grapes, green vase, healthy eating, indoor, juicy, leaf, multi colored, pear, pears, photography, ripe, still life, stillife, studio, studio shot, table, vase, vases, vibrant colors, yellow, yellow chrysanthemum, yellow flower

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