Member-only story
Is The Still Life . . . Still A Thing
In Modern Photography?
My recent story published in Photography 101, was about my first photography portfolio. The single image I used in that story was a Still Life, made in 1975. I have been creating and photographing the Still Life ever since.
Like many photographers, I have photographed all kinds of subjects over the years. Though it is the Still Life, that has been a continuing source of pleasure, a thread running through my work that strings the many years together.
One does not see much in the way of Still Life images these days. Yes, lots of folks take shots of a plate of food set before them. Though most of the time, these photos happen at a restaurant and are made to post on social media.
My question to all the photographers out there is . . . Do you make still life photographs? Is Still Life . . . even still a thing, in today’s photography? I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
The image above began with a sheet of hand-marbled paper. Then the two parts of a contact printing frame were set in place. A 19th-century etching of the woman is under the frame, and the glass from the frame is placed over her. A small bird’s wing and a calla lily blossom were set on the frame as adornments.
