Another vase of flowers

click photo to enlarge

Yes, another vase of flowers! Why? Well, this simple subject allows you to play with the essential elements of photography in the comfort of your own home! Composition, colour, tone, light, line, texture - it's all there in a vase of flowers. Moreover it combines the natural with the man-made, and allows the photographer to be part of a centuries-old artistic tradition.

When I think of the still-life painters of vases of flowers that I've admired over the years: people like Chardin, Odilon Redon, Mackintosh, Dutch-School masters like Van Husum, Kalf, Van Beyeren and de Heem, and greats of the order of Cezanne, I realise that I'm still at the rudimentary stage of still life creation. In recent months I've tried subtly elegant, minimalist where it's all about the colour, and traditional (including fruit). Today I'm trying "straggly with deep shadows!" And a restricted, somewhat subdued colour palette!

If you aren't keen on this type of photography then I have bad news for you. I'll be doing more of it in the coming months!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f16
Shutter Speed: 1/8
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off