Tuesday 3 March 2015

Still Life Photography [Sidelight - Organic]




The theme of week 38 in Kim Klassen's Be Still 52-class is Sidelight - Organic. Kim inspires us to use natural materials - tin, linen, cotton, branches - anything from nature ...  in order to create cozy Still Life images, with her Lightroom preset Organic.




I am fond of the tin bowl from my husbands grandmother, and the tin plate from my grandmother. The green linen fabric is at least 12 years old - I sewed anoraks and trousers to our boys of this fabric when they were toddles. The pine cones and the packthread are "leftovers" from out Christmas decorations - to be packed down to the cellar.




And this plant ... I was looking for something nice to my colleague and I fell for this pretty plant - and I ended up buying also one plant for myself. I have no idea what this plant is called, I only know that it needs to be watered twice a week. I find the  combination of green and lilac in the leaves as special and beautiful.




Using dark cotton cloth, I covered partly the window to the left - setting black cloth as a back drop, to create depth and feeling of shadow. 
I adjusted my camera settings to 18 mm 1/10 sec at f/3,5 with ISO 100, and I reduced the exposure even more with going down 3 stops.

The Organic preset creates a lovely dark mood. I did made some further adjustments in Lightroom, opening the shadows a bit, and increasing slightly the light and highlights.




This is the "setting behind the scenes": I used dark cloths to block out part of the sidelight from the window.




The great contrast in the photos awakened my curiosity to find out, how the photos would look like in black and white. I did the conversion to black and white in Lightroom, using Summer Rains BW/5 -preset from 2 Lil Owls Studios. 
Since I wanted to create a feeling of antique, warm tint, I used the split tone-function in Lightroom, adding just a bit orange hue to the shadows.












... I cannot wait to see the Still Life photography my classmates have created: I am sure, many of them will share their interpretations of the Sidelight - Organic -theme in Kim's Texture Tuesday this week.




Every thought you produce, anything you say, any action you do, it bears your signature.

Thich Nhat Hanh




... All the best to your Tuesday,
Nina




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17 comments:

  1. I was just taken in by each photo. Lovely props and I love how you blocked some of your side light. That is a trick I need to remember. All the best, Sarah

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  2. Those first shots could be paintings; so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your prep stages as I don't think I would have thought about blocking some of the side light....

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  3. I like aall those shots and am glad to see you converted some to black and white. I am a fan of black and white.

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  4. WOW! WOW! WOW! Nina these are stunning... they remind me of the Dutch still life era. Fantastic.

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  5. Wow, this is gorgeos and well done in photographing.
    Greetings from Germany

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  6. Hello Nina, Just stunning! I really loved this powerful photo, I hope one day to know so much more on how to take amazing photos!
    This was a treat!
    Blessings, Roxy

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  7. Oh wow, these are all stunning Nina! Beautiful light, and rich dark colors. I think your plant is a Wandering Jew. I used to grow them and loved their colors...the more sun it gets, the deeper the purple, and closer together he leaves come on the vine. It's such an elegant plant.

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  8. Hello Nina, I always enjoy learning your process. The combination of textures and the use of shadow and light adds mystique to the photos. My favorite is the one where you lowered the camera and shot upward - I like the definition of the purple in that shot.

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  9. These dark, moody images are just marvelous. Great control of the light.

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  10. Gorgeous rich tones. I enjoyed hearing about each item in your still life. My favorite image is the one where the string is in a heart shape and it leads you into the image.

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  11. Sweet Nina, your photos are not only beautiful, they are extremely captivating. The lighting is simply perfect and the combination of the flowers, the pine cones, and the twine makes for a stunning photo.

    I truly appreciate you and your posts - thank you for sharing at ROI. Hugs to you!

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  12. Those are beautiful photos. Love the side light idea. I always enjoy visiting your site. It's one of my favorites.

    Blessings,
    Peabea

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  13. These remind me of Renaissance paintings! Just gorgeous!

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  14. What a lovely still life! I do love the rich, dark colors - so pretty! Beautiful in black and white, also. xo Karen

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  15. Beautiful and stunning all at the same time. I too love the dark, rick colors.

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  16. these are just gorgeous all of them, love the dark colors and mood and the sweet little heart

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Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment! I read and enjoy them all and I'll do my best to to hop on over to your blog for a visit.

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