Narcissus - Week 2 of A Year in Bloom

Photography lessons learned this week:

Lesson 1 On creating an interesting photograph
The setting in which the subject is placed is as important as the subject itself. Here I began photographing the vintage blue Ball jar with daffodils in isolation. I love the color combinations. It is rather boring as a photograph though.

Placing the jar of daffodils among other items gives the viewer a sense of place, a sense of scale and is just more interesting overall.

Do you agree?

Lesson 2 Lighting
These photos were shot at 7:30 a.m. on a cloudy morning. No interior lights were on. I was fully expecting the photos to be really dark. Surprisingly, they are not. The natural light, though it was low, was enough. The shutter speed was set to auto so I don't know what the selected ISO was. Probably 800. There is a slight blurriness to the photo because of camera shake while the shutter was open. I think I prefer this lighting to that of a sunny day. I know for next time to set up the tripod to shoot in this light.

Lesson 3 Keep Experimenting
I moved the flowers to my studio where I have a combination of fluorescent lights -  regular daylight and Verilux. I placed a large piece of white mat board behind the flowers and took many close up photos. I really like the results!

Lesson 4 Create a Filter

I was using a magnifying glass while sketching the daffodils. I decided to try it as a macro lens. It was pretty tricky trying to hold the magnifying glass in one hand and the camera in the other AND press the button! It may not have worked as a macro lens, but it did seem to provide a softer look as one might achieve with a filter.  I LOVE how these photos turned out! I should look for one of those old fashioned magnifying lenses on a stand.

This week's drawings

 Another week of other stuff to do. Didn't have as much time to devote to drawing as I would have liked. When the daffodils are blooming in my yard, I will draw them again to have several sketches to work from when I want to do a finished piece.

Phalaenopsis Orchid - Week 1 of A Year in Bloom

Here is the first of what I intend to be 52 flower drawings to be completed over the next year. This is a challenge I have set up for myself to get me into the routine of observing, drawing and photographing a subject.

My daughter gave me this lovely Phalaenopsis orchid for my birthday.  The rich magenta petals accented with plum dots and veins is truly stunning. The first challenge was trying to get the colors true in the photographs. I wanted to use the lace curtains as a backdrop and work with morning sunlight. The sun seemed to be a hindrance so I photographed again in the afternoon when it was cloudy. I experimented with different camera settings.

 

Here are the sketches I worked on:

quick sketch

the back side of the flower

 

  

 I would like to develop these sketches further and add color. I want to do more detail sketches. As I closely examined the flower I discovered a series of triangles within it. I don't have an appropriate macro lens to zoom into these details for photographing.

52 Flowers - A Year in Bloom

Thinking about this idea of creating 52 somethings all day yesterday, last night as I was falling asleep and this morning upon waking, I have my idea. It is in keeping with my other goals, will not take up too much time (guess we'll see about that!) and give me direction and focus.

I plan to select a flower each week, draw, photograph and find a quote relating to it. I will post these results each Sunday morning. The first post will appear March 3rd. At the end of this project, I will have gained stronger drawing skills and hopefully will have learned how to take better photographs. The drawings will be available for later artwork. (I can see silkscreen versions of them and possibly notecards.) As a way to bring the project together, I would like to publish the blog posts in a book using Shutterfly or one of the other photo printing websites.