Still Life - Sculptures

A Delicate Balance by Wayne Chabre and Jeanne McMenemy

For the most part my preferences in sculptures favor whimsical and art deco.  Why?  My preferences do not have a lot to do with formal art education, since there is next to none of that on my resume.  I like what I like.

Anyway, "A Delicate Balance" by Wayne Chabre and Jeanne McMenemy located at Main and Palouse in Walla Walla is one of my favorites.  When I spoke with Wanyne about it I asked if it was about the "Which came first riddle?"  He asked why I asked.  I told him that all the little kids who saw my picture of the sculpture asked me that question.  He laughed and said, "The kids are the only ones who truly get it."

To me it is whimsical and not relevant, but very thought provoking.  To get this image I had to lay down on the sidewalk next to the building closest to the sculpture, tilt the camera and use a medium f-stop to get the sculpture in focus and fuzz out the tree across the street.  Why lay on the sidewalk?  Well, the buildings, stop lights, cars and people in the backdrop were all distracting.  Other downtown favorites of mine include "Matilda on Her Way to Market" by Nano Lopez, "The Thinker" by Ralph Tretheway and "Thoughts Discovered" by Brad Rude.  For each image I had to try several different views in order to get it "right" for me and my note card collection.

When I suggest taking so many images from what seems like every possible view I am looking to help folks develop and define their personal style.  After a number of such "thousand image shoots" folks will start to see what they like and take fewer images.  However, never give up experimenting because you may discover a different view that works for you or you may have a unique artistic flash associated with the subject.  So capturing still life, in the form of sculptures, is like taking pictures of the classic cars at a show and shine.  If possible circle the sculpture taking many shots from various camera elevations.  Vary the f-stop to make the backdrop crystal clear or fuzz it out.  Think about over and under exposing to achieve the most dramatic impact.  Also, if you use HDR take bracketed shots, process and admire the increased detail and seemingly 3D effect HDR may offer.  Also, think about framing just a part of the sculpture.

As always, have fun.

 Jim's 1959 Austin Healy Bug Eye Sprite

I love going to the Show and Shine car shows, especially the one here in Walla Walla.  Wheelin' Walla Walla is this coming weekend.   Barring a real downpour my Bug Eye will join over 400 other classic cars.  Why would rain interfere?  The Bug Eye was designed as a poor man's sports car.  It had a rag top, yet to be added to mine.  There was no boot lid (trunk lid to us Yanks).  It had no outside door handles and it had no roll-up side windows.  It did have rack and pinion steering, wishbone suspension and a hot little 948cc engine.  Mine has been restored to nearly original.  The front brakes have been replaced with disk brakes.  The engine is from a later model and has a few more ccs.  I also added a real roll bar.  I picked it up as a pile of parts and the kids and I spent years putting it back together, hammering out the dings and searching for missing parts.  I wanted a big project the kids would remember doing with their Dad.  Many, many good memories for me - and hopefully for them.

Taking pictures of cars is a lot like taking pictures of children or small animals.  I find I get my most dramatic results when I get the camera down to the car's level.  Depending upon the impact I want, different camera heights ranging from a few inches off the pavement to windshield level (and a little higher) work.  Since film is so expensive in digital cameras, I recommend taking many images.  Start at the front with a dead-on grill shot.  Try at least three different camera heights.  Move to the left and do a series of shots with the image split between the grill and the fender.  Then do a profile series, always varying the height of the camera.  Move to the back corner and split the image between the side and the boot (trunk).  Then do a series from dead-on for the boot (trunk).  Continue working about the car in this fashion.  Why so many shots?  This is a way of finding out what shots work best for you.

Because in a Show and Shine the car is not moving you can typically hand hold, maybe using an ISO between 200 and 500 with an f-stop of 5.6 to 8.  The backdrop at a Show and Shine can be very distracting, so I find it is often worth the time investment to take my best shot and eliminate the clutter in the backdrop.  I often use a polarizing filter to take out reflections.  The other big thing is to get the entire car in the same light.  In the shadows or in the sunlight is good so long as the car is in all the way in the shadows or sunlight.  You may have to come early or stay late or come back to cars of particular interest.

Of course in a little car like the Bug Eye, getting a kid behind the wheel can be a great shot.

By the way, the Brits called them an Austin Healy Frog Eye Sprite.  The Bug/Frog Eye body design was only made for a few years.  The latter models shared a body design, and much more, with the MG Midget.  Thus, many who like these agile little sports cars refer to them as Spridgets.