231. Cézanne - November 19-25, 2017
Byron-
I tried to replicate the painting. I had the help of my Grand Nephew (Paul Carlson's son, Ben). He is interested in photography so it was a good way to work with him and get to know him better. It must have gone well because he said he like to work with me on future projects. There was something about my setup that wasn't quite right. I discovered what it was several hours after we struck the set and I had eaten one of the apples. The painting looked to me like the background was at an angle, I should have shot it straight on. Oh well, this is as close as I could come before I lost interest in continuing. I think I spent more time adjusting and fiddling around than any other WPOTM theme. I was thinking the lighting would be the biggest problem because the painting is somewhat vague about the direction and quality of the light. I used 2 strobes positioned to my left, shooting through umbrellas. That way the light was being thrown all over the room in addition to the light that was diffused through the umbrella. I tried to include some humor but failed. In the painting there is something laying behind the cup and saucer. I believe it is a napkin. At first I thought it was a pamphlet. So I made a pamphlet with what looks like aged paper and on the front it says Byro Engineering with a DaVinci graphic below. My positioning behind the cup obscures the text. I did enjoy this project and I think I might do more of these on my own.
p.s. when I attached the photo It looks like the fireplace is a black square with a tiny flame. As I was working on it in Lightroom and Photoshop I could see the logs. You'll have to trust me on that!
F11, 1/30th sec, 50mm
I tried to replicate the painting. I had the help of my Grand Nephew (Paul Carlson's son, Ben). He is interested in photography so it was a good way to work with him and get to know him better. It must have gone well because he said he like to work with me on future projects. There was something about my setup that wasn't quite right. I discovered what it was several hours after we struck the set and I had eaten one of the apples. The painting looked to me like the background was at an angle, I should have shot it straight on. Oh well, this is as close as I could come before I lost interest in continuing. I think I spent more time adjusting and fiddling around than any other WPOTM theme. I was thinking the lighting would be the biggest problem because the painting is somewhat vague about the direction and quality of the light. I used 2 strobes positioned to my left, shooting through umbrellas. That way the light was being thrown all over the room in addition to the light that was diffused through the umbrella. I tried to include some humor but failed. In the painting there is something laying behind the cup and saucer. I believe it is a napkin. At first I thought it was a pamphlet. So I made a pamphlet with what looks like aged paper and on the front it says Byro Engineering with a DaVinci graphic below. My positioning behind the cup obscures the text. I did enjoy this project and I think I might do more of these on my own.
p.s. when I attached the photo It looks like the fireplace is a black square with a tiny flame. As I was working on it in Lightroom and Photoshop I could see the logs. You'll have to trust me on that!
F11, 1/30th sec, 50mm
Darin-
I did the best with what I had. I don't have a trumpet, but I do have a guitar. I don't have a fireplace, but I do have a stereo. I don't have a... a... a whatever that is, but I do have a tv remote control. I don't have a round table, but I do have a table made from a pallet with Johnny Cash painted on it. I don't have a traditional coffee cup, but I do have an Uff Da mug. I don't have a saucer, because saucers are for old ladies.
I tried getting the proper colored apples and set them in the right positions in a white bowl, which last had cereal in it.
I shot this, then used the SuperPhoto App and ran it through the 'Painting' filter. Not quite Cezanne, but I do have an Uff Da mug.
I did the best with what I had. I don't have a trumpet, but I do have a guitar. I don't have a fireplace, but I do have a stereo. I don't have a... a... a whatever that is, but I do have a tv remote control. I don't have a round table, but I do have a table made from a pallet with Johnny Cash painted on it. I don't have a traditional coffee cup, but I do have an Uff Da mug. I don't have a saucer, because saucers are for old ladies.
I tried getting the proper colored apples and set them in the right positions in a white bowl, which last had cereal in it.
I shot this, then used the SuperPhoto App and ran it through the 'Painting' filter. Not quite Cezanne, but I do have an Uff Da mug.
Kevin-
Well as we know Byron’s photo challenge was fairly simple. He attached a reproduction of a painting by Paul Cézanne and suggested we play off it it, imitate, it or as we WPOTMers sometimes do abandon it completely while claiming that the image we created was in fact still inspired by something like this Cézanne painting of a plate full of apples.
Apparently my “obey” gene was on high alert so I decided that I would attempt to photographically duplicate the painting, within reason of course. Presuming that is supposed to be a fireplace in the background behind the plate of apples I also decided that Cézanne was a lamo (Urban Dictionary: Lamo - Someone possessing the quality of lameness) painter for not making the flames more apparent in the (also apparent) fireplace behind. Of course doing that necessitated taking the photograph at night, in a totally dark room except for the fireplace glow, establishing a baseline exposure of 15 seconds at at f/11 with an ISO of 100 to properly expose the flames. To that I popped one Nikon SB-900 series flash off of the ceiling above at full power, and added another aimed at the apples from slightly behind at 1/16 power.
There was an apparent musical instrument, or perhaps a fireplace tool leaning against the fireplace, something that looks like a Honeywell thermostat on the wall and a Walmart receipt on the table. By painting those two items in the late 1890’s perhaps Cézanne was predicting the future? Whatever. Why are things like this never explained in paintings? Being unsure of the what or the why I didn’t bother with either item.
The lens was a 24-70mm Nikkor set to 52mm, and the camera body was my new Nikon D850, stretching it’s legs for the first time. But still it was only a photograph, and Cézanne was a painter. So I brought the image into Photoshop and used Adobe’s Oil Painting filter, trying the various adjustments again and again in different positions until I was happy with the painting feel you see here.
Well as we know Byron’s photo challenge was fairly simple. He attached a reproduction of a painting by Paul Cézanne and suggested we play off it it, imitate, it or as we WPOTMers sometimes do abandon it completely while claiming that the image we created was in fact still inspired by something like this Cézanne painting of a plate full of apples.
Apparently my “obey” gene was on high alert so I decided that I would attempt to photographically duplicate the painting, within reason of course. Presuming that is supposed to be a fireplace in the background behind the plate of apples I also decided that Cézanne was a lamo (Urban Dictionary: Lamo - Someone possessing the quality of lameness) painter for not making the flames more apparent in the (also apparent) fireplace behind. Of course doing that necessitated taking the photograph at night, in a totally dark room except for the fireplace glow, establishing a baseline exposure of 15 seconds at at f/11 with an ISO of 100 to properly expose the flames. To that I popped one Nikon SB-900 series flash off of the ceiling above at full power, and added another aimed at the apples from slightly behind at 1/16 power.
There was an apparent musical instrument, or perhaps a fireplace tool leaning against the fireplace, something that looks like a Honeywell thermostat on the wall and a Walmart receipt on the table. By painting those two items in the late 1890’s perhaps Cézanne was predicting the future? Whatever. Why are things like this never explained in paintings? Being unsure of the what or the why I didn’t bother with either item.
The lens was a 24-70mm Nikkor set to 52mm, and the camera body was my new Nikon D850, stretching it’s legs for the first time. But still it was only a photograph, and Cézanne was a painter. So I brought the image into Photoshop and used Adobe’s Oil Painting filter, trying the various adjustments again and again in different positions until I was happy with the painting feel you see here.
Paul-
I’m sure this week’s imaginative theme gave everyone ample opportunity to sit back, consider the Cezanne’s evocative still life, cast wide their respective nets for pulling in creative options…and then scratching collective heads thinking…”I got nothin’.” Just kidding.
I decided to see if I could mimic the painter’s style in rendering the picture, and sought to set up some objects that closely resembled those used in the painting. Of course, I took some liberties: there’s no musical instrument in the background; I add a flower; I had now round table; etc. I didn’t get nearly as close as I would have liked in imitating the subdued light, flattened perspective, or brush strokes. But that was never a requirement so, all in all, I had fun. I think Paul would be proud of my effort. (He’s dead, of course, so I can make this claim with smug impunity.)
I am also throwing in a preparatory sketch I did in advance for setting up and taking the picture. (Confession: This actually had little to do with the final result—my wife was vacuuming and dusting the area where I wanted to shoot the picture. I needed something to do to keep my hands busy while waiting for her to finish.)
Paul H. on Paul C.: (10:34AM) Nikon D5200; aperture priority; 18-55mm lens focused at 18mm; ISO 2500; 1/6 sec. at f/20; center-weighted average metering; -1 1/3 EV; WB Auto. The table was flanked (out of frame) by two windows facing west. This was ample light for my purpose/settings.
Post: Cropping was done in Lightroom, as well as boosting the whites and clarity a bit; dropping the contrast and shadow slightly; and adding the watermark (which was the last step). I also used the Adjustment brush to suggest more curvature to the inside of the teacup, more of a highlight on one side of the faded flower; as well as add a little more darkness to the bricks on the right-hand side. In PhotoScape I used (under the Pictorial section) the Oil Painting and Watercolor Painting settings to try and match the texture, lack of sharp lines, and subdued colors. I further needed to use a “decolor” option because the image still seemed too vivid.
Finally, I did not eat the props. Not with Thanksgiving dinner a few hours away.
I’m sure this week’s imaginative theme gave everyone ample opportunity to sit back, consider the Cezanne’s evocative still life, cast wide their respective nets for pulling in creative options…and then scratching collective heads thinking…”I got nothin’.” Just kidding.
I decided to see if I could mimic the painter’s style in rendering the picture, and sought to set up some objects that closely resembled those used in the painting. Of course, I took some liberties: there’s no musical instrument in the background; I add a flower; I had now round table; etc. I didn’t get nearly as close as I would have liked in imitating the subdued light, flattened perspective, or brush strokes. But that was never a requirement so, all in all, I had fun. I think Paul would be proud of my effort. (He’s dead, of course, so I can make this claim with smug impunity.)
I am also throwing in a preparatory sketch I did in advance for setting up and taking the picture. (Confession: This actually had little to do with the final result—my wife was vacuuming and dusting the area where I wanted to shoot the picture. I needed something to do to keep my hands busy while waiting for her to finish.)
Paul H. on Paul C.: (10:34AM) Nikon D5200; aperture priority; 18-55mm lens focused at 18mm; ISO 2500; 1/6 sec. at f/20; center-weighted average metering; -1 1/3 EV; WB Auto. The table was flanked (out of frame) by two windows facing west. This was ample light for my purpose/settings.
Post: Cropping was done in Lightroom, as well as boosting the whites and clarity a bit; dropping the contrast and shadow slightly; and adding the watermark (which was the last step). I also used the Adjustment brush to suggest more curvature to the inside of the teacup, more of a highlight on one side of the faded flower; as well as add a little more darkness to the bricks on the right-hand side. In PhotoScape I used (under the Pictorial section) the Oil Painting and Watercolor Painting settings to try and match the texture, lack of sharp lines, and subdued colors. I further needed to use a “decolor” option because the image still seemed too vivid.
Finally, I did not eat the props. Not with Thanksgiving dinner a few hours away.
Jerry-
I managed to create a Cezanne like photo with a combination of real and wooden apples at the dinner table. For a musical instrument in the background, my daughter's guitar stepped in. For a gritty, pastel like look, I set the ISO at 51,200 and exposed it at something like 1/125 @ f22. Camera was the Sony A6300 with 16-70 zoomed to about 40mm.
I managed to create a Cezanne like photo with a combination of real and wooden apples at the dinner table. For a musical instrument in the background, my daughter's guitar stepped in. For a gritty, pastel like look, I set the ISO at 51,200 and exposed it at something like 1/125 @ f22. Camera was the Sony A6300 with 16-70 zoomed to about 40mm.
Don-
Its difficult to get motivated to do something like this. Many people like this
style and the artist, I do not, hence the lack of motivation. I wanted to create
something close though so I asked my wife to help me as she has a better eye
for this sort of thing. I wanted apples, natural light, and I decided on the coffee
mug.
Focal was a 24-70 lens set at 32 mm. Exposure went like this, 1/4 sec; f18; ISO 1600;
Camera set on Manual and Pattern Metering. Very minimal photograph adjustment.
Its difficult to get motivated to do something like this. Many people like this
style and the artist, I do not, hence the lack of motivation. I wanted to create
something close though so I asked my wife to help me as she has a better eye
for this sort of thing. I wanted apples, natural light, and I decided on the coffee
mug.
Focal was a 24-70 lens set at 32 mm. Exposure went like this, 1/4 sec; f18; ISO 1600;
Camera set on Manual and Pattern Metering. Very minimal photograph adjustment.