Still Life and Objects

Squirt Gun Painted

Ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun." --Don Marquis A photography-based digital painting. Copyright 2018 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Water Colors

A watercolor paint tray on a white background. There is something about a set of these simple paints that just makes me happy. Perhaps it reminds me of the hours and hours I spent creating page after page of refrigerator masterpieces as a child. Perhaps it is simply the spectrum of bright colors. Whatever it is, the why is not important. It makes me feel good and smile. And that is all that matters. Day 118 of 365 Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Leaf Bottle Rocks

A tiny empty glass bottle, three decaying leaves, and three lake stones on a wooden table. This was photographed with a single speedlight flash camera left, fitted with a homemade diffuser to soften the harsh light. Processed in Lightroom and Photoshop. Nikon D700, 50mm lens, ISO 100, 1/200, f/4. Copyright 2018 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Feather 3

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all." --Emily Dickinson A single white feather shot on a black background with a single light source above. Copyright 2018 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Curl - A Pea Pod Shoot

Only a few millimeters across, this is a tiny curl from the shoot of a pea pod. I love how something so small can be so truely wonderful and graceful. Note to self: Don't forget to take notice of the small things - they are amazing! Copyright 2017 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Spring Flower

"To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour." -- William Blake An arrangement of fallen petals from a simple Spring flower bouquet.

Water Flower

I found this blossom on a cafe table in one of our local markets. I loved the colors - the yellows, pinks and whites of the bloom against the blue reflections on the glass. Day 324 of my 365 photo a day project. Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Dream

"All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together." --Jack Kerouac Copyright 2015 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Seashell by the Seashore

I wanted to capture something "summer-y" and minimalist to commemorate the impending end of summer and the slow downhill slide to the dead of winter. What better way than with a nice sandy beach and a seashell or two? The only problem with that is I'm in Milwaukee and nowhere near the ocean. Oh sure, we have Lake Michigan. And with the right light and conditions, the lake water can look just like a Caribbean beach in a photograph. But that wasn't today. What to do? My solution involved a white foam core backdrop, natural light from a window, and a pen light. I was planning on creating the blue sky and sandy beach colors in Photoshop, but as luck would have it, the blended colors of the natural and artifical lights worked together well to create the two-toned look in camera. All I had to do was enhance what was there. The light from the window camera left acted as a large warm softbox. With just that natural light, the window just barely lit the scene at a 20 second exposure. So I used the pen light to "light paint" the shell and fill in the rest of the lighting. Finally in Photoshop, along with my normal color-correction and contrast adjustments, I added just a slight bit of texture.

Partly Cloudy

The weather is partly cloudy with plenty of sunshine. Or at least it was in my office today. And I have pictures to prove it!

Sky Blue on White

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson A cyanotype print on a white background. The cyanotype was created with a sunlight print kit. Day 128 of 365 Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Keystone Capri K28

The Keystone Capri K28 8mm camera. Oh, what wonderful things it has seen - riding a Harley in the 1950s, time with the grandparents, parents, and kids, skiing in Colorado, boat racing in Texas, the arrival of a President in Houston, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, relaxing times with family at the pool or along the San Jacinto river, and much much more. Day 250 of my 365 photo a day project. Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Unzipping

I actually had a tough time coming up with something to say about this image beyond the title. I called it "Unzipping" for obvious reasons. And my goal in shooting it was very simple - I thought the graphic nature of the line of the zipper and the metal teeth coming undone would make for a very cool high contrast minimalist photograph. Beyond that, what was there to say? But after a bit of reflection, I thought the zipper could represent the undoing of civility and respect in our communities. It could also represent the opening of our minds to alternate realities. Or perhaps, if you turn things around, it could be symbolic of the coming together of two opposite sides to create a strong partnership. While all those interpretations of the photo are valid, in reality, not every image I create has a deeper meaning, at least at the beginning. Sometimes, I just thought it was cool.

The Telephone Handset

“ TELEPHONE n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.” ― Ambrose Bierce Day 358 of my 365 photo a day project. Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Picture of Hope

"We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon." -- Franklin D Roosevelt In the dark despair and loneliness, there is always beauty and hope - you just have to look for it.

Builidng Blocks

Three white plastic toy building blocks on a white background. Day 129 of 365 Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Lines on Paper

While trying (and failing) to create some sort of folded/creased paper sculptures, I happily discovered this composition of lines on one of the discarded pieces of paper. It has a kind of minimal art deco feel to it. Almost as if the lines are outlines of spotlights shining into the night sky. Taken at the Milwaukee Art Museum Kohl's Art Generation Gallery Paper Play: Kindergarten to Contempory Art hands-on exhibit.

Six Strings

One of the main reasons for undertaking this 365 Project was to force myself to think outside of the box but also to create images quickly. After all, each shot, for the most part, would be shot, processed, and uploaded in a day. For today, I wanted a shot of my electric guitar (which is just gathering dust these days). I envisioned something very minimal - I'm on a minimalist kick right now, if you couldn't tell - and not seen before (at least by me). After a bit of trial and error - well, mostly error - I ended up simply sliding a sheet of printer paper under the strings and shooting from straight above. That is good lesson learned - the solution to your creative problem is most likely very, very simple. Don't over think things.

Five String Banjo

I'm adding a five string banjo to the list of instruments I've shot for this project. This one hangs on the wall at the Urban Ecology Center just down the road from our house where they have quite a collection of stringed instruments. Hanging next to it is also a guitar, a mandolin, and ukulele all hanging ready to be played. While I've never actually seen this played, it certainly looks....well used. And it was the texture of the wear and tear on head behind the strings that caught my eye first. Then I noticed the complimentary colors from the various light sources. To ensure maximum dynamic range, I shot 5 bracketed exposures and created a 32-bit file. In processing, I enhanced both the color and textures of the banjo and rotated the image 90 degrees clockwise from the way it was shot. Day 348 of my 365 photo a day project. Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

Pickup Lines

The front pickup of my vintage 1968 Bartell-Hohner Fretless f-hole hollow body bass guitar. It was designed by former Rickenbacker employee Paul Barth of Bartell of California. Day 43 of 365 Copyright 2015 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Retro Microphone

If only old vintage microphones like this could talk. What stories would it tell? Copyright 2015 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Smoky Vintage Microphone

"You gotta love livin', baby, 'cause dyin' is a pain in the ass." -- Frank Sinatra A spotlight shines through the smoke filled room onto an old classic vintage microphone on the stage. The music is about to start. Grab a cocktail or a cold one, sit back and enjoy the evening. Copyright 2014 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

X Blocks

These are my son's old alphabet stacking blocks. And he loves playing with them. Well, I have to admit, that I love playing with them too. Spelling out words, seeing how high I can stack them, building pyramids - all the things a middle aged man is supposed to do, right? No, you say? Well, you are free to feel that way. I, however, will continue to play with toys. As George Bernard Shaw once said, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." 63/365 Copyright 2015 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Coffee on a Wooden Tray

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." -- T.S. Eliot

Strawberries and Blueberries

I was inspired to take this shot as I fixed a quick breakfast for my son this morning. It was a quick set up with only one DIY light and natural light from the office window - both on camera left. Shot with a tripod and my 50mm, it's a 5-shot 32-bit HDR image, processed in Photoshop with help from Topaz Impression and On1 Perfect Effects 10. Day 116 of 365 Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Clementine

A partially peeled Clementine orange over a textured teal background. Day 114 of 365 Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Wave

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment." --Henry David Thoreau Shot through a glass partition, this is a passing swell of water from the wave machine at Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Discovery World.

Color and Smoke III - Dance

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance" -- e.e. cummings The third in a series, this is two different photographs combined into one image. I love how the two seem to be embracing, as if dancing. As before, the smoke was shot over a black background with the image inverted and colorized in Photoshop. I've had a lot of fun shooting smoke the last few days. I've been using some cheap incense to create the stuff and now my office smells like a new age smoke shop. Oh, the things we do to get the shot. Day 122 of 365 Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com

Blue Smoke

“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.” -Vincent van Gogh Colorful blue smoke on a bright white background. Copyright 2016 Scott Norris Photography www.scottnorrisphotography.com