We were set the task of finding objects around Lincoln that we are somewhat interesting or we could make interesting in photographs. I was limited to equipment, backdrops and lighting in this task so tried to make my photographs good quality with random things I already had lying around.
This first image was taken with ISO 6400 35mm f/5.6 1/25sec. I borrowed this artificial cactus plant (room decor piece) from one of my flatmates. I wasn’t particularly happy with this image until I edited it. I thought it was too boring and didn’t have enough excitement. However, I do like the variety of textures in the image. I also like how the direction of light creates a strong contrast on the cactus. The shadow is very dark and the reflection on the left gives the impression that it’s 3D, adding life to it. In post-production, I brightened the colours, enhancing the green. However, this made the image slightly yellow toned more than I’d prefer.
This image was taken with ISO 250 24mm f/5.6 1/30sec. I borrowed a jar of decaffeinated coffee from the kitchen. I am quite happy with this photograph. I like how the coffee is pouring out of the jar, adding a sense of life and movement. I think it makes the image more interesting than if it was just in the jar. I like the perspective of which we’re viewing the coffee. I also like how the lighting is pointing behind the coffee, creating little shadows that almost look like raindrops. I also decided to edit this image to be in black and white as I am really intrigued by black and white photography so wanted to see how it looks with this image as you’re able to see the tones and detail. It also slightly obscures the image as the neutral colour scheme makes the coffee look less like coffee so we have to second guess before we decide what the image is of.
This image was taken with ISO 6400 25mm f/5.6 1/10sec. I used a huge lightbulb with fairy lights inside (decor piece) from one of my flatmates. For this image, I decided to allow the whole focus to be about light, as that is really the only element that is visible in this photograph. I wanted the lighting to be very dramatic, creating almost a ‘magical’, ‘fantasy’ connotation. I had originally edited this image very dark around the object but it made the object look like it was floating as you couldn’t see barely any of the backdrop. I still want this backdrop to be fairly hidden in this image as I want to draw full attention to the object, however, I edited the image so there would be more light reflecting underneath, revealing the textured material it stood on. This isn’t my favourite image of all my still life photographs, however, I think I successfully drew attention to the light of the object.
This image was taken with ISO 6400 55mm f/5.6 1/80sec. I borrowed a copper alarm clock from the kitchen. It’s a very modern, new clock, however, I wanted to give it an old-fashioned, vintage effect instead. I did this using the black and white colour options. I think this colour choice gives the object and image a history that wasn’t originally there. The shadows on the clock face show the movement of time, giving life to the image. I also wanted to obscure the image to make the clock look more interesting, so I cropped out half the clock and positioned it on a slight tilt – I think this makes the photograph look more visually appealing and exciting.