Carol Watson, QPSA  

Flowers and Pears by Carol Watson, QPSA

September 2023 - Flowers and Pears

September 2023 - Carol Watson, QPSA

Original

September 2023 - Carol Watson, QPSA

Original 2

About the Image(s)

I was wanting to create an Old Masters style still life. The image was taken indoors in natural light with a small LED light positioned to the left. I couldn’t get the flowers to sit in the bottle as I wanted so I took them individually using a plamp, positioned in approximately the correct location.

The image was taken with my Olympus OM-1 with a 12-40mm lens. The camera settings were manual focus, f5.6, 1/15s, ISO 100, +0.3 stop. I used a tripod. The following changes were made in Photoshop after initial processing in Camera Raw.

-On a new layer painted over the highlights on the bottle with a low opacity brush.
-Added the 3 flowers on separate layers.
-Added a couple of my own textures in Multiply Blend mode at about 33% opacity.
-Added a Candlelight LUT layer at about 50% opacity, masked off the flowers.
-Added a couple of Topaz effects to give it a more painterly feel.
-Added a vignette using Nik Efex Darken Lighten Centre.
-Finally finished the image with a complementary fine stroke line.

This round’s discussion is now closed!
9 comments posted

Jan Handman   Jan Handman
Lovely still life Carol. I like the way the right pear stem points toward the rest of the composition. My eye kept getting pulled toward the bright reflection in the lower part of the bottle, so I've eliminated it here. I also tamped down the saturation a bit, as it seemed to me a tad strong for an Old Master's style. Love the textured background. Great idea to use the plamp to make the flowers go right where you wanted them. Lighting is just right. Very nice!   Posted: 09/14/2023 15:40:45
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Carol Watson   Carol Watson
Thanks Jan. I agree about the bright reflections on the bottle and have now removed them. I like the more saturated colours but that is just my personal preference.   Posted: 09/24/2023 04:25:44
 
Carol, This is a very nice still life image. Love the color and the composition. I have a visual feedback. I just darkened the background to have the subject pop. What do you think?   Posted: 09/17/2023 17:08:10
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Carol Watson   Carol Watson
Thanks Linda. I will try a version with a slightly darker background.   Posted: 09/24/2023 04:27:21
Connie Reinhart   Connie Reinhart
You found a good solution for handling flowers that won't cooperate. It worked out quite well. The vignette forces the eye to the subject perfectly. I have a hard time visualizing what a texture will do for an image. This is lovely. You certainly achieved your goal of "Old Masters" style.   Posted: 09/18/2023 14:34:40
Carol Watson   Carol Watson
Thanks Connie.   Posted: 09/24/2023 04:27:52
Denise McKay   Denise McKay
Carol, the subject matter and color tones suit the old masters style well and are lovely. I agree with the suggestion about removing the bright spot from the vase. Creative problem solving with the plamp placing the flowers where you wanted them. You can't tell they weren't sitting in the vase! Well done!

One thought that came to mind was that the pears seem a little "posed" to me. I really like that the stem of the pear on the right does provide another leading line towards the vase but the upright position of both pears sitting side by side seems a little unnatural for lack of a better word. I wonder if any improvement could be made by laying or tilting the right pear against or in front of the left pear? I've attached a screen shot of a pear painting as an example. For instance you could turn the left pear so the top bends towards the vase, then lay the right pear down overlapping the left pear with the stem curving upward. Both pears would provide leading lines towards the vase and flowers. It might also add some depth as the vase and pears seem to be lined up all in a horizontal row. Just a thought.   Posted: 09/19/2023 07:06:08
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Carol Watson   Carol Watson
Thanks Denise. I like your suggestion for the pears and when I next buy some I will certainly give that a go.   Posted: 09/24/2023 04:29:38
Jan Handman   Jan Handman
Great suggestion Denise. I think that would improve the composition quite a bit.   Posted: 09/29/2023 15:32:27