I wasn't expecting to be back here hosting the artist challenge again so soon, but I am really happy to choose the next artist, something a little different I hope.
I have been looking at Golden Age Still Life painting recently, and as the period spans a couple of centuries it was hard to find just one artist to choose, until I stumbled upon a Canadian photographic artist, Levin Rodriguez, who reproduces these old masters. Perfect
1. floral arrangements, often very elaborate and including things like insects, butterflies, birds nests and so on
2. breakfast arrangements of simple peasant fare, typically fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread and so on
3. banquet arrangements which showed off the sumptuous and decadent foods of the rich
4. vanitas ( aka momento mori) which symbolise mortality, lots of skulls, snuffed candles, upturned empty glasses, hour-glasses etc.
For this challenge you can either ; Reproduce as accurately as possible a particular work, take anything from the genre and make it your own, or use an idea from these works as a catalyst for your own creativity.
-In this case feel free to search further afield than Rodriguez's own work , Google the genre using keywords Golden/age/still life/Dutch / Spanish or Flemish
be sure to add a link to any image you base your work on in your description so we can see where you are coming from. Add your image to this thread if you like.
the challenge will run from today Sunday 21st April until Wednesday 1st May, with three days of voting soon after
The biggest challenge though comes at the photographing time. Painters have no restriction on lighting, they can simulate light sources whether truthful or not, they can exaggerate angles and fake perspective (M.C. Escher being a great example of this). This is not the case with photography, you can modify lighting, add, take away, but you can’t fake it. The same applies to perspective and what fits in a frame. There is no other way except through painful experimentation that normally entitles taking many, many exposures.
Another really difficult aspect is to achieve that painting look using artificial lighting while arranging the composition like the painting.
For every exposure, I would have to find the right angle both horizontally and vertically to match the perspective, then arrange a table or space with props, constantly comparing to the source painting, then take the photo, look through the camera, zoom in and realize that maybe the overlapping of a tazza and a roemer was not the same, or a lemon peel (very common in these paintings) was not where is supposed to be, or a glass was off in terms of distance, the folds of the table cloth are not right, etc. For every exposure, I would move the objects a bit, go through the review process and snap again. It normally takes between 10 to 40 exposures before I am satisfied.
@kali66 My first attempt at the artist challenge. I didn't reproduce any particular work but got the idea of a still life and staged the shot. Hope it's acceptable.
I find that facial tones are the hardest to manipulate without spoiling the photo. he did a perfect job with balancing his light, especially the rim light on her face.
Was the wall painted that way, or did he adjust that in post?
@kali66 I'm very impressed with his response, wow! ...so much work preparing for the shots. It would be neat if he would cast his vote when the finalists are chosen! Big kudoz to you for contacting him :)
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a quote,
The biggest challenge though comes at the photographing time. Painters have no restriction on lighting, they can simulate light sources whether truthful or not, they can exaggerate angles and fake perspective (M.C. Escher being a great example of this). This is not the case with photography, you can modify lighting, add, take away, but you can’t fake it. The same applies to perspective and what fits in a frame. There is no other way except through painful experimentation that normally entitles taking many, many exposures.
Another really difficult aspect is to achieve that painting look using artificial lighting while arranging the composition like the painting.
For every exposure, I would have to find the right angle both horizontally and vertically to match the perspective, then arrange a table or space with props, constantly comparing to the source painting, then take the photo, look through the camera, zoom in and realize that maybe the overlapping of a tazza and a roemer was not the same, or a lemon peel (very common in these paintings) was not where is supposed to be, or a glass was off in terms of distance, the folds of the table cloth are not right, etc. For every exposure, I would move the objects a bit, go through the review process and snap again. It normally takes between 10 to 40 exposures before I am satisfied.
also here
http://levinrodriguez.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/reproducing-dutch-golden-age-still-life.html
he has asked us to select one of his works for him to write about in his blog
he has other work here http://semper-l-augustus.artistwebsites.com/art/all/bodegones/all
I find that facial tones are the hardest to manipulate without spoiling the photo. he did a perfect job with balancing his light, especially the rim light on her face.
Was the wall painted that way, or did he adjust that in post?
http://levinrodriguez.blogspot.ca/2013/04/how-to-photograph-your-own-vermeer.html
in the next part he will cover post-processing