ARCHIVE: STILL LIFE 49 – THE SHADOWS OF LEAVES

Leaves trailing from a plant pot at The Point, Bristol harbourside; 11 Apr 2004.  

The few green leaves amongst the many leaf shadows on a featureless, bluish ground, are important here – the presence of the colour green definitely enhances the picture. 

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Technique: rotated 90 degrees clockwise; OM-4 with 21mm Zuiko lens; Fuji Provia 400 colour slide film rated at 3200 ISO. 

UPDATE: Minimalism, less is more; usually better than a cluttered image – the eye knows more what to look at, rather than being confused by masses of detail.  And quite a shock to see that I took this 17 years ago – I used to stalk around Bristol with this wonderfully compact 21mm lens, looking for simplicity, looking too for abstract compositions.  And I loved push-processing colour slide films (the Provia 400 here is being pushed 3 stops: 400 to 800 to 1600 to 3200), to boost the colours and contrast, and to get more grain, as seen here.

ARCHIVE STILL LIFE

This is a new category on this blog – Archive Still Life studies.  The Still Life definition will certainly be followed loosely – e.g. some studies may only have been made “still” by the split second opening of the camera’s shutter – and my objective will be to use as many different types / genres of subject matter as possible.  Some images will be Minimalist and, in general, I try to make simpler images, rather than cramming them with visual content.

Some new Still Life studies will (hopefully!) continue to appear.

ARCHIVE: STILL LIFE 45 – YELLOW CHAIR WITH BLUE LEGS

Lounging in Browns after a lot of walking and photography, looking at the interplay of light, colours, shapes and textures.  And seeing a yellow chair with blue legs, partly in shadow.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujifilm lens at 206mm (equiv); 3200 ISO; Lightroom; rotated; Browns restaurant, central Bristol; 24 Feb 2017.

ARCHIVE STILL LIFE

This is a new category on this blog – Archive Still Life studies.  The Still Life definition will certainly be followed loosely – e.g. some studies may only have been made “still” by the split second opening of the camera’s shutter – and my objective will be to use as many different types / genres of subject matter as possible.  Some images will be Minimalist and, in general, I try to make simpler images, rather than cramming them with visual content.

Some new Still Life studies will (hopefully!) continue to appear.

ARCHIVE: STILL LIFE 44 – BROAD PLAIN

Shafts of morning sunlight softly caress a façade – or rake harshly across it, laying bare its every jagged line and texture – its just a matter of how we look at things in the moment.

But the window keeps its privacy in cool shadow; also for the moment.

Analysis: this is a picture of a window (oh, you’re thinking, he’s sharp …), but to me (but maybe not to you …) its more an assemblage of shapes, textures, light and shadow.  Apart from the window’s frame it has Minimal colour but, as so often happens, presenting in it black and white would certainly lose something – the very faint yellow below the window, for example, adds something I think.  I’ve talked about a method of photography where the photographer looks for good light and then thinks what to do with it, how to use it, and I know I’m not alone in this.  Here is an example.  The morning sunlight was slanting across the façade, and I walked along, looking up at the interplays of the light with the building, thinking what might be possible.  And, as always, a telephoto was useful in picking out details from the overall scene.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 300mm (equiv); 200 ISO; Lightroom; Broad Plain, central Bristol; 26 May 2017.

ARCHIVE STILL LIFE

This is a new category on this blog – Archive Still Life studies.  The Still Life definition will certainly be followed loosely – e.g. some studies may only have been made “still” by the split second opening of the camera’s shutter – and my objective will be to use as many different types / genres of subject matter as possible.  Some images will be Minimalist and, in general, I try to make simpler images, rather than cramming them with visual content.

Some new Still Life studies will (hopefully!) continue to appear.

ARCHIVE: PEOPLE 22 – MINIMAL NUDE (MONO)

My late cousin was an artist, working with oil paints, and here is a shot of one of his professional models.  I have very Minimalist tastes when it comes to images, which may be why I crop them so tightly, and I love the “less is more” message here.  Here’s what I wrote in the original post:

“There’s a lot of negative (i.e. unfilled) space in this picture, notably the large polygon between the model’s arm and flank; but also the two triangles top and bottom right, which mirror each other, as do the shadowy forearm and upper arm. This negative space is an important component of the picture.

The highlights of the picture mainly form the left hand quarter, which almost meets the illuminated upper arm at the top of the frame. There is quite a powerful feature top right where, moving outwards towards the corner, the deep shadow of the upper arm changes to highlight, and then to the dark background to the shot.”

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Technique: 21/22 Aug 2007; F6 with 24-85 Nikkor lens fitted with a Hoya Softener (A) soft focus filter; Ilford Delta 3200 Professional film.

ARCHIVE: LOOKING AT CARS 78 – CAR BEHIND A WIRE FENCE

Brooding in the shadows just before dawn and all too beautiful; tantalising, seductive even; and prudently fenced off from those who might want – or perhaps even, desire – to take too close a look.

But a cold beauty now, dumb, metallic, inert, just a work of modern sculpture or an overlarge paperweight, even if all of that can be changed in an instant by the arrival of – no, not something with the elegance of Cinderella’s slipper – but more prosaically, in this mass-produced, machine-driven world: an ignition key.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 300mm (equiv); 200 ISO; spotmetering for highlights; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; car park beside Temple Meads station, central Bristol; 26 May 2017.

ARCHIVE: PEOPLE 2 – GIRL IN A WHITE DRESS

Our friends’ elder daughter, luckily caught by beautiful side lighting, in their kitchen.

This family has a large and airy kitchen lit by a single, large window.  Their daughter moved across to the right of the window, and was at once bathed in soft light, with relative shade as a backdrop.

The light flowing over her white dress was immediately beautiful, and I was fortunate in catching her right arm as well as her left, the former being seen both in silhouette and illuminated.  I’ve also been lucky in having the light just catching her long hair too.  Light reflecting from her dress produces a soft glow on the cupboards to her left.

This is, obviously, a picture of a person, but it is unposed and anonymous, and mostly about the interplay of light, shadow, shapes and textures.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: D700 with 105mm Nikkor lens; 12,800 ISO; manipulated with Capture NX2, Bristol; 9 Sept 2012.

ARCHIVE: STILL LIFE 29 – CHRISTMAS STEPS (MONO)

Morning sunlight blasts up Christmas Steps, an ancient thoroughfare in Bristol city centre; 16 Sept 2016.

Close-in with a wide angle lens, low angle sunlight, and textures all around.  This was never going to be a colour image but, as always, I like to capture images in colour, and then convert them to mono post-capture with Silver Efex Pro 2.  This method does, I think, provide far more options and potential for the final image(or images) than having the camera itself shoot mono images.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: X-T1 with 10-24 Fujinon lens at 24mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Film Noir 1 preset.

ARCHIVE STILL LIFE

This is a new category on this blog – Archive Still Life studies.  The Still Life definition will certainly be followed loosely – e.g. some studies may only have been made “still” by the split second opening of the camera’s shutter – and my objective will be to use as many different types / genres of subject matter as possible.  Some images will be Minimalist and, in general, I try to make simpler images, rather than cramming them with visual content.

Some new Still Life studies will (hopefully!) continue to appear.

ARCHIVE STILL LIFE PICTURE GALLERY 2 : POSTS 11-20

ARCHIVE STILL LIFE PICTURE GALLERIES

I’m currently posting images from my large archive of (loosely defined!) still life photos.  These photos are being posted singly, with full text.

To make viewing of these images easier for those with little time to spare, I’m also posting groups of these images with minimal titles.  This is the second gallery – you can find the earlier galleries here: 1 .

Clicking onto each image will open a larger version in a separate window: doing this often enhances the image.

Looking down onto the shadow of a footbridge; 2014.

Dustbin and blue cord, in a churchyard; 2014.

The upper deck of a bus, on a sunny day; 2017.

My wife’s glass of wine, in a Bristol pub, on a sweaty afternoon; 2016.

Looking into a building at night; 2016.

Teasels, in the valley of the River Chew; 2013.

Seascape, Lizard Point, Cornwall; 2016.

Public seating; 2016.

Small tree, on the Mendip Hills; 2018.

Advertisement, a little the worse for wear; 2017.

STILL LIFE 261 – THE VIEW INTO A FISH AND CHIP SHOP DURING THE PANDEMIC

Looking in through the windows of a fish and chip shop during the pandemic, just as the sun was rising.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 320 ISO; spot metering; Lightroom, starting at the Modern 01 profile; south Bristol; 1 June 2021.

ARCHIVE: STILL LIFE 8 – LITTLE KING STREET

Tag on the wall of a bar.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 223mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Little King Street, central Bristol; 19 July 2016.

ARCHIVE STILL LIFE

This is a new category on this blog – Archive Still Life studies.  The Still Life definition will certainly be followed loosely – e.g. some studies may only have been made “still” by the split second opening of the camera’s shutter – and my objective will be to use as many different types / genres of subject matter as possible.  Some images will be Minimalist and, in general, I try to make simpler images, rather than cramming them with visual content.

Some new Still Life studies will (hopefully!) continue to appear.