Black & White Sunday: Still Life
I’ll start with an excerpt from Wikipedia:
“A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on). With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Graeco-Roman art, still-life painting emerged as a distinct genre and professional specialization in Western painting by the late 16th century, and has remained significant since then. Still life gives the artist more freedom in the arrangement of elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture.”
It is this aspect of freedom that appealed most to me, to be able to arrange things to my liking and according to my own sense of aesthetics.

This Sunday you are invited to capture a still life according to the above definition, or you can surprise me with an alternative interpretation that can bear the same title.
Be creative, have fun and enjoy your Sunday! (You have time until next Sunday to come up with your responses).

P.S.
As of this post there won’t be small preview images in the posts for the reasons I voiced in “To Whom It May Concern”. I will still try to honour your submissions by posting a recap of your assembled contributing photos on a separate page (sub-page to Scheduled Challenges).
Even though I stopped posting little preview images of your entries, my blogger friends never disappoint. Please check out the links bellow to see how others have interpreted still life. Once compiled you will find all the entries in a slideshow here.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Oh Paula, that is gorgeous. A beautiful still life, where your photography wins!
And you really made me smile. After our little discussion earlier, I went off to think about my post for this challenge and I started with exactly the same Wikipedia definition as you! Great minds….. Off to think some more
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 Sweet dreams Debs
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is lovely, Paula! Good night, sweat dreams. Xx
LikeLike
Tusen takk kjære Hanne 🙂 Nyte søndag!
LikeLike
Morning!
I found another quote I liked!
https://travelwithintent.com/2016/02/07/still-life-with-a-touch-of-power/
Have a nice relaxing Sunday Paula
LikeLike
Excellent and illustrated too. You either placed the glove yourself or found the scene and came up with the quote, whatever the order in your creative response the result is original, charming and inspiring. Have a great Sunday, Debbie! Thanks again 🙂
LikeLike
I love the shadows on the apples and the reflection of light.
LikeLike
That makes me happy, DM. Thank you. I hope your Sunday is nice and relaxing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the shadows you created in your photo Paula. Adds a little mystery 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, exactly and being mysterious it incites our curiosity, that’s why I love low key and tend to do more of this type of photography in the future. It’s so nice to see you here and read what you think. Have a relaxing Sunday, Colline!
LikeLike
You too Paula. As I was doing household chores this morning, I thought of how I could participate this week. Hope you like my entry 🙂
http://collinesblog.com/2016/02/07/a-mothers-memory/
LikeLike
What fun and they really must be precious if your girls still hold on to them as teenagers 🙂 Thank you so much, Colline for this lovely share.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed it Paula 🙂
LikeLike
I really love this! Very subtle and beautiful.
LikeLike
Thank you, Laura. I’m glad to hear it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
total freedom !!!
LikeLike
Nicely configured and great use of shadow.
LikeLike
Many thanks, Joseph.
LikeLike
Pingback: Black and White Sunday: Still Life | Middleton Road
Pingback: Still Life with a Touch of Power | Travel with Intent
Lovely, Paula. It’s all about being able to see beauty in the supposedly mundane, isn’t it? 🙂
LikeLike
Absolutely, and we’d better since we are part of the mundane in a way too 🙂
LikeLike
Great picture – I love what you have done with the light here! Have a nice Sunday!
LikeLike
My first experiment at low-key. I don’t know why I haven’t done that before since I always admired low key photography. Thanks for your feedback Tobias. Enjoy your Sunday!
LikeLike
how did you achieve it, if I may ask?
LikeLike
with one small bulb and a piece of paper, directed light. It took some experimenting 🙂
LikeLike
you mean – normal bulb, no camera flash or so? nice.
and I love the slideshow. it is really cool. it is great to have the overview of all (or most) of the participants.
LikeLike
No, no flash. I never used flash before Ljubljana last week when I got hubby almost blind. It will be all, i am supplementing it all the time with new entries. I hope you read my “disclaimer” bellow, where I say that anyone can object. I will have to remove them eventually to replace them with fresh stuff. When you have a minute (no rush but preferably before weekend) see my mail regarding your guest challenge 😉
LikeLike
very nice image. I like the light which gives shape and the deep contrast.
http://lessywannagohome.blogspot.be/2016/02/glass-half-full.html
LikeLike
So, you are one of those “glass half full” people? I’m part of the “glass already gone” bunch 😀 Lovely high key, very aesthetic result. Thank you, Klara.
LikeLike
eeeee, not really ;-). it sounded more cheerful as a title. my thyroid has gone berserk and I am in the middle of search for new posology (with all the symptoms crushing me).
LikeLike
😦 😦 😦 I wish I could advice you somehow. Can you take a break from work and rest? Please don’t feel pressured to reply or to read mail where I am asking you to supply a picture of your person with intro about you. I’ll do it all, and if you need me to move the challenge to a later date, it is no problem at all. I just want you to get better.
LikeLike
http://letzterrang.blogspot.de/2016/02/altes.html
would like to participate at your excellent challenge(s).
Herzlich Pippa
LikeLike
Of course Pippa. What photo is your interpretation of “still life”?
LikeLike
Pingback: A Mother’s Memory | Colline's Blog
Still life photography is harder than it looks, and you did a fine job with these apples. Love the lighting.
LikeLike
I agree Allan, definitely harder than it looks. I am glad you appreciate it 🙂 Thank you.
LikeLike
the black and white one in the! mentioned post!
if you accept it, you make me sing and dance! Have a wonderful sunday evening! P.
LikeLike
Of course I accept it. It is your interpretation of still life and that’s good enough for me. Have a great week!
LikeLike
So precious , Paula!
LikeLike
Grazie mille, Anna 🙂
LikeLike
Lovely art piece…
LikeLike
🙂 Glad you like it, Lor.
LikeLike
Pingback: Black & White Sunday: Still Life | A Day In The Life
Still life is difficult- this is my first try and I think in the future it will be something I work on. Thanks Paula.
https://dailymusing57.wordpress.com/2016/02/07/black-white-sunday-still-life/
LikeLike
Yes, it is difficult, but you did it very nicely 🙂 Thank you, DM.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Paula ❤
LikeLike
This is just beautiful and even more so in close-up with nothing else on the screen. It is quite funny I had just answered your comment on my ‘Teaching is terrible…’ post and was remembering asking the children to bring in, or find in the classroom, some objects and and we constructed a ‘still life’ (an utterly obscure term to these kids). We took photos of cans of beans and all sorts, it was good fun.
LikeLike
Yes, it is funny cause children are everything but still :D, but if one gives them something of interest they can become quite engaged. I loved those moments 😀
LikeLike
B&W is always stunning! Creative!
LikeLike
Pingback: MONOCHROME KITCHEN STILL LIFES – B & W SUNDAY | SERENDIPITY
I see that my pingback pinged back. Hope you like them. Thanks for the challenge and being such a great host.
LikeLike
un très joli trait de lumière dans cette photo très noire, c’est très réussi Paula
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 merci Marc
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Black & White Sunday: Still Life | Daffodil Hill Photography
Paula,
I want to Thank you once again for these challenges but I want you to know it was your compositions that drew me here first, not the challenges.Peace~John
Here is my entry: http://daffodilhillphotography.com/2016/02/07/black-white-sunday-still-life/
LikeLike
That’s very kind of you John. I’m coming to see your entry. Thank you very much.
LikeLike
I like your apple photo and still-life can be an interesting subject to work with. I have a skull that I’ve been working on photographing that would be perfect for this post – I’ve already taken some photos of it, but I decided to improve the results.
This weekend I’ve had visitors from such different places as Argentina, China and the Czech Republic, plus there’s a Russian coming this evening, so I doubt I’ll be able to post something this week…
LikeLike
Make sure the Russian brings plenty of “Smirnoff! 😉
LikeLike
He’s bringing his musical talents and will play electric organ for me (he’s a very talented piano player).
LikeLike
I like the organ, even electric one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These darkling shadows on the apples sprung a notion of Paris and his disastrous choice in his apple award to Aphrodite that in turn led to the Trojan War. You can see my mind is wandering, Paula. But this is such a dramatic shot – a hard thing to achieve with the inanimate 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Black & White Sunday: Still Life | Let There be Peace on Earth
Pingback: Still Life At The Mall? | Tish Farrell
I think my interpretation is a bit ‘off piste”, but I really wanted to post this photo taken last week.
http://tishfarrell.com/2016/02/09/still-life-at-the-mall/
LikeLike
Loving it 🙂 Thank you, Tish.
LikeLike
Like the (almost) black apples. 🙂
One advantage of still-lifes for 16th-or later century painters, was that they did not have to pay a live model, and could then eat the still-life model. 😉
(And a very soothing music you chose…)
LikeLike
Jamas como mi arte.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Still life – 60 mm
Hi Paula. I am not one for photographing still-lifes in the normal sense, but thought I’d have a go using my macro lens (I need to practice a lot with this) and quite liked the way the light fell on my glass bowl filled with pine cones (and other dried bits and pieces) which sits on the top of the woodburner. As it is taken with the macro it appears on my dedicated macro site so you will not recognize the name in the pingback, but it is still ME!
Jude
https://smallbluegreenmacro.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/still-life/
BTW I love the high key apples, beautiful light.
LikeLike
What a brilliant addition to the Sunday gallery 🙂 Thank you very much, Jude.
LikeLike
I love this one Paula, and was fascinated by your ‘ how to’ with Tobias. Beautiful music too. So much good stuff on here. When will I ever find time to catch up? Off to check Debbie and Jude xxx
LikeLike
Don’t let my blog stress you, Jo. Tobias has been great help and source of inspiration recently. Men are usually less complicated than us gals 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like them apples 😉 The shadows are exquisite.
LikeLike
Then take them apples. They are all yours 😀
LikeLike
Why thank you 🙂 I think I’ll have all three.
LikeLike
Pingback: Black & White Sunday: Still Life | WordsVisual
Just getting this in before the deadline: https://suejudd.com/2016/02/13/black-white-sunday-still-life/
LikeLike
Thank you, Sue. I love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m pleased yo do!
LikeLike
wonderful pictures and as I said in the about me, i love the picture of face and nature…
LikeLike
Paula I admit I am a color addict however this image is so full of life and light and interest. Gorgeous.
LikeLike
I can understand that, Sue. Colour can be very seductive, but when I work with monochrome I can be sure that I did not overdo colours. 🙂 This is a low key image, my first attempt at it. I am very happy that you like it. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wish I had the talent to take a photo like that. Truly a masterpiece Paula. The shadows and textures are AMAZING.
LikeLike
Compliments from you, Lisa, mean a lot. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well you are lovely to say so Paula. Thank you 💞
LikeLike
B&W photos are always artistic especially if one could give attention to the light source and shadows. An excellent still life
LikeLike
Thank you, Chithankalai
LikeLike
C’est vraiment cool, génial! L’exercice sur les pommes donne un bon rendu, la lumière soulignant les formes de chaque pomme! C’est exactement comme cela que j’ai réalisé mes feuilles ツ
LikeLiked by 1 person
Je suis tres contente de faire ta connaissance ツ
LikeLiked by 1 person
Egalement, le plaisir est partagé ツ
LikeLike