CHAT thread for the 'Still Life' weekly competition, from 7 October - 13 October 2013
Im squeezing this in, during my lunchtime as I'm at work today and with busy family stuff tomorrow. Hope this is ok.
The theme is 'Still Life' with no restrictions on pp. I thought this would suit everyone, everywhere, regardless of time, place weather etc.
Pictures to be taken between 00.01am Monday 7 October to 23:59pm Sunday 13 October 2013.
Pictures to be posted in the entries thread no later than 23.59pm Monday 14 October 2013.
Poll will be up Tuesday 15th October.
Winner to be announced Saturday 19th October
The Rules for the weekly competition are:-
By entering you agree to take responsibility to:
post a topic on the Sunday following your declared win
create an entries thread
create a chat thread
create a poll for that weeks comp and declare the winner on the Saturday
(if for any reason there is a problem and no subject is posted by the winner by Monday night admin will advise second place winner to post the topic asap, do the poll etc)
In case of a tie, the first entry posted wins.
Never been keen on still life, unless I find one during my wanderings.
No good at setting things up in a nice way, so here's hoping I find something!
If the subject is dead can that be classed as still life? :uglystupid2:
Quote from: Oldboy on October 06, 2013, 11:19:51 PM
If the subject is dead can that be classed as still life? :uglystupid2:
Not if it's totally dead.
No, then it has no life....then again still life is usually inanimate objects, and they arent alive either, so why is it called still life?
As I understand it, Still Life usually refers to set pieces (used to create an artistic composition or study) and usually includes things like flowers and or fruits etc. - Things that have grown, with 'still life' in their seeds I guess :tup:
A quick look at
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=still+life
might be of help.
Not just fruit and veg but loads of inanimate objects that can make a pleasing picture. I would hazard that the lighting plays a major role in the creation of a decent Still Life image togther with a creative arrangement of objects that catch the eye.
The French for still life is 'nature morte', so more still death than still life ;)
Hmmmm could try to set up "La petite morte" but that would hardly be "Still Life", hopefully. ::)
Quote from: Hinfrance on October 07, 2013, 07:23:27 PM
The French for still life is 'nature morte', so more still death than still life ;)
The Dutch masters of "stilleven" (after all, the term was borrowed from the Dutch) often included dead birds or fish.
I thought my luck was in, as I photographed a dead pigeon last week, which was still there after two days.
When I went out this morning however, it had gone! Would have been nice and ripe by now, and full of 'life.'
Have to think of something else.
Reinardina, you have just 'broken my dream' as they say. I dreamed I was advised that rotting dead birds placed in the lumbar region would help my back pain, but I just couldn't do it.
Too much information!
Still Life images can be just about anything that doesn't move. The definition of a still life subject is an inanimate object but other subjects are loosely termed as still life as well. These include flowers, food, etc. They are life forms but they don't move.
Maybe this helps :-\
Is there an entry thread for this yet? cant find it
I would suggest that a 'Still Life' picture is not just something that is dead, dying or deceased, although a bit of roadkill would perhaps come in handy, and that the essence of a 'Still Life' image is one where the subject has been arranged, and in most cases, lit by the author. Just stumbling across a derelict building or a fruit and veg stallholder's display is just a record shot and surely wouldn't count, well not in my book.
As a matter of fact I have in my wheelybin a dead fox that I discovered at the end of the garden today. Obviously on it's last legs it had crawled under a low growing bush to end it's days. A strange smell and a large cloud of bluebottles alerted me to it's presence. :doh:
P.S. I'll resist using it for any entry that I might make.
As theme setter, can I please say NO DEAD ANIMALS PLEASE?......As you can guarantee someone will.
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 08, 2013, 10:20:29 PM
As theme setter, can I please say NO DEAD ANIMALS PLEASE?......As you can guarantee someone will.
Well if it's dead it doesn't fit the theme cos there's no life about it
Well that's just declassified most of the classic painters' still life efforts as not being still life any more. Most of them I seem to recall are table or kitchen sets with some form of meat or poultry about the place, often pheasant or rabbit.
I wasn't planning on killing anything anyway, just sayin'
Howard, behave...meat is different!!!!! I just think a dead animal would offend some people.
There's even one with a dead swan, long neck gracefully dangling down. People were not over sensitive about animals/their food in those days.
As I can't use my dead pigeon, I may stretch the boundaries to the limit, or even further, and thereby create the new, again Dutch, standard for still life. ;)
DD, meat is dead animal, and besides, the old masters painted the whole animal; dead but still in tact and recognisable.
A few fresh mackerel always makes a good picture, but I'll not go there, I'll make do with a packet of fish fingers instead! ???
Quote from: ABERS on October 09, 2013, 08:27:06 AM
A few fresh mackerel always makes a good picture, but I'll not go there, I'll make do with a packet of fish fingers instead! ???
Frozen or thawed? :P
I can't believe an easy subject as still life can cause a stir
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 09, 2013, 01:21:41 PM
I can't believe an easy subject as still life can cause a stir
So, Still Life is easy? :o
A good still life is about as hard as it gets, you are in control of everything, choice and composition of the subject, the lighting, the background and foreground and the tonal and contrast distribution within the image You're not just running around snapping whatever is laying around or takes your fancy, everything depends on you and your creative photographic ability to produce a half decent image.
Look forward to seeing what appears in the competition and how the brief is approached.
I've never found any photographic subject easy, when I do I'll pack up. ::)
I'm still not 100% sure if i'm doing this right, but I've uploaded my entry to the album, copied the bb code, now I take it I paste the code here on this thread?? :uglystupid2:
It's called Smartie World....
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11375/normal_Only_smarties_have_the_answer21.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14505)
Quote from: ABERS on October 09, 2013, 05:13:01 PM
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 09, 2013, 01:21:41 PM
I can't believe an easy subject as still life can cause a stir
So, Still Life is easy? :o
A good still life is about as hard as it gets, you are in control of everything, choice and composition of the subject, the lighting, the background and foreground and the tonal and contrast distribution within the image You're not just running around snapping whatever is laying around or takes your fancy, everything depends on you and your creative photographic ability to produce a half decent image.
Look forward to seeing what appears in the competition and how the brief is approached.
I've never found any photographic subject easy, when I do I'll pack up. ::)
Sorry, I didn't mean the subject matter was easy, I agree what you say about still life and your control. What I meant was the ease of the topic to understand...grrrrr...Im not explaining this well am I?
Yes that's right but it also needs to go in the entries thread.
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 09, 2013, 07:11:28 PM
Yes that's right but it also needs to go in the entries thread.
Chris, I would upload to the entries thread if I could find one. :-\ asked where this was a yesterday I think.
Oh god, so sorry..Im in cloud coockoo land at minute..will sort it now. Sorry guys
OK entry thread done now.
A hint of inspiration this morning, so perhaps I will have a go at setting up a little compostion during today :-\
Don't listen to them Chris, still life is still life, some will find it easy and others a challenge.
Me, I found some amazing purple shells on the beach while on holiday, might have to play with the light box this weekend.
As for dead animals....there's no life in that, so I agree with the 'no dead animals' rule
OH, and ADJT - those smarties are really cute, and I love the reflections
Quote from: spikeyjen on October 10, 2013, 08:20:06 AM
Don't listen to them Chris, still life is still life, some will find it easy and others a challenge.
Same as photography then?
First attempt, all very still and no life!
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10216/normal_Harvest_Home_2.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14510&fullsize=1)
I recognise that flower Abers, sure I voted for it last time...lol
Lots of fun painting the light in with a candle flame :dance: Autumn Gold
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11049/normal_autumngold.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14513&fullsize=1)
this is the one I DIDN'T put in, it's what happens when you are home alone, too tired, a couple of glasses of red and a bit of imagination. I've called it 'Papa Shell, Mama Shell and Baby Shell on the beach' !!! :2funny:
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11372/normal_on_the_beach.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14530&fullsize=1)
Quote from: Beaux Reflets on October 11, 2013, 06:18:11 AM
Lots of fun painting the light in with a candle flame :dance: Autumn Gold
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11049/normal_autumngold.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14513&fullsize=1)
nice colors Andy, all it needs is a bit of bread and cheese and I'm set for the night. Nice work
Quote from: ABERS on October 10, 2013, 06:42:13 PM
First attempt, all very still and no life!
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10216/normal_Harvest_Home_2.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14510&fullsize=1)
I really like the PP you've done here Abers, and I have seen that artichoke before in a previous comp. That 3 pinned fork is a bit ominous but it adds to the 'ambiance'.
Quote from: spikeyjen on October 13, 2013, 08:40:19 AM
Quote from: Beaux Reflets on October 11, 2013, 06:18:11 AM
Lots of fun painting the light in with a candle flame :dance: Autumn Gold
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11049/normal_autumngold.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14513&fullsize=1)
nice colors Andy, all it needs is a bit of bread and cheese and I'm set for the night. Nice work
Thank you. There's more tucker in the basket Jen ;) :2funny:
Here's mine. I decided to just go for the traditional gloomy look of the classic painters. I did think about doing something even more bright and stark than Jen's but time is against me today I'm afraid.
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10146/normal_Nature_Morte-57851crop_flickr.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14532&fullsize=1)
Here is the one rejected by the committee for being 'too busy':
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10146/normal_Nature_Morte-57847_flickr.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14531&fullsize=1)
In both cases the candle light is modified by the small amount of daylight coming through the front door to the side and by a gold reflector on the opposite side. Texture was added in OnOne's editing suite.
When you look at the old masters' still lifes, I don't think the concept of 'too busy' was invented then.
Not having the time, the props (just done a major 'de-clutter'), or the right mood for an indoor set up, I went out to find my inspiration.
In the old Victorian cemetery, I found a nearly white sarcophagus, with a single yew berry resting on top. I arranged some autumnal oak leaves and used the sun as my directional lighting. So I managed to get death and dying in after all, without, I hope, upsetting sensitive souls.
I ended up with this, which I called 'Memento Mori.'
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11140/normal_Memento_Mori_res.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14533&fullsize=1)
Luckily my wife was replacing some flowers on the landing window which caught my eye, so decided the colour was too good to miss. A bit of Art Nouveau thrown in!
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10216/normal_Landing_Framed_281_of_129.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14534&fullsize=1)
Gorgeous window! Great colours and too good to miss indeed.
Certainly a colourful and artistic air flowing through this weeks creativity :tup:
In my case it was very fresh air; it was cold and fairly windy. Had to rush after my oak leaves several times.
Quote from: Reinardina on October 13, 2013, 12:39:23 PM
In my case it was very fresh air; it was cold and fairly windy. Had to rush after my oak leaves several times.
I have visions of folk watching and wondering why you were running around chasing leaves :2funny:
Quote from: Hinfrance on October 13, 2013, 10:52:48 AM
Here's mine. I decided to just go for the traditional gloomy look of the classic painters. I did think about doing something even more bright and stark than Jen's but time is against me today I'm afraid.
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10146/normal_Nature_Morte-57851crop_flickr.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14532&fullsize=1)
Here is the one rejected by the committee for being 'too busy':
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10146/normal_Nature_Morte-57847_flickr.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14531&fullsize=1)
In both cases the candle light is modified by the small amount of daylight coming through the front door to the side and by a gold reflector on the opposite side. Texture was added in OnOne's editing suite.
Can a shot ever be "too busy" ?
Personally, I like images where you see something new each time you look :)
Quote from: Beaux Reflets on October 13, 2013, 01:31:56 PM
Can a shot ever be "too busy" ?
Personally, I like images where you see something new each time you look :)
I'll pass your thoughts on to the committee, but I can tell you now she ain't going to be receptive ::)
Quote from: Hinfrance on October 13, 2013, 02:55:28 PM
Quote from: Beaux Reflets on October 13, 2013, 01:31:56 PM
Can a shot ever be "too busy" ?
Personally, I like images where you see something new each time you look :)
I'll pass your thoughts on to the committee, but I can tell you now she ain't going to be receptive ::)
;D Out of the two the committee has chosen well :tup:
Who the heck decided on the theme 'Still Life'? Tut, this is sooo hard! I'm really really struggling here!
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 13, 2013, 05:38:31 PM
Who the heck decided on the theme 'Still Life'? Tut, this is sooo hard! I'm really really struggling here!
Surely you have a jewellery box tucked in a draw somewhere ;)
Quote from: Beaux Reflets on October 13, 2013, 05:42:02 PM
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 13, 2013, 05:38:31 PM
Who the heck decided on the theme 'Still Life'? Tut, this is sooo hard! I'm really really struggling here!
Surely you have a jewellery box tucked in a draw somewhere ;)
Or some candles, a bottle of wine and a book? Your pewter cup? Pewter shows up nicely in candle light.
Time is now against me I'm afraid....I am currently recharging my battery (literally, for the camera...) but I have a contemporary approach up my sleeve and my pewter goblet on standby...I just can't get the lighting or composition right, the two things most important in still life..
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 13, 2013, 06:13:15 PM
Time is now against me I'm afraid....I am currently recharging my battery (literally, for the camera...) but I have a contemporary approach up my sleeve and my pewter goblet on standby...I just can't get the lighting or composition right, the two things most important in still life..
As said somewhere there are a few things i hate taking pictures of, 1 is portrait pictures and 2 are set up still life shots. Anyway i have made a compromise for the purists and set up a still life shot as the Dutch would of liked. Not my cup of tea but at least i have tried, other that that it would be something modern, which reading between the posts is not what was wanted.
Will post later.
Quote from: kerbside on October 13, 2013, 06:20:25 PM
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 13, 2013, 06:13:15 PM
Time is now against me I'm afraid....I am currently recharging my battery (literally, for the camera...) but I have a contemporary approach up my sleeve and my pewter goblet on standby...I just can't get the lighting or composition right, the two things most important in still life..
As said somewhere there are a few things i hate taking pictures of, 1 is portrait pictures and 2 are set up still life shots. Anyway i have made a compromise for the purists and set up a still life shot as the Dutch would of liked. Not my cup of tea but at least i have tried, other that that it would be something modern, which reading between the posts is not what was wanted.
Will post later.
There's no reason not to do your own thing Jeff.
I think it was Picasso, who modernised still life by adding a photograph. Something unheard of before.
And the brief has always been interpreted in a wide variety of ways, so go ahead, have your own Picasso moment!
Quote from: Beaux Reflets on October 13, 2013, 12:46:06 PM
Quote from: Reinardina on October 13, 2013, 12:39:23 PM
In my case it was very fresh air; it was cold and fairly windy. Had to rush after my oak leaves several times.
I have visions of folk watching and wondering why you were running around chasing leaves :2funny:
Not many 'watching' people around at the time, only dog walkers. Having a camera with you, is the perfect excuse to do silly things; people don't question you. And I made friends with plenty of lovely dogs!
Reinardina, I was going to enter this but it is too much like Howard's so not bothering.
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11290/normal_image%7E6.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14538&fullsize=1)
Quote from: kerbside on October 13, 2013, 08:24:44 PM
Reinardina, I was going to enter this but it is too much like Howard's so not bothering.
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11290/normal_image%7E6.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14538&fullsize=1)
I would still enter it as it's a great still life picture. :tup:
I wanted to do a still life with fruits of the forest on a log but lack of sun stopped that. >:(
Going with this which was an original idea at least it's not "Morte".
"Still Life in Spades"
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11290/normal_spades.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14500&fullsize=1)
Jeff,
I agree with OB, but love your sense of humour/title!
Quote from: Reinardina on October 13, 2013, 10:32:27 PM
Jeff,
I agree with OB, but love your sense of humour/title!
Thanks Reinardina, glad someone saw the play on words with the title.
Phew, made it!! I have entered with....
A Balanced breakfast
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11291/normal_Balanced_Breakfast.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14541&fullsize=1)
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 14, 2013, 10:17:15 AM
Phew, made it!! I have entered with....
A Balanced breakfast
(http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11291/normal_Balanced_Breakfast.jpg) (http://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14541&fullsize=1)
Seen pics of this when I was trolling for inspiration on Google, need to make sure that your egg is upright Chris, it looks a bit to the right at the top to me.
It looked straight after a few glasses of wine!! I wanted a little inperfection, to make it look balanced precariously rather than solidly set. I went for a closer crop, a lower angle, a different back drop and I tried a different lighting set ups until I achieved the look I wanted. I'm really pleased with it.
No time for an entry from me this week I am afraid. Next couple of weeks looking unlikely as a lot on too.
Quote from: jinky on October 15, 2013, 10:15:11 AM
No time for an entry from me this week I am afraid. Next couple of weeks looking unlikely as a lot on too.
Pity, but having a lot on sounds good anyway.
Thanks Reinardina for reminding me about the poll. Will do it after 6 this evening unless someone wants to do the honours for me. Never done it on here, so need to suss it out.
Voting is very tight!
I had a sneaking feeling I'd seen something like this somewhere! :doh:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/ud7tJ0XnUSglEGZlGOp4uY5lIcUgViPA3dwqegklc5rJPLskU0mzgo1k-6tURO1_V1M28IRtSoh-RQ4rQJn9EQ=s285-c
Mine looks nothing like this one I just happen to have used someone else's idea, and put my spin on it, like millions of other photographers do all the time. Take this weeks theme, water drop photography. Aren't we copying someone else's idea?
The fork and egg has been done to death, like milky water shots. Here's some examples.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=egg+and+fork&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=AT5iUqKQAuKP0AWzk4CYCg&ved=0CCwQsAQ&biw=994&bih=468
Yep, it's all about doing things your own way. There probably isn't much in the way of things that haven't already been done, by accident or design.
Clichés tend to arise because people like the images and often because it is not only a lot of fun to 're-imagine' a cliché, but also you can say 'I did that'.
I'm awfully sorry, my eyes are not what they used to be, your image is in monochrome of course. The fact that your image comprises an egg balanced on two interlinked forks has nothing to do with it. So copying others ideas, because thousands of other photographers devoid of their own creativity do so is OK in your book.
Water drops, whilst all appearing somewhat similar, is copying a technique, not blatant plagiary, there is a difference.
A cliche is a take on a subject or a genre that contains an input that is specific to the photographer's style, not an out and out copy of an original.
My apologies
'Good artists borrow*, great artists steal'. Now there was someone who knew how to make a bob or two ;)
*or copy, depends on the translation.
No worries Hinfrance, I have withdrawn my entry and passed the honours of the win to you. Look forward to your theme, however, will be more careful with my future entries, as I would hate the same thing to happen again. maybe we need the rules amending?
Did mention the pic to Chris earlier, but hey ho.
I can agree with Abers on this as I think it is a direct 2 forks and an egg copy and there are only a few ways of altering the image, yes the forks and egg has been set up, yes the lighting and background are not the same but the subject is.
As for water drop the technique is what you are copying ALL pictures taken of that subject will be slightly different, this goes for milky water as well.
Not sure what others think of this and TBH it is a bit late to withdraw the entry because the voting may of been completely different if Chris,s picture was not there.
I say take the win as a re vote will not be possible and let's move on.
Discussion is a great thing don't you think?
Jeff
Now I'm in an awkward position, and not for the 1st time I may add. I don't know what to do :-\
Quote from: DigiDiva on October 19, 2013, 10:32:30 AM
Now I'm in an awkward position, and not for the 1st time I may add. I don't know what to do :-\
Following the votes Chris, it is your honour to set a new challenge etc.
OK, thanks very much for your support. I will do the next theme, however reluctantly it will be.