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.
Hospice Photo Shoot
I was asked to take some photos of a lovely lady of 91 and her daughter recently at the Marshall Pines memory care facility. She is technically in hospice, but she is stable right now. I went there with the hospice coordinator who was familiar with the family. Rather than being a sad visit, it was really fun because there was such a sweet interaction between mom and daughter and I could just feel the bond and love they have for one another. I decided to take the photos without any flash equipment because I felt it would be distracting and intrusive. The original images were in color, but I turned them into black and white to create the mood I was looking for.
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.
Shawl
I went to Goodwill, which is my go-to store for finding props for photography. Sometimes I do not find anything unless I am very specific about what I am looking for. But, the other day, I just decided to browse and get inspired in case I found a treasure–and a treasure I did find. All of a sudden I saw this lovely shawl that kind of had a Mexican-like motif. It sort of looked biblical as well. It is really beautiful and I snatched it up for a mere $2.50. So, I had an idea that I would take some self-portraits yet again (since I live alone and it sucks when you want to get images of people) and that was what I had in mind. I wanted the shawl to drape around my head and body. It’s big so I could do it. I thought of draping it around my bald head but decided to put on my wig.
Musician Portraits
I did a photo shoot of a musician friend of mine, Curt. I love doing low-key photography of musicians. I went to his house and positioned my lighting so he would come out mysterious and dark. I love the guitar and took many images of him playing.
Dog Photography
I attended a dog photography workshop a few weeks ago. We had three models, Teddy, Annabelle, and Baylee. Baylee was the most model-friendly because she has been posing for years. One could say she is a diva.