Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Apples. Lots and lots of apples.


Last week I posted this picture (but you know, I want to call it a poster!) in my Friday Fragment post.  I got it from this source.  Ever since I saw this, I've been thinking about photographing some Gala apples.  They are just so beautifully colored that I couldn't get it out of my mind.

So I went to the store and picked out three apples that would photograph well together, had great coloring and no blemishes or soft spots.  When I got home, I put them in the fridge and totally forgot about them.

...until a few days later when my husband came into the livingroom with a half eaten apple in his hand.

Oh no!  he ate one of the specially chosen apples, that I had forgotten about!


I almost said something to him, in jest of course, that he had eaten a part of my photography project.  However, he hadn't eaten much the few days before that because he wasn't feeling well, so I decided to just not say a thing.  I was glad he finally felt well enough to have something.

It's been over a week since he ate the apple and I finally purchased the third apple for the shoot yesterday. 


Today, I gathered my supplies: my husband's computer table, three gala apples (that I shined up with a teeny bit of olive oil) and my striped apron.  (The sun had been behind a cloud for the whole photo shoot, but as soon as I decided to take the "supplies" photo, the sun shined through!)

In the dozens of photos I took I either hung the apron over the back of one of our patio chairs to make a nice backdrop or draped it over the little computer table to make a nice base. I'm going to have to use that apron again as a photo prop.  I really liked the way it photographed.


I like a lot of elements of the photo - the wavy striped base, the nearly lost third apple in the back and the angled patio chairs in the way back - but the front apple is a little too blurry.



The three apples in a row ended up being my favorite pose.  I went back and forth getting all the apples in the photo or cutting off the sides,  moving the table further away from the striped backdrop, moving it closer, moving the apples closer to the front of the table, moving them back to the edge.  It was the most fun I've had with three apples in a long time!

But finally one picture became the clear winner.  I love it.  It's going to be the photo of the day tomorrow, too.  I don't want to forget it and I look at the POTD often.

Wanna see?

It looks a lot like the photo above, but just a little different.


The little black table nearly disappears with the apples pushed all the way to the back of it.  The stripes and apples are reflected onto the table and the film grain filter I used in the post processing gives it a much softer look.  There's a lot of glare on apples, but I don't care.  :) This is my favorite photo in quite awhile.

Have I mentioned I love this one?
Yep, I do.

Have a wonderful day,
Kristin

7 comments:

qandlequeen said...

Agreed. The last is the best! That would make a great banner.

j said...

Kristin, THAT is incredible! Absolutely one of my favorite pictures that you have taken1

LAC said...

You should be very proud. I love doing "studio" shots like that. The process of finding the best pose, lighting, background can be a lot of fun.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

That last picture is awesome, I love it! I agree with Jennifer.

Mrs4444 said...

I LOVE it, too! I especially love the watermark with it. You are so talentedp--I can't wait til the day I can say, "Oh, Kristin Corlett? We go way back! I knew her when..."

Katharine said...

This is awesome! I love when something so simple becomes exquisite!

Emily said...

I am amazed how photographers can look at something as simple as apples and find such beauty in them. It must give you so much pleasure and satisfaction!