Saturday, February 26, 2011

infinite possibilities


When I found out we were doing "still life" as a theme, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to capture some of my favorite foods in Italy. Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese was at the top of my list, along with this delicious Amarone della Valpolicella wine. I knew that I wanted this still life on the kitchen counter of our apartment as well.

I had it all planned out in my head, but the reality of the execution was a bit harder than I expected! I set it up, crumbling the parmigiano and placing it next to the wine bottle and started taking photos. Too boring. Put a cork in there for some interest. Better. Add some pasta, almost there. Maybe a wine glass? Yes. Too much space between the wine glass and the bottle. Try again. Oh, that piece of pasta is distracting. Move it and try a few more with different compositions, angles and depth of field. Try with counter lighting on, then counter lighting off. The possibilities were infinite!

In order to look good, a still life has to be just so. The elements must coordinate, be artfully arranged, have nice light, and be captured with an interesting composition. Ania's photo is a perfect example of a well-done still life. I wonder if the arrangement happened naturally, or if it took a while to artfully scatter those seeds...

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

...
... by ~ania♥

11 comments:

Justine said...

absolutely love both these still life photographs.

Kirstin said...

Oh these are so beautifully composed...wonderful!

urban muser said...

kat, i love these photos, and your description of the art of still life photography!

Anna said...

Kat, both of these still life shots are beautiful and fresh! As your post points out, there is a lot more to getting the perfect set up, than the effortless look of the finished shot may convey.

Unknown said...

Both are so beautiful! I enjoyed your discription of the set up as well. Fantastic!

Rosie Grey said...

So beautiful - both photos!

Suki said...

I think I fell in love with these pictures.

Simon said...

Well all your work paid off....you've created a gorgeous still life. I too am a fan of that wine. (:

Tammy Lee Bradley said...

I have always said you could add cheese to anything and I would love it. I just never thought that would be a photo. :) Perfect.

Ania. I am in love with all your still life shots. Thank you for musing with us.

Ania said...

Kat, thank you so very much for featuring my photo in your musing about still life, I feel honored :)

I just love your still life with wine and cheese, very classic with a contemporaty twist :)

Your description of setting the props for a still life is spot on :) Even though sometimes it happens naturally and easily, most of the time it takes some planning, some rearranging and lots of shots to get it just right :)
To answer your question - the seeds happened just naturally, I just scattered a few around and let them stay where they fell but the egg and the little lavender stems... that's another story :)

Tammy, you just brightened my day, thank you!

blue elephant photography said...

these photos are so beautiful! i wanna eat cheese and drink wine now. and i would love my table to have those flowers.

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