Just a quick post to say ‘thanks’ for following me & reading my rambling photographic posts. My journey of discovery will be continuing as I’ve now started the Pearson BTEC Level 4 HNC Diploma in Photography.
https://photoarcturus.wordpress.com
Hope you will join me in my creative endeavours.
Jennie
With all the term’s work from both the BTEC Level 3 & NCEF Level 2 courses submitted, it was time to get it on the wall.
The first session involved myself, my classmates & Zig working out where to put all this wonderful work. There was just about enough space to get them up.
This joint effort took most of the day, but the labels still had to be added. This was done a couple of days later. It certainly made a major difference having everyone’s names & work titles next to the photos.
It was also great to see the results of many weeks of hard work, research & discovery finally on display.
Criteria Ref: P1, P2 & P4.
With the end of term upon us, a final decision had to made regarding which image I would submit for my Still Life task.
After showing the class the two prints, it was clear which one was the favourite.
I’ve tried so hard to ‘like’ the other image, but I can’t bring myself to hand it over. Yes, the photograph does not have the symbolic additions & can’t be deconstructed by semiotics. However, I love the simplicity of the flowers, the lighting, composition & background. It’s an image I would have on my own wall. The tulip was once a valuable commodity & now I can understand the obsession.
Criteria Ref: P1 & P4.
After ordering the new image from DS Colour Labs on Monday, I was pleasantly surprised to receive the prints the next day.
Here are the digital images.
And here are the prints.
The new one does look more balanced. I also decided to keep with a basic matt finish due to cost. Will let the class have a look on the next & final session then make my decision.
Criteria Ref: P1 & P3.
Time to show the two still life prints in class. Again, there was much conjecture with regards the two images.
The main feedback from my classmates & Zig was with regards to the lamp image. There wasn’t enough ‘space’ around the items. With no viable option to increase the background size, I looked at the images again & selected a new one:
I then made a few adjustments in Camera Raw, before preparing the image for printing.
Criteria Ref: P1, P2 & P4.
After another useful feedback session with the class & Zig, I finally got the selection down to two images.
I do like both of these & am still quite proud of the vase of tulips. However, for the purpose of this task, which is to ‘interpret’ a classic still life, the glass rose lamp combined with the shell, tulip, petal & shell does play with the semiotics usually encountered in this style of painting.
For example, the tulips initially alluded to the transience of life & were considered an expensive luxury. With the lamp & the butterflies, they are a man-made interpretation of nature & totally un-natural. It reflects the consumerism of today’s current society, items mass produced in China & easily available. The shell is one that my daughter brought back from the Isle of Wight, not a distant land but still a symbol of discovery & travel. The tulip & petal at the bottom of the photo still allude to life’s quick passing & a reminder to not forget that the flower is a simple piece of beauty. I also really like the way the real tulip looks like it’s been painted onto the image.
Regardless of the meaning, there’s still the printed images to examine. Will be interesting to see them when they arrive.
Criteria Ref: P1 & P4.
After a hard session in the studio today, had a quick look at the images which jumped out at me. Plus, had a little play with some B&W conversions.
All part of the learning process…
Category Ref: P1 & P4.
After practising a couple of set ups at home yesterday, today was the time to bring my props into the college studio.
Consisting of my glass rose lamp, a bunch of pink tulips, a couple of fake butterflies plus a selection of shells & stones the challenge was to interpret a classic still life painting.
Here goes…
Firstly, I set up the glass rose lamp on a black background & took a couple of phone shots.
I then set up the camera with the flash trigger & used a spotlight with barn doors. The following were taken with my Nikon D5500 using the 50mm lens. I did try a couple of shots with manual focus, but my eyesight let me down, so I used automatic focus which works well for me, adjusting the single focal point on the subject.
Next, I tried a composition just using the shells & stones.
Then I tried the tulips in the vase.
The light was quite sharp & not giving me the effect I wanted. Then Clare, my classmate volunteered to help with suggestions on how to use the items that I’d got. First, she suggested taking the flowers out the vase & combine them with some of the shells. Let’s give it a go…
We weren’t totally convinced with the result. There were a couple of shots in that group that did look quite nice, but I wouldn’t have been happy submitting any for my final image.
As the light was quite harsh, Clare suggested using a softbox to diffuse it. This made a major difference as it provided the light I was looking for. I also returned the flowers back into the vase. Something had triggered in my mind’s eye that this was the type of image I was going for.
The light was certainly softer & more even. By then I was quite visually strained & physically drained, so it was time to check out the images on the PC. I personally really liked the last set of images the most so far, with one really standing out for me. However, Zig was going to give me a push in another direction. He really liked the lamp & butterflies, which played on the concept of a classic still life painting. By twisting the subject matter, it subverts the original representation of each of the elements.
Back to the set up with some more shots of the glass rose lamp, butterflies, tulip & shells.
At the time of writing, I wasn’t totally convinced I want to go with any of these images. What I will do is not look at them for a few days & revisit with fresh eyes. Also, to view & discuss them with Zig & the class during the next lesson.
Overall, this was a great practical exercise during which I learnt a lot. It also proved that practice (as usual) makes perfect.
Criteria Ref: P1, P2 & P4.
After my recent research & seeing what my classmates were starting to produce, it was time to start planning my Still Life shot.
I had already thought of using my glass rose lamp for this purpose, but I wanted to try something else. I’d been for a walk earlier that day in Bushy Park & had seen the start of Spring. So that evening I bought a bunch of plain pink tulips from the supermarket with a view to using these as well.
As I’ve discovered while researching for this project, the tulip is a major component of classic still life, so I thought it the most appropriate. I like the simple shape, plus the connotations of this flower.
“According to an ancient Persian legend, the tulip was born of the blood & tears of a girl who had ventured into the desert in search of her lover. It thereafter became a symbol of love.” (1)
Other meanings mentioned in the book is that the tulip is ‘a symbol of the vanity of earthly things’ & ‘according to some scholars, the tulip can be understood as a symbol of divine love, because it dies if kept away from the sun.’
Also, as mentioned in the book, Peter Paul Rubens The Four Philosophers (1611-12) the tulips in the vase ‘allude to the transience of life.’
The following is the sequence of images illustrating what I did to prepare in order to (hopefully) get my final shot in a studio section. I took them with my mobile phone – unfortunately I don’t have any studio style lighting at home, but should be enough to give me an idea of composition & light direction to get the effect that I want.
First, I put the tulips in the vase on my trusty trunk with what’s on there normally. I decided to use this surface as it’s similar to the wooden surfaces pictured in classic still life paintings. I then cleared everything off except the tulips & glass vase. I had to use sellotape to straighten out the unruly curtain behind. Crude, but did the job.
What did strike me was how nice the tulips looked while in the glass with no additional items. I was taken by the natural beauty – maybe I just got caught up with making things too complicated. Or maybe I just need to appreciate the simple things in life. Maybe…
Next, I arranged the shells & stones in similar pattern to how I’d done before. Looking at the vase & other items together it did look very cluttered. Again, time to simplify?
I then replaced the flowers & vase with the glass rose lamp. Interesting combination. I also added a fake butterfly. The reason I wanted to add this item is to be a symbol of spiritual transformation & life’s journey.
Not sure if the light quite works as I’d like, but it was still interesting taking images of the composition. I also quite liked the close up & abstract shots of the light. One to play with in the studio, too.
My next change was to put back the flowers & vase. I also put a blanket on top of the wooden trunk. As much as would love to use this item, it just wouldn’t be practical to get it to college. I’ll need to bring it to the studio session to see if it will give the right base for the shot. Or I could just use the plain black paper which is already at college.
Finally, I just added the butterfly then took some further shots with one of each of the larger shell items.
This was a useful exercise that gave me a better idea of what I’d like to produce in the studio setting. Whether I can reproduce it or I have a complete change of ideas, we shall see. Will be fun finding out!
Criteria Ref: P1 & P4.
Continuing with my research for the Still Life project, I was very pleased to be able to order the book Nature & Its Symbols.
This book is very concise & easy to read, which makes a difference from some of the heavy tomes from my college reading days.
I particularly liked the chapter looking flowers, which helped continue my thoughts on my still life shot.
“Since antiquity, the image of the flower has been associated with the notion that both life and beauty are short-lived. These theme find expression above all in the genre of floral still lifes, which became particularly popular during the seventeenth century. In paintings of this sort, splendid bouquets of flowers appear alongside others that are beginning to wilt, their petals lying scattered about the vase that unites the composition.” (1)
A good example shown in the book with regards to the symbolism of flowers is contained within this following image called Virgin & Child Inside a Garland (c1625) by Frans Ykens & Gerard Seghers:
Working clockwise from the top of the painting, the Impelluso explains the meanings of certain elements depicted:
In another chapter looking at the symbolism of flowers, it describes the last flower mentioned as:
“The rose is one of the attributes of Venus, goddess of love. Because of its thorns, during the Renaissance the flower was also considered a symbol of the sorrows of love.” (3)
I definitely want to include flowers within my image. Whether real or fake is still to be seen.
Criteria Ref: P1 & P4.
Photo Persephone 