Found Still Life

by Carol

To feel the grace of God in a painting of the dear, quiet commonness of a domestic interior, or in a landscape, seascape, cityscape, trains us to feel the grace of God in the thing itself in situ."
                                                                                    Susan Vreeland

I have just come across the term "found still life." I'm not sure if this term has been around for long, but its new to me, and it fits right in with my approach to photography. The definition of a still life is this: "a genre of photography used for the depiction of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects. " It is basically the adoption or adaptation of artistic still life painting. Those paintings are all about design, with the artist arranging the elements into an interesting composition. Often the objects are symbolic. Always lighting is critical. In addition, shadow, value, color and shape are all incorporated. Do any of those terms bring photography to mind?

In a photographic still life, the same principals apply. The photographer sometimes works with the composition and the light for hours. Should I place 3 lemons in the bowl? One lemon out and two in? a sliced lemon next to the full bowl? Should I light the scene from above, below, right or left - backlighting perhaps? Should I shoot from above? from the side?  Which lens highlights the beauty? For me, although the results are much appreciated, the rigidity is too much.

Still life photography is a wonderful way to learn to work with form and light, but in practice, the controlled atmosphere fails to make my heart sing. For me the excitement comes from noticing the beauty arranged by a higher consciousness. How can I expect to match or surpass the grace of a dying rose caught in the golden hour, or the curve of an egret's neck as it bends into a stream for dinner? And then there is the water itself - in all its forms!

There can be beauty that's less obvious in a pile of leaves or twigs, or the way a shadow skims the water's edge, boulders scattered randomly near a river, a stand of birch trees. Even Man's sometimes heavy hand can create unexpected harmony in a pile of nails tossed aside, an old fence, a sunburst of rust. 

In photographing "found still life" the idea is that the objects are inanimate,  that nothing is moved into place by the photographer. There are no people in the shot. If the objects or their pattern tell a story, or symbolize something deeper in and of themselves, so much the better for creating as unique and meaningful image. Have you happened upon one of nature's still life compositions lately? Won't you share it in our gallery? And if you should choose to backlight it, it will even fit into our new monthly Focus On You theme. How ever you choose to shoot it, I'm guessing that your biggest reward will be from getting out into nature to look for it.  Happy wandering!

"No better way is there to learn to love nature than to understand art. It dignifies every flower of the field. And the boy who sees the thing of beauty which a bird on the wing becomes when transferred to wood or canvas will probably not throw the customary stone."

                                                                                                     Oscar Wilde

                                                                

Nature Lessons

by Leigh

One of these days I will talk about something other than flowers.  Oh who am I kidding...that's never going to happen!  I've come to the conclusion that the reason I like to photograph nature more than I do people is because I don't have to control, pose, bribe, prod nature.  When I'm outside I am an observer....walking along and listening to what nature is telling me....paying attention to what nature wants to show me.  I don't have to dress up  for it.  I don't have to talk out loud to it.  I can be myself with nature.

Maybe that's why I have such a strong connection to everything in the plant world.  The relationship we have appeals to my inner introvert.  I don't have to make small talk or fidget with my outfit.  There's no concern over what I'm wearing or if my hair looks ok.  Nature does not judge me and I do not judge it.  There is a mutual appreciation.

Nature is a teacher, a healer, a friend.  It's like Thoreau said, 

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

"Living a deliberate life."  I love that.  And maybe that's what it's all about....living a mindfully rich life rather than a monetarily rich one.  In a true transcendentalist way, Thoreau believed strongly in the power of nature and living simply.  I believe that is a lesson that applies just as much now as it did for Thoreau in 1854.

"Look!  Look!  Look deep into nature and you will understand everything."

~Walt Whitman

A Garden + A Theme = Learning

Wanderlust is in my blood. I get it from my dad. We both have a strong urge to wander or travel. I find that urge to wander carries over into my photography. Most of the time even though I go to a specific destination, I just wander along letting my instincts and curiosity lead me. There’s nothing wrong with that as I always find something of interest, but recently I tried something different. I went with a specific theme to photograph. My destination was a woodland garden that I have been to many times. I thought by choosing a place I’ve been before I wouldn’t be overwhelmed with the newness of everything around me. My theme was leading lines because it is our Monthly Focus  and it is something I needed to work on.

Having something specific in mind changed my shooting approach in a positive way. Having a theme provided a starting point instead of aimless wandering until something caught my eye. Of course, the pathways were the first and most obvious leading lines. It was just a matter of finding a pleasing point of view. I soon discovered that if the lines weren’t obvious like the pathways, I struggled with finding them. Subconsciously I’ve used leading lines before, but to look for them was hard for me. I had all these thoughts running around in my head. Is there a line here? Where is the line leading my eyes? Do the lines help or hinder the photograph? Can I get the line higher or lower to improve the balance? Does the line need to stay inside the frame or lead out? 

I discovered that leading lines don't have to be continuous. Sometimes our eyes will complete the line for us like in the photo above. There is not a complete line of rocks that are visible, but our eyes follow them out of the picture anyway.

I also discovered that abstract images can be improved when there is a line leading your eye through the photo.

Photographing with a theme is not something I’ve done very often. As I said I’m more of a wanderer, but I did like this experience of picking a theme. I felt stimulated and came away with a sense of accomplishment. Having a theme helped me focus because I already knew what I was looking for. It also became a good learning experience. The next time you’re out with your camera you might try choosing a specific theme. Although the possibilities of a photo theme are endless, here are some suggestions to get you started:

• a specific color
• things that are old
• shapes
• patterns
• shadows
• reflections
• signs
• people
• arcitecture

For an extra challenge, pick something you don’t normally photograph.

I encourage you sometime during this month to choose leading lines as your theme and post some of your images in the Focusing On Life Flicker photo pool. I would love to see examples of leading lines as I continue to study them. I honestly need help learning to see them!

"Weather" or Not

by Terri

“Rain, rain, go away and don’t come back another day.” That’s usually my tune when we get rain and this winter there has been a LOT of rain, at least a lot for the desert. When someone says to me, “Don’t you love this weather?” I say, “No, I don’t. That’s why I live here!”  Gray skies just make me sad. I want to see sun and blue sky 365 days a year! Our winters are usually our favorite time, the reward for enduring scalding hot summers, so all the rain was definitely getting me down.

But I recently decided to try to make the most of the rainy days instead. Last week we had one whole day where it rained constantly and that is so rare for us. The next day it was still raining but stopped at around 11:00 a.m. so I grabbed my camera and decided to go and see what surprises I could find that were left by the rain. The raindrops on the branches in the photo above immediately caught my attention. And then there was this:

It was like the branches were hung with diamonds!

With further exploration, I discovered that there was a river of water flowing through an otherwise dry desert. We now have riverfront property! I snapped this shot and it wasn’t until I opened it on my computer that I discovered the bokeh created by the now-emerging sun gleaming on the water. Well, if that wasn’t enough to make me love the rain, nothing will!

So the next time it rains . . . no, I probably won’t be happy about it but you can bet I’ll be waiting for that moment when it stops and I can go out and see what I can find with my camera!  Do you grumble about less-than-favorite weather or have you figured out ways to make the most of those days?

I think as photographers we can always find ways to appreciate what Mother Nature gives us by training our cameras on the beauty around us, whatever that might be. It’s a whole lot more fun to capture it with our lens than complain about it. Yes, I’m talking to myself here but I’m willing to bet I have some company in this. What do you choose to do when it’s too hot, too cold, too snowy, too wet? Share your favorite ways to cope with the weather. I may need to use them the next time it rains!