Still Life of Onions | Photography

This week, our friend @tezzmax, has been sharing his painting classes. The proposed topic is “Still Life” (El Bodegón). In his first post, a comment came up asking for clarification of that term. I also did some research. Today I present a definition and a photographic interpretation of a still life.

"Bodegón" (as it is called in Spanish) is considered a genre of painting, with roots and significant development in the 16th and 17th centuries (in Holland and Spain).
It focuses on things that can be found in a cellar, kitchen, inn, or shop. Inanimate, lifeless objects, possibly from which the names "Naturaleza Muerta" ("Dead Nature") and "Still Life" ("Vida Quieta") come.

Its subjects are generally food, household objects, and other everyday objects. Arranged in a composition for aesthetic purposes, to show symbolism, or to tell a story.

I was shopping at a hardware store that also supplies products for farmers. There was a display of two varieties of onions (they sell the seeds).

I liked the arrangement and the colors in a wooden basket. There was enough space to make me think there were only a few left. There were five beautiful onions, three white and two red.

My immediate impulse was to photograph them. That's when I remembered the theme of still life and proceeded to take photos from different angles and distances, capturing the arrangement of the onions in the basket.

I like close-ups, capturing details that escape us at first glance. My attention was always drawn to the red onion; I like to eat it with lemon, oil, parsley, and toasted bread. I wanted to highlight its beauty in the store, its shape and that color that reminds us of red wine.

I did a digital intervention with Lighteroom. I focused on lighting (the store was semi-dark), livening up the colors, and giving greater clarity. My job was to move around the onions. 📸