Thoughts on Compositions - Still Life
Ann and I went on our June adventure last weekend. We had an incredible couple of mornings photographing and, as happens when that happens, it’s taking me some time to develop the images and get the blog story together about the trip. In the meantime, I’ll tease you a bit by drawing from some of the images I made and discussing an aspect of potential “compositions” that I hadn’t really thought about much before, but came front and center in my thinking about some of the images I made. That’s the notion of doing a still life.
I’ve discussed previously how there’s a continuing type of image in my photography that I return to again and again that, after a long struggle in figuring out what to call them, I wound up borrowing Ansel Adam’s term “compositions.” Actually, that term covers several different “types” of images I make, but it’s a term I’m comfortable with because I think each of those image types come from the same creative source. (Don’t worry, I’m not about to go woo woo on you!)
I thought I’d figured out the general “types”, even while recognizing that at times there are real overlaps, but this trip made me think that there might just be another one I hadn’t considered previously. So let me run through them.
For starters, there are the images that seem to be pretty much an abstraction. Like this one:
If you look long and hard, you might be able to figure out what it is. And as I’ve repeated on several recent occasions, I’ve intentionally imposed the constraint of of not veering off into pure abstraction. But face it, images like the one above come close to qualifying as abstract expressionism.
Then there are the images that are, in my mind, graphic compositions of patterns that I see in nature. Like this one:
Often I find these types of images in rocks, or tree trunks - places where there are patterns to be framed in a manner that pleases or challenges the eye. So often I’m doing nothing more than simply framing the image until it feels right. There’s no purpose or meaning to these other than the eyes and heart tell me to make the image.
And then there are the compositions that really are about a thing, like this one:
Now, of course, several different themes can be at play in any given image, but the above is about as stark as it gets when photographing a rock.
Each of the above types of compositions requires me to get into a slightly different mind-set in order to see them. Generally, when I am able to see things in a particular way, I stay there awhile and make several photographs from that same way of seeing. I’ll admit, it’s pretty difficult to mentally shift back and forth; generally I can’t do it, so I stay in one mind-set. And often times I see one thing, photograph it and then that frame of mind disappears.
So as I noted above, this trip got me making another type of image that left me a bit unsure of what I was really doing. It wasn’t until several days later that I realized what these images were. They were still life images.
Much like a painter or drawer would compose elements of a still life on a table in their studio, these are compositions that generally involve multiple components interacting with each other and with the light. They required a very precise framing to bring out a sense of order, balance and beauty of the subject. I’ve often wondered what lead an artist to do a still life, or to do them repeatedly. I think I now understand why.
I doubt I’ll suddenly have the urge to start photographing still life images at home. I don’t see myself composing a subject to photograph. But hopefully I’ll leave myself receptive to finding a “natural still life” whenever I’m out photographing. Because they are beautiful and well worth seeing.
I guess now I get to add “still life” to my repertoire of composition themes.
And yes, I made all of the above images during our June 2018 adventure.