First assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to photograph inanimate objects.

First challenge of first assignment: choosing said inanimate objects.

Seriously, what just screams “ME!” ????

“INDIVIDUALITY!” “DEPTH OF SOUL!” “GENIUS!”

In the end I chose items that didn’t actually scream at me. I chose items that would take light well and require little explanation.

Second challenge of first assignment: successfully lighting and shooting blasted objects.

Actually, those should be separate. However I feel that adding a third objective would be overkill. Rather like the lighting in the first photo I attempted.

The following exposures/edits weren’t so bad. I must make a mental note to record the specifications in the future. Nothing sucks worse than trying to recreate a look and not know what shutter speed, f-stop, or ISO one was working with.

Because yeah, I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

• 

• 

• 

On the less-flippant side of my still-life…there are some meanings hidden within.

The Minolta XD11 was my father’s. He passed away when I was ten years old. It was the first real camera I ever used. It still works beautifully by the way…

The books, they’re old. I love old books. But I’ve also read them. I love to read.

The pen with the ink drawing is part of a bigger project I’ve been working on for my daughter. The pen is what architects used before there were computer programs-its nib is measured perfectly to the millimeters specified on its collar. One of the better gifts my husband has gifted me…

The pipe…well…I like to sit out in my garden and meditate with some good ol’ tobaccy. It also reminds me of a wonderful old man who wasn’t my grandfather but could have been, Papa Buzz.

The pin-up girl I saved for last. Because obviously she’s the best.

I love to collect pin-up art and I have an entire wall covered with it in my basement bar plus an old original of my Grandmother’s in our upstairs guest bathroom. Perhaps it’s really me. Or my mother. Or my grandmother. Who knows? Just enjoy it. Courtesy of Gil Elvgren.