When I signed up for a challenge to create banana art, I had reservations. I was not at all sure what to do with bananas. My first thought was a fruit bowl with bananas. But I decided I wanted to limit my images to just bananas.
Rustic
I started out simple with a bunch on a wooden background. I liked the textures of the wood. The first image is a very simple image, with an emphasis on the horizontal lines contrasting with the organic, curves of the bananas. The image with the single banana has an even more rustic feel withe dark red, heavily worn wood and heavy shadows. Either of these images would look great with rustic frames or even printed straight onto wood.
Shabby Chic
After shooting the banana partially peeled, I thought I’d slice it and play around. Using the peel as a banana bowl felt unique. The blue and white vertical stripes really compliments the curvature of the banana. These images would look great in a shabby chic kitchen.
Modern
These images have a more contemporary, modern feel with the highly reflective background. These images would look great on acrylic or metal, something smooth and shiny.
Thanks for visiting! You can purchase prints and other gifts of any of these images here. Want to see my full gallery? Visit my Pixels page.
I participate in many image challenges on Fine Art America, where I sell my art. The latest challenge was for images pertaining to vegetarianism. I debated on whether I should use vegetables fresh or cooked. Or maybe even try something with some of the meat substitutes. Instead, I decided to use uncooked beans and rice. I wanted to create images with a rustic feel like you are visiting an old general store where those items would be sold in bulk.
Background
First I had to decide what type of background I wanted to use. Did I want to use a simple white background? Or something darker? Looking around my house, I noticed this old table that I was using for some other work. I had covered it with fabric because it is so scarred and rough looking. But I knew it would be perfect for this!
Rice
I had a bag of rice already. But did not have beans. So, until I could get beans, I decided to start simple with the rice. And while I wanted rustic, I also wanted something smooth and shiny for the container. I found two stainless steel compote dishes and this double handled cup.
The Light
My studio windows face east, so the morning light is intense and just fantastic. For a lot of my still life work, I use strobes. But I decided to use this great natural light for these. The light created a single line shadow from the window and then the shadow of the compote bowl in the rice images. Very simple yet eye catching and effective. The problem with natural light is that is not always consistent. There were mornings when the light was not quite right so I did use a strobe as a fill light for some of those.
A glass full of multi-colored beans spills out
Beans
I had a debate with myself on the beans. I could not decide if I should just use dried pinto beans, which are a staple where I am from, or something different. While at the store, the fifteen bean mix practically threw itself into my cart! And I knew the black beans would look great on that table. The Anasazi beans actually came from a local country store called Pratt’s Country Store. I went in looking for honey and came out with these beautiful red and white beans. They actually have an interesting history.
Vintage Style
I wanted some of them to have a truly vintage look, so I finished them with a rough texture and a sepia tone. The image of the black beans is finished in simple black and white.
Thanks for visiting and reading about my beans and rice photo shoot! Stay tuned for images of the cooked items! All images are available for purchase. Visit my gallery or visit my pixels page.
The weekly photo challenge is sweet. I don’t eata lot of sweets on a regular basis. But I do tend to splurge a bit when I travel. When I was Richmond, VA, I went to a local Farmer’s Market where there was a donut truck. People were lined up for these donuts. Once I had one, I knew why. They were delicious! The donut makers were also nice enough to allow me to take some photos.
A woman cuts circles in dough. The dough balls will soon be donuts.
Dough balls that will shaped into hot donuts
Hot donuts drip glaze inside the window of a food truck at the Farmer’s Market in Richmond, VA.
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