Still Life – A Visual Notebook…

The Dahlia’s Iris

Jean-Michel — Wed, 22 May 2019 12:15:14 +0000

Continuation of the previous post, focusing on the subtle details of the flower’s core and its multiple layers…

Kaleidoscope

Jean-Michel — Tue, 21 May 2019 12:09:00 +0000

When reviewing my photo library the other day, it was obvious flowers are not my primary source of inspiration :-).

Long ago, I used an amaryllis bud for a studio session … and that’s all!

Well, until that visit to a botanic garden in Italia…where I was the amazed spectator of a show I never saw before (we all have our gaps!): multiple varieties of dahlias and other complex flowers with just incredible colors and details…

Hopefully, the 105mm macro lens was in my bag…

50 petals of gray

Jean-Michel — Mon, 20 May 2019 07:35:39 +0000

It is often said that Black & White photography allows to remove color distraction to better focus on the inner subject.

But sometimes color is such an important part of the subject that removing it helps to create a complete abstraction of shapes and patterns.

While reviewing a set of flower images taken when visiting the Villa Taranto Botanical Gardens in Verbiana (close to Lac Majore, Italia), I felt one of them would be a good candidate for such exercise (I will share some others later)…

Droplets

Jean-Michel — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:09:00 +0000

Silver Ring

Jean-Michel — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 12:59:00 +0000

Lightroom is really a fantastic tool to experiment what would have taken hours in the darkroom, in particular for local adjustments usually done on silver prints with a paintbrush and a potassium ferricyanide solution (to lighten some areas or details).

The original idea present when capturing the image can then surface.

Patterns

Jean-Michel — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 12:57:00 +0000

Sometimes, we are attracted by a shape, a contrast, a light, and we take a photo that will stay in our archive for months…Until we take another one, and another one, and all of sudden, we realize that all these images are part of the same collection built unconsciously.

The work is then to get a consistent set, for instance with the same processing, to highlight what really connect them, similarities or differences.

Interlaced

Jean-Michel — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 12:18:00 +0000

When going close enough, even the most familiar objects can become abstract and graphical. Take advantage of a nice soft light to have a full grey scale, enhance the local micro contrast when developing (much easier now than with argentic photo prints), and enjoy nature curves and lines.

Frozen

Jean-Michel — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 12:11:00 +0000

Early in the morning in winter, walking down the stairs from the parking to the office…

This is why I always keep the small RX100 in my pocket…

Amaryllis bud

Jean-Michel — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 09:55:00 +0000

With no transition at all from India, some work done at home, experimenting with 2 studio flashes, one for the subject and one to overexpose and whiten the background.

The Snow cone

Jean-Michel — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 16:48:00 +0000

As there was no direct flight from Chicago, we stopped a few hours at Zurich airport. Weather was pretty bad, the snowstorm was running for hours.

The bus stopped a few meters from the boarding stairs.

Plane was icy, tarmac was snowy, everything was white.

Well, almost everything…