Wabi Sabi Watering Cans

Back when we were at the Desert Botanical Garden a few months ago, I’m sure my husband was a bit taken aback by my enthusiasm over these watering cans which were sitting on a ledge in a corner, almost out of sight. We were surrounded by the beauty of nature and the magic of Chihuly glass, but there is something so amazing about finding an unstaged, “found still life” just waiting to be captured by the camera! I aimed my camera with my zoom lens and took a few quick shots, feeling very lucky to have come upon this little wabi sabi scene.

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Simply Fall

Before I set up last week’s still life with the milk can, wheat, lantern and a multitude of pumpkins, I set up a simpler scene on a table for a test shot as I checked the focus and exposure. I soon realized that there wasn’t enough room for everything on the table and decided to move the whole tableau to the floor by the front door. After I finished editing that image, which I took to my photo group, I came across my original test shot. It is a much simpler composition and is edited fairly simply with an added texture- and (shhhhh…) I prefer this one.

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Autumn Vibes

Fall is in the air- or at least it feels that way. It’s a bit cooler, it gets dark earlier, and there is a breeze. So even though the official start of fall is a couple days away, the autumn vibes inspired me to create my first still life of the season.

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Friday Flowers

If you seen eryngium, you might hesitate to call it a flower. It looks like a thistle, but is supposed to be an herb, common name sea holly. Although I took many shots, the one I like best is this multiple exposure with a bit of intentional camera movement on one layer.

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Last Pears

Last Pears

I *think* these are my last pears for awhile. This was actually the first setup in the still life shoot back in January when I was planning ahead for February’s cataract surgeries. SO. . . here they are! My eyes are FINALLY better (fingers crossed), so it might be time for me to do some new still life photos.

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Pear Shaped

We watch a LOT of British TV, and one of my favorite British sayings goes something like “…and then it all went pear shaped…”

So I bought some pears and created a few still lifes a week or so ago. This is one of them.

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Getting Together

I am working on some quick abstracts for my little photo group presentation. I set up the lemons and couldn’t help but see them as facing each other with their little lemon noses. Should I have put masks on them?

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October Still Life

We had our first assignment in my reorganized photo group. The challenge was “Unusual Light Source”- meaning no flashes, LED lights and no sun. We had to use other sources of light. I had no interest in this topic, but, being a rule follower, I set up this still life, focused my camera and took the shot by candlelight at night.

Although I went into the challenge kicking and screaming, I ended up taking a more creative, fun photo before I took this one and took both to my photo group. I am not posting it online, but will show it to friends upon request. 🙂

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Octoberness

Below is a still life I shared with my weekly photo group on Tuesday. I have been in the group over 4 1/2 years now, and it has become an important part of my life. As I prepared this photo for class (on zoom, of course), I remembered that I had created a still life in the same spot in our house (on my father’s antique dental cabinet) for my second photo ever for this group back in 2016. You can see that photo and read about my experience as a new and very nervous member of the group here.  I still learn new things every week and am constantly inspired by the group’s creativity and technical skills.

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Reflection Number 1

My little AAUW photo group is meeting this week, and the topic is reflections. Each month we send 4-6 photos to the leader, and then they are displayed on a large screen in a room at the library. Later they are on the website for AAUW Prescott. I got a few photos together for the topic, but also decided to do some still life photography emphasizing reflections.

Here’s one with my baby cup! I tried to shine it up, but ended up having to rely on the dining room table for the reflection.

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