Still Life Photography

Making, And Finding, Still Life On The Street

After a long walk this morning, I stopped for my morning latte at an outdoor cafe I visit occasionally. I kept looking at a variegated blue wall across the way.

A climbing vine with lavender flowers was growing up the wall. This scene held my attention. It was a view I had photographed on several occasions.

As I left the cafe I went to have a closer look and noticed a number of the blossoms had fallen to the stone walk below. As I am inclined to do, I started arranging some of the blossoms, with the thought of making one of my street still life photos.

The first image I made included five of these blossoms. Odd numbers make for interesting compositions. After making the shot, another blossom fell and grazed my arm on the way down.

Knowing this was a sign that it too wanted its portrait made, I added it to the grouping I had arranged. It’s the one in the left foreground, in the image you see above. I don’t mind breaking a rule of design for a new fallen friend.

This is a scene I arranged with fallen blossoms in early March. It was not long after I had arrived in Oaxaca. It is the photo that began this playful habit.

As I continued walking towards home this morning, I got to thinking more about the still life. More specifically about the difference between the created still life, and the found still life. I make photos of both varieties.

The wacky view above is definitely of the found variety. Though the more I look at this image, the more I realize that someone must have put these objects in place. Whether they had the idea of still life in mind, is open to debate.

The found still life did not exist before photography came around. Before that it was only painters that worked in the genre of still life. Painters have been painting still life for centuries.

The practice always involved collecting items and arranging them in a fashion that inspired the painter to create a likeness.

It’s hard to imagine a Renaissance painter, out for a walk and running across someone’s junk pile, and deciding to make a painting of it.

Now that same painter might have stumbled upon a stem of leaves like this one, and taken it home, to add to some fruit and vases he was planning to paint.

Though again it is hard to imagine that painter, painting only this one stem of leaves, laid upon an old gray floor.

I guess it’s fortunate for these lovely leaves that I am not a painter. Only a photographer would think to make this portrait. I also noticed a thankful grin on this stem of leaves after I made its portrait. It was a tiny yellow leaf doing the grinning.

Here is another of my arranged sidewalk still lifes. Actually, I arranged this on the stone bench I was sitting on. I mean all of the pieces were sitting next to me, waiting patiently for me to rearrange them and stick my lens up close.

I knew the feather was pleased to be included. It did a little quiver as I was getting up to leave. That’s when I thanked it for being a good sport, and putting up with me moving him around.

Often after drinking my morning latte, I will step back onto the street and look for a spot to sit and soak up the local ambiance, before heading home.

I will look for a spot where there are friends to mess about with, like the one above. Again there were multiples of these fallen blossoms to play with. On this occasion, I made photos of several different arrangements. We all were having a good time.

The dirty, Cantera stone street, seemed good with being an impromptu backdrop. I liked how the colors played together. A good time was had by all.

Now, this scene is a rarely found gift. Someone had already done the arranging for me. I like the flow they created. Small stones into larger ones, and back into more small ones.

I don’t think I would have thought of this. All I do know is, it pleased my eye. And I will be forever grateful for the anonymous one’s, creative eye. Thank you, wherever you might be.

After all of this thinking about both the arranged and found still life, I discovered this view. As I was walking along Rufino Tamayo, heading home after playing with the lavender blossoms, this scene caught my eye.

This is another example of a door being open, that is normally closed. In fact, I have never passed by when this door was open before. And what a gift it was this morning.

The items in this normally hidden space, are a treasure trove of antique beauties. I peeked in and no one seemed to be around. So I made this image from the open doorway. It was an unexpected gift. Perhaps one day I will meet the owner. I would love to get the full tour.

Do you photograph still life? If so, do you build them, or discover them? I would love to know. Please feel free to jump in and help start a conversation.

Thanks so much for reading, and looking. I welcome your comments, always.

Until next time, To wide open lenses . . . and wide open hearts. — G.E.