What is still life to you and how do you gon on creating a still life photograph?

 

A disclaimer: I made very few still lifes that I like. Two best ones have been in response to a challenge by others, including the pomegranate, posted in this group (the first picture). So I'll talk about what is a still life to me.

 

For me still life as a genre is mainly about forms, composition, light, balance, resemblance, and story (including anthropomorphism). Not necessarily all six at once but some mixture of these characteristics.

 

First four characteristics are probably obvious. Resemblance is resemblance to great still lifes of the past and present, most notably old Dutch ones and Japanese ikebana. As soon as a still life reasonably resembles/imitates either old Dutch or ikebana- it's a success, or at least half of the success. Light and choice of objects are essential for such a resemblance.

 

A story in a still life is optional but often enhances it greatly. There is a Russian photographer who decided to make still lifes out of Soviet era everyday life artifacts, and his pictures enjoy a huge success with Russians over 30. Because they all remember these objects and have not seen most of them for quite some time. His (or hers?) still lifes are a powerful memory trigger and are also very well done. See them here, http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/3465041/post206005078/ . I tried to found out the author's name and I failed. I am curious what kind of effect they would produce on non-Soviet people, so please let me know.

 

And my favorite optional characteristic of a still life: anthropomorphism. This is when objects, often flowers, represent humans and depict a story. Most flower still lifes by Robert Mapplethorpe are such. Victoria Ivanova's still lifes have such strong stories in them that I barely can call them such thought technically they are certainly still lifes (see her on 1X).

 

http://www.mapplethorpe.org/exhibitions/2012-08-28_seibu-shibuya/ . Enjoy!

 

Anna

Thank you Anna for your reply.

Well, what about you :-) ? Would you share your thoughts on your subject?

Sure I will try to, was hoping for more replies first though :(

 

What I love about still life photography is how close it gets to painting. For me still life photography should have the light and mood of a painting, wonderful arrangement of the things being photographed and deliverence of the stillnece of the scene we intend to catch.

 

Anna posted a wonderful link of a Russian photograph decpting story through still life photography, makes you relive those moments of silence. That is the feeling i usually try to achieve, make the viewer relive that moment in their head. The mood of the scene and almost the touch of the things photographed.

 

Interesting subject Fadi and Anna, I like still life photography and I had some professional experience in the far past, on product advertising where creativity and lighting played a crucial role. Talking about Russian still life photographers, I very much admire the work of 1x member Victoria Ivanova. Most of her concepts are very well thought and the execution is also superb:

http://1x.com/member/66586

 

I 'll be following this topic with great interest.

Gianni

 

Well, it is hard not to think of painting and painters when the words Still Life come to mind....but okay Photography.

 

For me it can be anything that is not alive, and has no chance to be alive. It has no life, in terms of growing....It might have been alive but it no longer is now. :) Of course we can't be sure that a pear doesn't speak. It is possible we just can't hear it. If that sounds funny, I recently heard a TED talk on he sounds of the Universe....black holes joining up with other black holes..and you can hear both speaking.....LOL No, I am not off my meds...it was a great talk.

 

I often see things like buildings, rooms, cars..oh gee most anything not moving...on other websites..but they often do not feel like Still Life to me.

So much of a still life (no matter what is in the photo) should I think have a pleasing composition of whatever elements one uses.

 

When I was practicing on how to use my SB-800 Strobe..I made a still life of a collection of Greek items that represented some of what I liked about Greece...We have here one of their best Poets, their very nice older money (which worked very well BTW), the symbolic knick knack to keep out the evil spirits, and we have photos...Some are lying down, and are of Naxos I believe. The one you can still clearly is just photo on from a stop on the road from Marathon...coming from Athens...So this could be a still life I think...not typically fruit..but it was all set up on the table etc..etc..Ah..I added a word...Fadi can check my spelling...that is on a layer so it could be removed..but I sort of like it. :) Oh I see Gianni here too...well guys I hope my spelling is not incorrect. !!!

 

Good question Fadi...

Oh here is the photo..

http://1x.com/photo/159652/group:23

Phyllis

This works well as a still life Plyllis, the hole mood for me has a reference to a 60s arrangement in a possible middle class house in Greece. The elements you chose are somehow symbolic. To a level this could work Today, in the sense of "the Paradise Lost" (Χαμένος Πaράδεισος) LOL the "evil eye" did not do a good job and money (or the lack of it) is responsible for Greece's great suffering. The only optimistic elements are the photo (great mood and composition) and the reference of Greek poetry by Kavafy, one of my favorite poets. There is hope in the end but we have to go back to our Original values. Thanks for sharing this excellent still life with as, it triggered some thoughts for me and I hope it will to some other viewers.

Gianni

my vision is rather simplistic ...

it's a gathering of objects and shapes where the main goals in fact is exploring the effect of light and/or shapes, and/or colors on each other while trying to create a whole unity and harmony.

It can be reached in very different ways.

Sometimes the limit between still life and conceptual work can get very narrow.

As for the example from Gianni about Victoria Ivanova ... I admire what she does ... but most of it would not be categorized as still life for me, because I feel creating a story and pareidolia is for her the main aspect ...

But I can be wrong.

 

Perhaps this playlist "different still life"will help start the discussion including different aspects from the subject. Yes ... some are perhaps limit in this category ... and I also may have missed a lot of them. I just tried to search for creativity in approach, and variety is styles.

 

http://1x.com/playlist/358011

To Anna: WOW. Thank you. Your description gave me peace for a conceptual dilemma I was having today. I've spent hours searching for meaning in still life. Your concise list of characteristics is exactly what I wanted to know. I found a traveling show titled "Still-Life Masterpieces: A Visual Feast from the Museum of Fine Arts,. Boston". It is paintings of the great masters. But, I saw almost no point to it. But, your explanation and the link to the Russian photographer cleared up everything for me. Still life is about evoking a memory, or a mood, or even a laugh--as in your explanation of anthropomorphism. Today, I made a photo of a beach ball, as my exercise in still life. I knew that it was a good photo, but I couldn't explain why. But, now I understand: it's about a memory of playing in the pool in summer.

Would this be considered "still life" ?

 

http://1x.com/photo/202090/all:user:139405

 

No, because they are alive :-). If they would be dead - then yes.

Lars I recently heard a really good description which I think was meant to be humorous. If you can leave something for five minutes and go back and it is not able to move by itself....it is a still life. :)

 

Now I don't think they were talking about mountains... But those animals look very much alive......

 

Of course there are transitions...I always think of flowers...they are outside - in the ground or a pot and they are alive....cut them...and they will decay and die...but before they die they appear to be still alive.

 

I think it is as Anna has said..'dead' like the Parrot on Monty Python. Those animals look healthy to me. :)

Phyllis

 

Everything in a photo, ultimately is "Still". Once locked as data or exposure it is still. I think, at least in my view, stillness is vital. We all lead such busy, run around lives, being still actually takes awareness and motivation. One can not "See" very clearly while moving fast. The term Still Life, with its roots in a formal painterly style is still valid and useful. It is valid, because humans still need to stop and think, to see, to be, and of greatest importance to understand. Still life is a wind to understanding. We use as our tools, light, composition within the frame and implication of what is out of frame. Styles and historical methods are training wheels to help us learn to ride our imaginations. Just as so many truly great painters have explored a contrived setting, we as photographers, artists, creators have lots of room to play in and "See", and "Understand" through. I think labels are ok for poison, medicines, instructions, traffic signals, but very much limit possibilities when used strictly in making or judging art.

 

Even this wonderful discussion is sort of a still life. The subject has been set on a table, light from thinking illuminates and we slow down, stop and look deeper at it. It is a joy.