monochrome | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘monochrome’

Three vessels and a tulip

This is the result of my third session making a still-life image.

Yesterday morning my wife and I visited The Curiosity Centre in Dorset. A large warehouse selling second hand furniture, collectables and what can only be termed as bric-a-brac. I was looking for some items which I thought would lend themselves to a still-life composition. I found three pewter vessels which I manged to buy for the princely sum of £10. I liked their simple design, rustic nature, patina and marks. I bought a bunch of tulips for my wife to enjoy but pinched one bloom for the photograph!

I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon creating a basic setup. Nothing elaborate. I used the natural light from a side window and a head torch. I changed the composition many times and tried different lenses and aperture settings until I had a selction I could download into Lightroom for further assesment.

My chosen image was processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro II. I like the square crop and the warm tone was added in LR to complete the workflow.

I find this genre of photography most appealing, so I will definitely be on the lookout for more items to help make suitable compositions. In the process I am sure my compositions and understanding of light will improve, as I refine my approach to still-life photography.

Do click on the image to view a larger version.

More ‘Still Life’ – further experimentation for the fun of it!

A few days ago I experimented for the first time with still life photography. (You can read that post here). I have to say rather enjoyed it. Sometimes I think you need to break free from the norm, try something new and endeavour to be a little creative in the process. It can be very refreshing to photograph subjects in a different way and to make images which challenge how you think and approach a new technique .

With more time on my hands this afternoon I gathered together a few items of glassware from around the home and raided the fruit bowl and the fridge. I used a very simple set up. A black cloth was served as a background and a base. In addition to the natural light in the room I used a desk lamp to provide some directional light, plus a small head torch to cast light on a particular area of the subject. I used a 90mm lens on a full frame 35mm camera mounted on a tripod for stability.

After a certain amount of trial and error here are the results.

All in all a very pleasant and satisfying way to spend an afternoon. Still life photography may not be to everyone’s taste but I particularly enjoyed the complete control I had over composition, lighting and final processing. Without question I shall experiment further. I would like to try different backgrounds, reflectors and mirrors to change how things are lit. Choose other items to photograph and consider options for their placement in the frame. I may possibly acquire some interesting objects from charity shops or boot sales etc. The permutations are endless. Long term projects continue but photography should be fun and having experimented with ‘still life’ I do feel that my creative juices are flowing once again.

Do click on any of the images to view a larger version which will open in anew window.

Churches Project no 21 – Idsworth, a church in a field.

Idsworth Church-4

St Hubert’s Church at Idsworth in Hampshire enjoys a beautiful and isolated position not far from Rowlands Castle. Sited near the top of a slope in a field the origins of church dates back to the 11th century. Nothing remains of the village and community it once served, deserted in the 14th century probably as a consequence of the plague.

The interior is charming and I have included a few images which I hope capture something of the spirit and essence of this rural place of worship, which I am pleased to say is still in regular use.

Idsworth Church

Idsworth Church-2

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After photographing some interior details I stepped outside and was presented with a most wonderful cloud formation. It had been a beautiful late Spring afternoon and I could hardly believe my good fortune when capturing the scene at the top of this post.

Apples and an orange – experimenting with still life

Apples and an Orange

This weekend my wife and I have been taking part in the Chichester Art Trail. This is the first time we have done so, although we have been regular visitors to the studios of other artists over the years.

Today (Sunday) has been much quieter than yesterday, largely due to the glorious weather and temperatures in the mid 20’s. After a very poor and wet spring we are guessing most people have been tempted by the beach or simply want to relax in their garden and who can blame them.

Being quieter gave me an opportunity to think and to experiment with a simple still life composition. I took a glass bowl, some cooking apples and an orange; found some black cloth and using a desk lamp for side lighting made this image.

Shot with my Leica Monochrom and a 50mm lens wide open @f1.4 very little is in sharp focus but that was the intention. I also knew I wanted the background to be completely black so that the bowl appears to be floating.

As a first attempt at a still life I am pleased with the outcome and if it’s quiet again tomorrow I shall be experimenting again with other items to be found in our home. Great fun!

Churches Project no 19 – The church harvestman at Buncton

Harvestman in the church

There are occasions when something in a photograph only reveals itself when processing the image and is not ‘seen’ at the time of pressing the shutter. This happened with this image. I was attracted to a vase of dried flowers standing on a small carved stone shelf plinth in All Saints Church, which is in the parish of Wiston with Buncton in West Sussex.

It was only when I made the image that I saw the harvestman in the top left corner of the frame. A small but I think now important detail in the shot. To see it for yourself you might want to click on the picture above to view a larger version, or for the sake of simplicity I have included a crop below.

Harvetsman detail

Interestingly a harvestman is not a spider. Although it has eight limbs and looks like a long-legged spider, it isn’t one. It is one of the Opilones, a group of arachnids closely related to spiders. Unlike the spiders, it has no silk glands so is not able to spin a web. It does not have fangs and does not produce venom.

This church had another floral display in an arched recess formed from what was previously the southern entrance doorway of the church.

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Another interesting detail – A piscina in the south wall near the altar……

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And finally, the altar table and a small recess with three candles had all the signs of other past inhabitants.

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The church is mainly Norman, has Saxon origins and is largely unrestored. Hidden from the road it is approached through a wooded dell and over a stream. On entering the graveyard, the church reveals itself and enjoys a picturesque setting adjoining open farmland. A quintessential rural location for an unspoilt country church in the South Downs.