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Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” — Friedrich Nietzsche Hello, again, Everyone. Miss me? ;-) I’ve missed you; I’ve missed writing these blog posts. I’ve missed your comments. The short story is that I have had some medical things that have taken all my attention and prevented me from keeping up with MacroFine Musings. We have a diagnosis and a plan of attack now, so things are almost back to normal. A bit of good news associated with this whole shebang is that now that I’ve had every medical test known to modern science, I now know that everything else is running smoothly! Yea!! And some other Good News over the winter… I was honored to have élan magazine ask to interview me about my photographic vision and insights. The article published in the January issue (page 30). I’m very happy with the write-up and they did a super job presenting a few of my images, too.  elan magazine - January 2017 (see pages 30-31) Speaking of photographic vision and insights, What’s yours? I touched on this a bit in my post, “Where Does Your Brain Go?” from August 9, 2016. With painters, we see and recognize a wide range of visions, insights, styles; it’s expected after all. It’s all a made-up, invented representation of reality as translated from the painter’s mind’s eye — and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. But, as contrasted with the process of photography, which when taken in its most over-simplified analysis, is just using a tool to capture a copy of what is standing right there in front of you.
Aaahhhh, but there’s the rub! Even when trying to capture a literal reproduction, the camera will not deliver exactly what you see in your mind’s eye. The camera will not automatically even out the light and shadow. It will not take the initiative to adjust your depth of field. It won’t necessarily stop action or allow something to zoom by. All these details — and a bazillion more — are up to you. This is where you engineer how the camera is going to “paint” what you are seeing in your mind. So, what are you seeing? Do you know already, or are you still searching for your voice? Either way, continue to experiment with all sorts of photographic “feelings”. Try shooting, and capturing, every kind of emotion you can think of; happy, gloomy, somber, festive, remorseful, thankful, pensive… Need a few suggestions? Not into heady, emotional imagery? That’s fine. You can still experiment with all sorts of photographic styles and subject matter. As I wrote in “Best First Camera For My Teen?” (12-8-2015): “Try shooting architecture, portraits, animals, plants, textures, mechanical, food, bugs, stars, fireworks, motion, sports, landscapes, pets, close-up, far-away, cityscapes, countrysides, still lifes, studio set-ups, storms, clouds… and yes, even Selfies; there is something to be learned from every shot taken. Soon you’ll start to discover a photographic preference developing.” Wishing you happy shooting and amazing discoveries! Thank You for visiting, — Chris P.s. Thank you, again, for your patience with me and my absence this winter. I hope now things will return to normal and posts will be more regular. . . . And Happy Valentine's Day to All!
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Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have recently begun to experiment with Contemporary Still Life set-ups and will be showing these in my upcoming solo featured artist show, Curious Pairings. I thought you might like a behind the scenes look at how the process for setting up a still life works, with all the things that you have to prepare and consider. So here it is — your “Backstage Pass” to see the inner workings of how the process evolves. This is my photo studio where I do my set-ups — not too glamorous, I know! The main thing for me is the lighting in this room (3rd floor, Southwest facing). It also helps to have two tables that I can easily adjust in height or move around as needed for set-ups.  Setting Up a Contemporary Still Life This set-up started with the concept of a Rose being created with hardware and tools and the juxtaposition that would create. I started with Diamond Cut Metal for the backdrop to set the tone. Then I collected a bunch of nuts and bolts, small hand tools, and other hardware-related stuff, for my set dressing. Next I began just scooting elements around to see how they worked together and whether my concept was being portrayed in the result. Here are some of the major considerations/decisions you need to make for a set-up to create your very own Contemporary Still Life.
Wow — it’s crazy what you go through to create these sorts of images. After seeing the mess that led to it, you’ll be surprised how this ended up looking. And now… drumroll please… since you have a backstage pass you get to see the final image! Here you go!  Rose Creation Is it anything at all like what you thought it would be?
Thank you for visiting and share your backstage pass with others, — Chris P. s. Have you ever tried to do a set-up in your studio? Share the experience! Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings Kathy Lawler — Guest Blogger and Resident Color-Guru ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ever wonder how to choose a great color scheme for you living space? One way is to start with one of your favorite pieces of art and choose your color scheme based on that work. It can be a painting you love or a photograph you have just purchased. Trust the Artist’s palette, the combination of colors they used and how they work together, and then with those create your own space that you love to be in. Take this beautiful image of a Chinese Elm bark. Bring these wonderful colors of Nature into your living space for an outstanding and inspired interior. Let’s take a look at the color palette you could use with this image.  Map of a Tree First we have this luscious shade of mahogany. Pair that with the lovely turquoise and a rich pumpkin and you have a great combination.  Just three of the many colors in Map of a Tree These aren’t the only colors you can pull from this palette — there are great neutrals with shades of ivory, tans, light blue, steel grays, along with reds, oranges, and whites. You can pump up the volume on the colors by using a more intense version of the shade or you can tone them down or make them lighter as well.
As discussed in a previous blog on Color, there are many approaches you can take with color combinations. Our first two choices from this palette happen to be complimentary colors and make a great basis for this color pairing. Add pumpkin and you have a great accent. One great way to work with color and give your home a sense of flow while changing up the look is to use one of the colors — the turquoise for example — as the primary color for your living room. It then becomes the secondary color in your bedroom and just the accent color in another room while other colors in your palette will become dominant colors for each of those rooms. Learn to experiment and don’t be afraid of color! Color can set a mood in your home — your bedroom can be done in restful shades of blues for a calming effect or you can add some color zing to your kitchen for a bright energetic space. You can make a room appear bigger, cozier, more restful, or more cheery depending on your color selections. Even small amounts of accent colors bring life into a space. There are several ways to experiment with color. I do recommend experimenting with painting your walls, using throw pillows, adding new art and accessories that can be relatively inexpensive upgrades and are easy to change. Thank you for visiting… and remember to color outside the lines! — Kathy P.s. See our Change of Art blog for additional color ideas for your home. Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have recently started experimenting with setting up Contemporary Still Lifes — not bowls of fruit or vases of flowers; my Still Lifes have taken on a New Life. These studio set-ups, or dioramas, combine various elements, not usually associated with each other, into a single story-telling image. And this is not easy! I’m in the habit of letting Nature do my set-ups, then all I need to do is snap a photo! ;-) That was obviously a bit — a lot(!) — of an over-simplification. Just as with my outdoor-based photography, where all the rules of composition, visual flow, coordination of colors and elements, background considerations, scale, story-telling, etc., come into play, all these rules also apply to these studio set-ups and need to be followed … or intentionally broken. And all this just to set up the scene.  Join me for a cool, refreshing glass of Hibiscus Wheat Beer! Next, the usual second set of rules also needs to be attended to and employed. These are all the technical considerations that contribute to photographic quality: lighting, focus, depth of field, exposure, shadows, highlights, point of view, etc. This ain’t your Gramma’s bowl of fruit! This is even better! In working with these studio set-ups, I can engineer whatever story I want, using whatever elements and appliances I want without regard to preconceived associations or meanings. I can combine elements Nature would never see to put together. I can put orchids in a bird’s nest. I can pair up a hibiscus flower with malted barley, hops, and wheat stalks to depict a refreshing summer brew. I can shoot summer flowers through a sheet of ice if I want to!  A Bowl of Salsa? . . . Or Mexican Rice? You decide! You say you’re not up to the challenge of all this imagination, invention, and visualization? Hogwash! You did just this every time you played with your dollhouse or action figures or built a sand castle or snowman. You put together various elements into a single scene to tell the story you were playing in your Mind’s Eye.
So now, channel your inner-adventurer. Let your imagine go free. Get together your “things”, your visual elements, and tell us a story! Thank You for visiting, — Chris P.s. What story do you “see” that you want to tell? I know you can’t attach an image here, but give us a synopsis so we can share in your story. I invite you to come see a few stories I’ll be telling at my upcoming solo exhibit. My work will be on display from November 9th through December 4th at Arches Gallery in building 9 at the Workhouse Art Center in Lorton. |
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About Chris
I am a Virginia-based photographer and gather my images while hiking in parks and natural areas here at home and in the locations I travel to. I also love to visit arboretums and botanic gardens to find unusual and exotic subjects. Archives
March 2017
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