Staying fresh as a photographer is difficult in today’s world where billions of photographs are in circulation. I’ve seen similar photographs of all subjects which makes creating a new perspective nearly impossible — however, beauty beckons to be captured. I remember how much I was attracted to this still life of bottles while photographing the sunroom in Melinda and Edward Stiefel’s home. Strong, crisp light from the bright sun illuminated the scene and the “spirits” glowed within the bottles. A mirrored tabletop provided the perfect duplicate of the bottle and colors.
Drawn by these colors and reflections, I chose a low camera angle and shallow depth of focus to compose an abstract of the scene. Intending not to show the entire reflection of the bottle, I used the curves and colors to determine my composition, and the soft bottle in the background did not distract from the reflection point where my lens was focused. Completing the photo process took less than 45 seconds, and I remember thinking to myself, “Hopefully this was different, but I doubt this photo will ever be published.”