Allium Sativum

Spiritually, garlic has been regarded as a force for both good and evil. Historically, it has

been used as both food and medicine. Powerful stuff.

A bit of an indirect tribute to Pepper No. 30, perhaps? Might be a little too suggestive though.

I can smell the garlic.. beautifull colors and reflection. What is the bottum? glass?

Great colors and light, and I like the reflection. You transformed a very mundane object into a beautiful and interesting image. Well done. Barb (from Sarasota) :)

Edward Weston's Pepper No. 30 is a B&W of an oddly shaped pepper, sans reflection. Could you please explain your comment? I don't understand it at all.

Thank you for your comment. The garlic is sitting on a glass coffe table in a Western facing room. It was spontaneous inspiration - I was making dinner and saw the sun reflecting on the glass as I held the garlic in my hand. I taped black construction paper underneath the top to strengthen the reflection (a tip from a photo blog).

Sorry Alberta; I didn't mean to be so opaque. With Pepper No. 30, you can see it in many different ways, depending on what you're looking for or what preconceptions you have. This struck me as having a bit of a similar character, though it does not seem so ambiguous.

Hi Alberta...

 

Thanks for visiting my folio. I am glad that you like my 'Weapon' shot. It was one of 2 final shots from a concept that a client wanted. Although I have no access to the TV programe you mentioned, I am glad to see that this site is providing you with inspiration to, as it does with me, continue to learn and grow. After all photography is a work in progress itself. You have some rather lovely images on your folio...keep at it

 

Regards

 

Artur

Maybe I'm not a creative enough lateral thinker, but I'm having terrible difficulty in seeing what this suggestive of to David! This is a pity because I would like to find a deeper purpose/secondary meaning to this still life.

 

This image has such great qualities of soft yet defining light, sharpness, and nice reflections. I find the crop a touch tight on the sides, but otherwise the composition is nice too (although I personally find square or 4x5 generally preferable for still life work).

 

All and all a very nice work.

Thank you for your critique. I'm afraid the only deeper purpose to this shot was the homemade pasta sauce, which was excellent :) The tight crop was necessary because of furniture placement in my home. I'll try a different table next time that I can maneuver to eliminate background or learn some secrets to in-home studio set-up. Can you elaborate on your preference for square or 4 x 5 format for still life please?

I still wish I knew what David was seeing! ;)

 

As for why I have a preference for 4x5 or square in still life photography? Well, there are probably a variety of reasons. Namely:

 

1. History: The 135 film format (35mm) and its 4x6 ratio were usually reserved for journalism, sport (greater DOF leads to larger usable apertures leads to faster shutter speeds), and nature (small size is portable and long telephotos are possible without weighing too, too much). Still life work by being studio based was usually done of large format film (or sometimes medium format) for the greater quality that provided. This means that there is a long tradition of still life work on film that already was 4x5 and from which square was a logical crop (or the native crop for some medium formats). Traditional print sizes (such as 8x10, 16x20) are also often derivatives of the older 4x5/8x10 large formats and many 135 photographers crop to 4x5/8x10 regularly.

 

2. Balance: Many still lives are about finding an inner harmony and balance through a pleasing composition of common objects. I feel that this sense of balance is much fuller and stronger and easier to obtain in square. If you composition does not have a strong orientation, square is a logical choice as it doesn't 'impose' as much as other formats. The further a crop is from square the more 'forceful', the more it becomes part of the final image. Sometimes this is great -- it accentuates a strong line, it focuses the movement of the eye etc.... But, there should always be a reason to use any given format.

 

There is a moderately useful article on cropping (it is very short and not very in depth) at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/und-crop.shtml . It is mostly aimed at those who don't crop at all rather than a discussion of the merits of various crops. But, I couldn't easily find anything else.

 

I personally try very hard to crop to one standard another (6x6, 6x7, 5x7, 3x4, 4x5(8x10), 4x6, 6x12, various panoramas, etc . . .) due to a preference for symmetrical borders on a print and being too cheap to pay for custom framing. But, if an image really calls for its own crop, I'll do it (this one for example: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6427023).

Great advice. I will study up and experiment more. My family is full of artists and I know the pain of custom framing. Perhaps I've let that restrict my creativity? Your photo "Grace" (the link you provided) is a great example of the need to crop "as needed." RE: still life formats, I went back to the garlic (RAW file) and squared it (but didn't take the time to match a color adjustment on the original). Let's see the difference. Thanks again -

You're brilliant! I love it!!

Dear Alberta - this is so much fun, eventho the purpose was "just" tasty pasta!! Ahh simpliness.

Excellent picture. Very good composition. I like the colours and the contrast between the lighted and reflected parts of garlic. Congratulations. Yves P.(http://imagesyves.net)

Wow, this image is very appealing with the pinkish orange of the cloves and the dark bluish background. You know, when you renamed your file when you re-cropped it, that may be a good title for the image because it is two heads that are reflected - Garlic Squared in the mathematical sense.

 

Kirk

Thanks for your comments - much appreciated. At this point in the life-cycle of this photo, though, I think I'll let the title be even though you do make a great mathematical argument. Good observation!

Very good. I never thought Garlic can be photogenic

than this.

 

Thanks for sharing.

sally

This photo has been the most interesting PhotoNet experience for me for a great number of reasons. One is that no one has commented on the name - the Latin name for garlic - which I chose because I saw a Roman warrior and shield when I set the shot up. Another is that my sister thinks this looks like an unnamed part of the female anatomy and won't look at it :) Lastly, I learned a valuable lesson about standard formatting and will apply that going forward. Again, thanks all.

First:Too bad I haven't learned the Latin name of garlic in University.Second:I haven't seen any genitals looking like that....and Third,this is an excellent image,worthing my 7ns.

I am honored to receive such praise and 7's from a Master. Thank you.

"Master" I mean.Don't make me feel THAT old!By the way,I may manage a picture or two in the future,so I have "lots" to give.The lens you have used is one of the best macro 90mm lenses in the market.My greetings.

Master as in masterful - not old. But then you have no idea if you're talking to a 100-year old :)

Excellent image. Well done.