Marilyn Botta Photography

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Gerry and Dawn

February 28, 2025 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment






Gerry and Dawn recently got married but didn’t have any really nice portraits of the two of them. I offered to take some studio portraits of them in their wedding outfits. The couple are a bit unconventional in that Gerry wore a gray shirt and black motorcycle vest and Dawn wore a lavender gown. I took many photos of Gerry and Dawn in various poses, most of which show their love for each other. Here are the best images taken. They were very cooperative and it was a fun day.

Filed Under: Portraits Tagged With: affectionate, background, beautiful, black vest, blue background, bridal, bride, bridegroom, celebration, couple, couple in love, dreamy look, dress, event, eyes closes, female, gray pants, gray shirt, groom, happiness, happy, happy people, holding hands, hug, hugging, husband, lavender dress, love, lovers, loving couple, man, marriage, married, marry, motorcycle, newlyweds, Photo, photo session, portrait, romance, romantic, sweet, tatoos, texture, together, togetherness, two people, Wedding, wedding dress, wedding photos, wedding portrait, white, white beard, wife

Mini Carnations and Green Pears

January 13, 2025 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

I decided to do a still life using mini carnations and green pears as the theme. I put the carnations into a pear-shaped brown glass vase. I also added the carnations to a small black-and-shite ceramic vase. I added a green lit candle to a metal holder and placed two green pears beneath it. I placed all the elements on top of a wooden board. I added an orange texture as a background to bring out the beauty of this composition which have complementary colors.


Filed Under: Still Life Photography, Uncategorized Tagged With: area, background, beauty, black and white ceramic jug, bloom, blossom, board, brown vase, candle, carnation, carnations, ceramic jug, closeup, composition, floral, flower, flower arrangement, flowering, flowers, food, fresh fruit, fruit, fruits, green, green candle, green pears, greenery, juicy, leaf, leaves, pear, pears, petal, pewter candle holder, seedlings, still life, substrate, table, texture, vase, warm, wood, wooden, wooden board

Orange Lilies and Apples

December 7, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

 


I found an orange wax candle, and a peach and cream colored ceramic vase while looking for items to use in my still life. The vase was matched with some gorgeous orange lilies which offset the orange in the candle. Two red apples were placed at the base of the candle holder, and added a gray stone vase with little baby yellow carnations was added. The entire composition was offset by a beautiful texture I added as a background. There is a lovely contrast between the rustic vases and the vibrant colors of the flowers.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: apple, background, beautiful, bloom, blossom, blue texture, candle holder, ceramic vase, colorful, flame, floral, flower, fruit, gray stone vase, green leaves, illustration, lilies, lily, natural, orange candle, orange ceramic vase, orange flowers, peach vase, pewter candle holder, red, red apples, rustic, still life, stone vase, texture, wax candle, wick, yellow carnations, yellow flowers

Halloween Fantasy

November 3, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment


I chose a scorpion, and a teradacyl to accompany a small skull. I placed the skull atop a green glass vase and I chose three mini pumpkins, resting under a ceramic green vase. I added green hydrangeas to the vase and place them alongside a red vase with pink lilies. I photographed this against a white backdrop but added a blue-green texture as a background to accentuate the whimsical scene. The setup creates a quirky contrast between the natural and the macabre in a harmonious composition.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: abstract, artistic, background, banner, bone, bones, ceramic vase, colored background, colorful, cranium, extinct, Fall, floral, floral decoration, flower, green, green glass vase, green vase, Halloween, halloween pumpkin, happy halloween, head, horror, human, human skull, hydrangea, mini pumpkins, october, orange, pink, pink lilies, poster, pumpkins, red glass, red glass vase, scorpion, scull, skeleton, skulls, spooky, still life, teeth, teradactyl, texture, white

Guardian Lion and Zebra

August 19, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment


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.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: animal, animal print vase, art, background, balanced, beautiful, blossom, botany, brown vase, candle, chinese lion, color, decoration, decorative, design, exotic, fabric, fantasy still life, flame, floral, flower, guardian lion, leaves, lily, lily flower, lit candle, nature, serene, spotted vase, still life, summer, texture, vase, wax candle, wildlife, yellow lily, zebra, zebra bust

Baby Elephant in Wonderland

July 16, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

 


I came upon a baby Lenox elephant while looking for inspiration at Goodwill. I wanted to create a serene scene by using soft muted colors of green, blue and beige hues.I added two candles of green and beige, matching the color scheme. Light yellow/white carnations, in a green glass vase, added to the serene and peaceful atmosphere. In addition, I added some pretty rocks surrounding the elephant. It is abstract, something one would not normally find in nature, but that is my interpretation. I enjoy placing objects that don’t go together in a beautiful cohesive scene. It is amazing how that works to create a lovely and unusual fantasy still life.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: abstract, animal, art, baby elephant, beautiful, beige candle, bloom, blossom, blue beige background, blue green texture, botany, calm, candle flame, candles, carnations, color, colorful, cute, elephant, elephant ear, elephant sculpture, elephants ears, flame, flora, floral, flower, flowers, gardening, glass vase, grass, gray elephant, green, green candle, green vase, rock, rock garden, rocks, serene, stone, texture, thrift, vase, yellow flowers

Green Hat, Yellow Lilies, and Chess

May 31, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

 


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.

Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: background, beautiful, blooming, brown candle, bud, candlestick holder, ceramic vase, chess piece, composition, flame, flora, floral, flower, flowers, green, green fedora hat, green hat, green vase, hat, king chess piece, leaves, lilies, lily, lit candle, may lilies, muted backdrop, orange background, patterned cloth, petal, Photo, pretty, serene scene, smoke, stem, still life, terracotta vase, texture, textured background, textured surface, vase, yellow, yellow lilies

Mardi Gras Masks

May 6, 2024 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

 

I came upon these two Venetian masks in Goodwill. I was drawn to them and felt these beauties would make an unusual and vibrant image.These pair of Venetian-style masks are displayed prominently, one adorned with colorful details and the other in a stark black and white motif. A bouquet of red alstroemeria flowers and a single red rose add a vibrant touch to the composition, while a lit red candle provides a warm glow from the side. I placed the red candle atop an hourglass containing white sand. I photographed this arrangement against a white backdrop and added a lovely blue texture to create an etherial, otherworldly look.

All of these are somewhat similar, but different. Some have skulls, some have flowers or candles, yet all show the beauty of the masks displayed different forms.



Filed Under: Still Life Photography Tagged With: abstract, alstromeria, art, beautiful, bokeh, carnaval, carnival, carnival mask, carnivale, celebration, colorful, costume, decorative, disguise, disguised, exotic, face, fantasy, Festival, flora, flower, golden, gras, green vase, hourglass, italian, magical, mardi, mardi gras, mardi gras mask, mask, masked, masque, masquerade, masquerade mask, orleans, painted, petal, red, red flowers, red rose, rose, still life, texture, theater mask, theatrical, venetian, venice, venice carnival, vivid, woman

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

Joyce Portraits and Identity Crisis 2020

April 4, 2020 by Marilyn Botta Leave a Comment

I had an assignment for Chicks that Click photo group to come up with an image representing Identity Crisis. I enlisted my friend Joyce who is a wonderful model and had her pose gazing into a mirror. I did this in my studio upstairs and put the soft box with my AD200 strobe light on the left side with a grid over the box. This was done to achieve a low key effect. In editing I added both a blue texture to the mirror and then I added a shattered glass brush over it.










I like the effect–it looks like an identity crisis to me. Then Joyce wanted some portraits too. She is a great model and doesn’t require too much instruction on posing.

 

Filed Under: Portraits Tagged With: AD200, blue, brown hat, grid, hat, identity crisis, low key, mirror, model, Portraits, posing, PS brush, reflection, shattered glass, soft box, strobe light, studio, texture, tipping hat

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