Still Life Photography Challenge

This month's photo challenge is all about still life photography. As I thought about what I might like to capture via my camera, my mind kept going back to the still life genre of painting that gained popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries. Each item in the arranged painting symbolized something about life and/or death.

I thought more than I snapped for this challenge. Background, objects, composition - so much ponder.

 I used a black velvet shawl as the background for this and the second photos. The lemons and mint are from my garden while the kitchen utensils tell of some sort of cooking going on. Will it be a sauce? Lemonade? Cookies or ?? This speaks of possibilities to me, as well as the appreciation of good tools - measuring spoons sent from my mother to Ecuador many years ago, a wooden reamer that is pleasant to hold, and sturdy metal measuring cups.

When I come home from a walk on the beach I empty my pockets. Sea glass, stones, and shells find their way into collections around the house. Here I added a 1960s vibe to the photo via Picasa edits to evoke the sense of time and constant motion of the sea needed to smooth the rough edges from sharp glass .

This one is my favourite. Last Sunday I wandered through my garden picking a few last flowers, a disparate bunch for certain. The vase is an old one from my mother-in-law, as are the autumn-themed teacups. I set the arrangement on a wooden chair in front of a window (to the right) and put my fabric cutting board behind it, wrong side showing. I added a paper texture to the photo with BeFunky. 

My first takes of this photo had the pumpkin on the other side of the flowers. It was bright, round and cheery. But when I switched positions, the pumpkin faded more into the background and the story came to me. Summer waning, still bright, with autumn, rich and full, waiting in the wings.

The Personal Photography Challenge is hosted by Donna of Cottage Days and Journeys. I'm learning a lot through the links she puts up and her encouragement. Thank you, Donna.

Technical notes - I used my new-ish Panasonic Lumix with the 12-45 mm lens on the Intelligent Auto Plus setting (I'm learning the manual settings, too, Donna) with natural light. 

As a foot note, while looking on line at still life art, I discovered Cornelius Gysbrechts, a 17th century Flemish painter. His trompe d'oeil (fool the eye) paintings look very much like some of today's multi-media art.