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hdw Photography
{K:6630} 12/28/2005
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Well captured and I love this shot.So are all your other pictures. Season greetings Mark and kind regards Hilton
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György Szönyi
{K:10011} 12/27/2005
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Very beautiful still life, Mark, I like the whole series. Happy new year: György
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patrizio napolitano
{K:13119} 12/17/2005
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ottima natura morta. amo i colori caldi e le ombre profonde
patrizio
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Jeanette Hägglund
{K:59855} 12/8/2005
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A very good light Mark! I like also the fact that you use and show the table, it make the still ore "alive"!!!
Jeanette
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/6/2005
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So much to think about Ina! My head is going to explode! Thanks for mentioning this. I have been totally "winging it" up to now by just setting up whatever objects were in easy eye shot and going on pure instinct. I need to give this more careful thought and see what I can do with a little planning.
Mark
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Ina Nicolae
{K:44481} 12/6/2005
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You said "Perhaps I need to design the arrangements to some degree before shooting them up."
This stuff takes as much planning as a portrait or even more! You need to set up the color distribution, the shapes, the heights, the amount of overlapping, the style of objects (other than fruit), the backdrop and the lighting! Not an easy job :)
If it were easy I would do it, too!
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/5/2005
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Ina, your knowledge of still life in paintings is curator grade! Thanks very much for sharing it! When shooting this I had thought of slicing some of this up, but it was feeling difficult enough to just arrange the whole pieces! Gotta walk before I can run. Yet most all of my favorite still life food shots have cut fruit in some form and it adds SO much.
Perhaps I need to design the arrangements to some degree before shooting them up. What I've done so far is sort of ad hoc setup based on what was close at hand and what seemed to look good, and the spontaneous aspect of that is good, but it may be that some pre-planning would help me refine this skill better.
I've learned so much from this informative discussion. I hope to find time to do more still life soon. Thank you!!
Mark
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Ina Nicolae
{K:44481} 12/5/2005
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Mark, you probably know I'm more of the flamboyant type, so I think the following:
- the knife is perfect, it's supposed to contrast with the scene, it's different - it's long, sharp, sleek, threatening and great. Your choice of objects is "almost" classical: the pineapple, the pear, the table, the napkin (somewhat), and the knife. What's not classical are the orange and the bananas, and those are the "wild cards." Just as you did with your silverware, by adding that ping-pong ball, these objects are contemporary, and throw a twist in the whole arrangement. Furthermore, a flat or bunched-up (but not folded) napkin would be classical, as would be some well chosen draped fabric (which would also absorb the light and act as a diffuser for bounced lighting). But depending on what mood or impression you want to create, you can vary the scene. You may try a wooden knife for a different mood, being careful at the relationship between the type of wooden handle and the exquisite table finish. The set-up can take many directions, and it depends which way you want it to go. I may suggest slicing the orange, or adding a silver tray for reflections, changing the bananas/orange to grapes or pomegranates, or quince, or honeydew with seeds, etc. etc.... the variations are endless, you can take it in any direction you want. And knowing you from your portfolio (cars, piano, silverware), I think you will do well in anything you set out to do.
This has been a most interesting discussion!
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/5/2005
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Thank you very much for your excellent comments, Kathy! I agree with you that a wooden handled knife would go better with this shot, given the wood table and the natural tones of the fruit. I'm glad you mention this because it had not occurred to me until I read your comment. It is moot because I don't have a wooden handled knife, but this is a good bit of understanding nonetheless. The thing I like most about the knife is the reflections. I had tried it in different positions in other shots, but I selected this shot for display because of the knife reflections. Also, I like the inclusion of it as another non-organic object to balance the arrangement. AND, it's the knife I use to section the pineapple! :)
And I also agree with you about the table. I also love the look, it is a very beautifully made piece and the wood chosen for it and the finish used iare very complimentary. Actually, I was a little concerned that the table top might distract from the arrangement, but I think that the dramatic lighting, the dark background, and the reflections in the table helps the table to become a passive participant in the shot. I'm sure I will use this table more.
Thanks again for your very constructive critique, Kathy. It is much appreciated.
Mark
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/5/2005
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OK, I have made some adjustments to the shot as suggested and posted below. What I did:
- I selected the banannas is reduced the brightness about 20 pts in photoshop. The using color-balance I added red, which warned them up and they began to
pick up the color from the table beautifully! What a difference this subtle change made, especially on the hi resolution version of the shot. I also reduced the saturation of the banannas about 10-15 pct.
- I selected the pear and also reduced brightness, which softened the blown highlight area and brough a bit more detail into it. I the added some red using color-balance and the reflection of the orange increased substantially.
- lastly I selected the orange and reduced the brightness about the same as for the pear but did not changer the color at all.
These collected changes had the effect of softening some of the hardness of the lighting in this image. I have learned a grteat deal from this exercise. My many thanks to Ina and Yahya for helping me understand this better!
Mark
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/5/2005
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Thank you Yahya! You have done a wonderful job with photoshop! I've just now seen Ina's excellent suggestion and will try that with the original shot.
Also thanks very much for your very well thought through suggestions about how I might have gotten better results from the lighting at the shooting. This is great information! Thanks you very much for all your help on this image!
Mark
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/5/2005
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Excellent suggestion Ina! I will definitely try this on my original! Yahya has also tried your suggestion and posted the result in a comment. It worked very well!
Mark
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Kathy Hillard
{K:25721} 12/5/2005
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This has your signature all over it Mark! I really like the dark tones and the composition. It looks like the lighting subject is being extensively discussed on this image! Personally, I'm not that crazy about the knife in the shot. I think it's because the table is so beautiful, and I don't like seeing it broken up by that knife. That being said, I wonder if a knife with a wooden handle would work better. Of course, as always, that's a personal opinion and the shot, of course, is about what you had in mind.
Anyway, I really like the shot, and think that the lighting is excellent. The only part that looks a bit blown out to me is the bananas. Well done!
Kathy
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Yahya El Hosafy
{K:8369} 12/5/2005
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well this got challenging :)
couldnt do it with there[lace color, so i tried yours but erased the entire layer and left only the bananas, adjusted their colors, increased the redness, less opacity, reduced the saturation, and its real again.
u r a tweaking wizard :)
here it is.
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Yahya El Hosafy
{K:8369} 12/5/2005
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well Mark, this lighting topic is getting more interesting and tempting to solve it :)
with settings as u described and looking carefully at the photo, i think the folllowing:
- the light on the left indeed is the closer and the stronger, yet u can move it back alittle.
- on the other hand the light is perfect on the pineapple and the orange and the far 2 pieces of the bananas, i guess the trouble with the the bananas is the angle and the curviture, sometimes rotating the objects manages to get the reflection away from the camra, i mean not in the direct line of sight. i went through this when working with my book series.
- as for this particular photo, Ina's idea is great, anotherway around since every fruit has its unique color, u can choose replce color under the image/adjustments menu, pick the yellow, adjust the fuzzyness till u see only the banana mask selected. then work on the colors, i guess it would include some of the napkin too.
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Ina Nicolae
{K:44481} 12/4/2005
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Mark, I thought a while about the lighting in this image, and this is what you can do for a classical painterly effect (of the lighting) if that's what you want:
Classical paintings have a reddish-golden light. In here, I think the bright yellow of the bananas are the trick to tone down.
You can take your picture in PS, and copy the background layer. Then you work a reddish color balance + high contrast + low curves on the copy layer, and make it less opaque (about 75%), to still see the background layer underneath. If some items such as the pineapple, the vase and knife get too dark, you selectively erase that section on the copy layer, and make it see-thru completely on that portion alone.
That would adjust the bananas mainly to a warm gold, may not be what you wanted, but I thought I should write you this, and I did an attempt, and it worked.
Again, I think you can do wonders with light and still lifes!
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/4/2005
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Yahya, your comment is very interesting, thanks so much for taking the time to write it! I agree that the lighting here is a little sharp. I tried different exposures but was not able to get it right. When I reduced the exposure so that the highlights didn't blow out, there was not enough light for the rest of the composition. I was using a pair of inexpensive flood lights on a tripod stands, one to the right and one to the left with the one on the left being closer. Perhaps I should have placed the light on the left more distant...
Mark
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Yahya El Hosafy
{K:8369} 12/4/2005
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well Mark.
i have read your comment.
i have worked this month on some commercial photos for posters and prochours for food powders and seeds for a company manfactures Dehydrated foods, so i had to deal with backgrounds and artificial lighting, a nd i admit it was interesting. the position of the light and the angle and the amount of light.
i was able only to use only 1 light hanging from the celing with a free wire :) plus the room lighting, and for each composition i had to rotate the entire setting by rotating the table to get the desired angle of shadows or lighting.
ur lighting here is excellent but rather alittle sharp or strong. i guess if u try less exposure value u can get softer image. but keep enjoying trying.
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/4/2005
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Thank you for your comment, Yahya. The lighting was an experiment. I like the results in this shot, but had difficulty getting the exposure correct. I found it sifficult to balance the effects of the bright light without getting blown highlights. I am still learning. Your night shots are truely fantastic, my friend, so I am encouraged by your kind and generous words. Thank you!
Mark
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Ina Nicolae
{K:44481} 12/4/2005
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Mark, you're welcome! I think you can work a lot of the lighting with photoshop later, I don't discard any pictures.
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/4/2005
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Many thanks for your insightful observations, Ina. This is my dinning room table, the same table used in my still life "Tea Time". I do love this table and I'll be using it more for still lifes. The room has dark brown walls that when I remove the wall art become a nice dark backdrop. My wife has a few tripod studio floods she has used to setup still lifes for painting, so I used those to try to create lighting for this shoot. At first it seemed too bright but after adjusting the exposure I found it created some dramatic highlights. Unfortunately I lost a lot of shots to blown highlights. I know nothing about artificial lighting, but I'm working some of it out thru experimentation.
Your remarks about the steel and wood are interesting. I like the shot but sometimes looking at my own work I'm not sure why I like one thing and not another. But I think I see what you mean in this case. It's helpful, thanks for the comment.
Best regards,
Mark
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Mark Longo
{K:12760} 12/4/2005
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Thanks for the comments Warren, your observations are quite helpful to me as I'm learning about this sort of photography through experimentation and what I have read in books so far. Your observations help me to balance my own assumptions and thoughts on this shot. Many thanks.
Mark
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Bob Walker
{K:1066} 12/4/2005
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Very nice still-life, Mark.
Excellent choice in the table as a background.
Best regards,
Bob
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Warren B
{K:7272} 12/4/2005
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I think that the lighting you've used here is excellent! It highlights the subject without isolating it, and works nicely with the composition of the shot. The differing textures of the fruit, the table, and the knife have combined nicely. Superb shot.
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Ina Nicolae
{K:44481} 12/4/2005
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Beautiful composition, Mark! I recognized your style from the thumbnail! Great idea to add the knife, love the reflections on the blade and on the wood. Gorgeous wooden table, and great composition! I think the knife itself and the napkin are worth a separate still life! Love that contrast between the hard steel and the seductive surface of the wood. Well done!
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Yahya El Hosafy
{K:8369} 12/4/2005
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way to go Mark.
nice composition and excellent lighting.
well done.
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Tracey Main
{K:7290} 12/3/2005
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A great still life taken here, and good lighting well done Tracey..
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