Well, for someone who takes a lot of pictures of landscapes, architecture and wildlife the winter can be unproductive and even a little depressing. This year I have chosen to try something that I have been meaning to do for a while.
Life does indeed seem sedentary these days; it begins to get dark around 4:30; there is no more holiday cheer; things are less happy and slower all around. Inside it is warm - but also dark. With the help of a tripod and a remote I found that I can take some pretty still life pictures using some old plates that I have lying around - and my groceries.
My favorite still life paintings are the ones by the old Dutch masters. Some of them have the precision of a photograph. My favorite still life painter is William Michael Harnett. He is Irish-American and a master of the trompe l'oeil (fool the eye) style. One of his pieces is on display currently at the DIA and no matter how close you get to it it still looks like you could reach into the painting and pick up the objects.
Today I found this site by an amazing artist Kevin Best. He is a master of trompe l'oeil in that his photos look like paintings by the old masters.
I think that I can expand this still life idea. I need to figure out a couple more things like lighting and lenses - but once I do I have some fun creative ideas!
