Ontbijtje

[TheBigYin]

Stuck in the House, Bored again,so raided the Fruitbowl for this Arrangement...




As to the subjects...

Well - while its technically a simple Breakfast Piece, I couldn't resist throwing in a couple of the "Vanitas" type of symbols...

While the Fruit is basically all about Fertility and Abundance , the fall of man is often denoted by pears, grapes and of course Apple. Erotic undertones are are also denoted by the plums, and apple.

Sea shells, or occasionally a living snail, are the remains of once-living animal, and hence signify death and frailty. Also, exotic shells denote Travel and the Wealth required to do so in this era - no RyanAir in the 17th Century...

The Globe, again denoting Travel and it's implied wealth and

Books: Human knowledge and its temporary nature.

Candles: often used to portray the human soul, so if the candle is extinguished, or burned low, the person would be considered either to be old, or at the latter end of their existance - a clear indication of "momento

 

[Tom in Arizona]

Very nice work. Your composition is wonderful, and I appreciate the background explanation as to the pieces you've included. Your light source appears to be a window a window on the right. Did you use any kind of fill to help with the shadow details? As someone who is just beginning to explore still life photography, your work is an inspiration to me.

Tom

 

[TheBigYin]

Your light source appears to be a window a window on the right. Did you use any kind of fill to help with the shadow details? As someone who is just beginning to explore still life photography, your work is an inspiration to me.

actually... light source was a large softbox with a "gobo"... Most of my photo time was on an evening back then so natural light wasn't an option...

IMG_4325.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr

light control was basically more or less just "light absorbers" - the opposite of reflectors - a big black sheet of polystyrene painted in matte black on camera right side, and a large velvet sheet hung to camera left side per the blurred pullback shot here

IMG_4317.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr

I was actually experimenting with just what I could do with one lamp - using a single lencarta 300W studio flash head and a 3ft x 2ft Softbox. I'm old school - I like studio flash and modelling lamps rather than working with speedlights - basically, picture was shot tethered, and I used live-view to the laptop screen, and adjusted positioning of the props while viewing the actual composition in real-time. Same thing with the lightings positioning - move it about, watch the shadows move, find when it looks right, tighten up the stops then play with the big black sheets to stop stray reflections from the white ceiling and paintwork, or the yellow walls, because my other half wouldn't let me have the spare bedroom painted in a mid-dark grey...

 

[West Coast Birder]

Lovely photo! Thanks for sharing the details of the setup as well as the meaning of the various objects.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Stuck in the House, Bored again,so raided the Fruitbowl for this Arrangement...

A great arrangement, great light and a great explanation of your set up, with pics even. Simply wonderful.

En leuke titel ook nog!!

 

[Tom in Arizona]

actually... light source was a large softbox with a "gobo"... Most of my photo time was on an evening back then so natural light wasn't an option...

IMG_4325.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr

light control was basically more or less just "light absorbers" - the opposite of reflectors - a big black sheet of polystyrene painted in matte black on camera right side, and a large velvet sheet hung to camera left side per the blurred pullback shot here

IMG_4317.jpg by The Big Yin, on Flickr

I was actually experimenting with just what I could do with one lamp - using a single lencarta 300W studio flash head and a 3ft x 2ft Softbox. I'm old school - I like studio flash and modelling lamps rather than working with speedlights - basically, picture was shot tethered, and I used live-view to the laptop screen, and adjusted positioning of the props while viewing the actual composition in real-time. Same thing with the lightings positioning - move it about, watch the shadows move, find when it looks right, tighten up the stops then play with the big black sheets to stop stray reflections from the white ceiling and paintwork, or the yellow walls, because my other half wouldn't let me have the spare bedroom painted in a mid-dark grey...

Thanks again for all the information!!!

Tom