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Friday, May 16, 2014

be still: a beginning



This little
Beleek creamer
of my mother's
has always been a favorite.





Just a few lilacs
survived
our 
spring snowstorm.


I don't remember
where or how
I acquired
this wonderful
old, old
children's book.


I put it all together
with
an old
cutwork linen
doily
and set it up
with
some makeshift
painted plywood
backdrops.

And I played...


I'm shooting
in Manual Mode
now...
various f-stops,
shutter speeds,
exposures
and
auto-focus points.



Set up everything,
shoot some pix,
run downstairs
with the
flashcard
and load 'em
into Lightroom.

Study them closely,
mostly checking
for
'tack sharp'
focus.

Then
head back upstairs
and
try again.



The light is different
just a few feet away! 



Lillian
patiently
watched...


...and seemed to
understand
why I am
compelled
to do
this.


***

Thanks Kim
for
Be Still 52


***

I painted one side
of each of two
plywood scraps
flat white
then distressed them
by rubbing them
on gravel.

Top photos
edited in
Lightroom
and Photoshop
with Kim's
Texture Tuesday
recipe
this week
(I chose
the Beleek creamer
because of its
soft yellow
'ribbon'
and interior glaze).

I added
 kk_simple
to the top photo only
(just one layer at 38% Soft Light)
The other photos
needed the clarity
with all their busy-ness.

***





9 comments:

  1. I really love this 'Be Still' photo...great job.

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  2. Very enjoyable watching the gathering and placing, and the final product is lovely as always.

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  3. This is lovely. That book makes me drool…… Glad to see our set up. I'm not totally in manual mode and I guess still life would be an easy place to practice. Thanks for the encouragement.

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  4. The poor book is practically in tatters...I believe it is well over 100 years old. Manual mode used to intimidate me...until I started feeling frustrated/limited by the options in Aperture Priority (which is my second favorite mode now)

    xoxo

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  5. I loved these photos when I saw them on Flickr and it is great to see the behind the scenes set up. Thanks! I am already learning al lot in this class and it is only week one:)

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  6. Just Beautiful.. I love your creative process..
    Congrats on Manual.

    Once in Manual , your will never go back. I love your cat also.

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  7. Lovely images....and I really enjoyed reading your blog post. Thank you for the inspiration; I am going to go and paint wood :-)

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