DSLR Photography Forum

For few days I worked in this little proyect to photograph a still life inspired by a painter. I chose the still life with Plate of Cherries by Cezanne. The most difficult piece to find was the vase. I tried to find something similar and the only one I found was this one. I thought I could change the color in PS but at the end I left it as it is. The dishes are those made of clay for flowerpots, I painted white with gesso. Today I had all ready for taking the picture. As background I used a green wooden door we have in the garden.

Here is the result....




I tried my own composition with apples and peaches...





I took my pictures only with natural light, a reflector at the left and a cardboard at the right to get the shadows.


Here is the link to the original painting by Cezanne.


Thanks for looking...

Hi Irma,

Nice attempt and I love that green door. However, the lines in the door to the left are angled versus the lines on the right that look straight - I find this a bit jarring. Also, the right hand side of the painting has a lot more light than your photograph - this is also taking away from the effect for me.

Apologies for the critique in the showcase forum.

No need to apologize Chris....
At the contrary, I appreciate and value your comment very much...

I see what you mean, I have chequed my pictures and some of them don't have the lines in the background so distorted. I think it is the effect of my view point ? in this particular picture.... I will review the light too.

It will be a busy day today, so I will try to work on this late at night or tomorrow.

Thanks again Chris.

Irma,

I was just writing a response to this when the computer crashed, I hope it won't happen again.
I admire you for the effort and preparation you put into these!

I want to comment before I look at the original painting, so I won't be biased. Because this can just as well be regarded as your own, stand alone work, couldn't it?
Your pictures are nice and certainly at the right place in the showcase, but I assume contructive critique is ok too.
The tilted lines in the background did not occur to me at first, and even after Chris pointed them out I am not sure they bother me...

I love the background and I am glad you chose this vase and did not change its color. the way you lit it, it blends perfectly with the background at the edges. the textures of the vase and the background also fit very well.

my small suggeststions would be

for your 1st pic:
Even though I think you intentionally arranged the cherries so as to look like randomly put on the plate, I think they don't, and the fact that some of their stalks are overlapping is irritating. I would go ahead and arrange them even in a very not-random way, after all this is an arranged still life.
The peaches are placed in the shadow and their colors are not as brilliant as they could be. (much better in no. 1)
I would either choose a higher viewpoint or transform the picture to crop everything below the edge of the table.

In the second one I very much like the arrangement of the fruits and the lighting.
The table cloth still seems a bit too crumpled for me, and there is this little end of fabric between the vase and the plate that I am not sure about.

I am looking forward to what you are going to make of these!

Uli

A different viewpoint..The dish with the cherries on seems to me, to be tilted too much both from back to front and ..right to left. ( I think it is looking out of the frame.)
I see that cezannes's also tilts (it is sat on the crumpled napkin) but not quite as much
The fence and the peaches are a wonderful combination of colours. They really blend together.
Your second shot, the white (gesso) dish feels harsh. maybe tone it to the jug. I suppose you would have to photoshop that.
Meanwhile the time and patience that you have put into it, deserves a lot of credit.

Chris,

I have reviewed my pictures and there are some where the lines at the left are not so slanted. I wouldn't know why, but this is something I will care about in my next work. This door is indeed lovely. I most probably use it again as a background.

About the light in you comment, you are right and I worked on it while taking the pictures. I was trying to get the dishes with more light and the background darker when I shielded the setup from the sun... but somehow it was not possible. I was more concerned about the shadows...

The painting has very hard shadows and lights and it seems to me that there were two or manybe more light sources. Maybe only with studio lights I would be able to get the same effect he has. Somehow, highlights and shadows are a bit confusing in the painting.

Thanks again for your comment...

Uli,

About the cherries... I really didn't arrange them. The problem was that by the time I took these pictures many of them were already spoiled and I didn't have more to put on top and cover the stalks. The only thing I arranged was to have some stalks in the edge of the dish.

The #1 picture was taking much earlier there was more bright light in the sky and the reflector helped more. That is why I have much better light in the first one. Something more to consider by the time of the day to take my pictures in the garden.

About the white cloth... in the first picture I really tried to make it look very similar. I failed having the picture in the location to set it more like the original picture. In my picture #2 I was worried about using it to guide the eye to the edges of the picture... I like how the cloth touches the peach in that picture, btw.

Thanks for your comment Uli.

NT,

I had really hard time to see how to tilt that dish how far to go... I measured the level with the height of the vase. After you comment about the dishes I thought about paint them a bit darker, I am thinking to give them another cover with the same hue of the jug. I also saw them white too white...

Thanks NT for your comment...


I am personally pleased with these pictures anyway, because it was something else and I learned a lot.

Just to follow the topic of the cherries.... This is a picture I took indoors with a new background It was taken before I got the idea of copying a painting composition.



I fought a lot with the highlight and reflection in the tea glass but I couldn't make it better....

Wow!!

Can I come over for tea now?

seriously, I love it, you are working with a very difficult situation, the bright white sugar, reflecting tea glass and shiny cherries, on a dark background. Very nice!



Uli

A very beautiful still life Irma.

Thanks Uli, Chris... for your comment ...

I like very much this one because I think the green background goes well with the color of the cherries.

As a great surprise today, I found more fresh cherries, so I will be working a bit more on the subject.

Sell the camera and open a cafe.
Your photo is so good, my tongue is hanging out.

Oh Irma, I love these type of images, Good job on all...

John

Thanks NT John for your comment...

I think the difference in my pictures will be the background, I will use it more often, I like it very much, the color is beautiful...

wulinka Wrote:Wow!!

Can I come over for tea now?

Seconded! Those pictures look almost edible

Great work

Sorry for the lack of constructive criticism - but I really like what you have done - even inthe first photos. Well done! The draping of the fabric and the fruit - I really like it a lot. I'd like to see more.

Thanks iBlog for your comment. I am happy you found it edible.
Just as an aside note... It is very funny but I neve eat the fruit I photograph... I let it get old and then put it away.


Thanks Toad.
I worked with still life mainly this winter and frabric became a very importat subject in my pictures. In some way I think the fabric can tell a lot about the mood by its color, texture and the way you place it in the frame. Still a lot to learn but happy with what I have so far.

Some kind of dilema is when you are mainly nature photographer and still life take an importan place and interest in your photography. Then you are in a cross road thinking where to lead your efforts from now on...

I like this one because to me it is meaningfull.... Gives you in some way the freedom to think what you like and see it under different views. Cezanne was a master to create tension in his stills, I thought about this while working in this one.




This one is just to show off Mexican handcraft.... (vase and fabric)




Greetings to you all...
Thanks again for your comments.

Irma, these are classic photo's.
I know it is not in critique but the apple does not signify mexican to me..maybe a chille or red or green pepper. But it needs something there. the apple may suit others.
And I like the light behind the daffodils, but the colour of the wall blends in with the flowers makes them difficult to see.
I like the vase with the apple and cloth as the bumps/bulges in the vase, mirrors the shape of the apple.
Whatever! you certainly have a gift for this type of photography.

Thanks a lot NT for your review on my pictures...

Irma Wrote:http://www.shuttertalk.com/forums/images...0-Edit.jpg


This one is just to show off Mexican handcraft.... (vase and fabric)

Hi Irma, seems you worked seriously about these photos. I loved the idea and you did great with all of them. Fascinated me so much. But yes, this one is my favurite, maybe because of the handcraft, maybe because of the colours but you are amazing. How I loved your artistic spirit of photography. Thank you,
Blessing and Happiness,
with my love,
nia

Thanks Nia.... I bought the cloth in a second hand shop, it is very old and has holes... I love it for that reason...
I like to think, it has its very own story... ...

Irma Wrote:Thanks Nia.... I bought the cloth in a second hand shop, it is very old and has holes... I love it for that reason...
I like to think, it has its very own story... ...

I am like you Irma, so I can feel and understand what means this old cloth. You gave a new life to the cloth by this artistic photograph. So why I love art world. You are welcome,

Blessing and Happiness,
with my love,
nia