Stilleben

Good first! keep at it.

Nice picture and good effort, I think maybe better with the top of the wine bottle unobscured, purely a personal preference, I couldn't do any better. Looks good viewed large

Hello Magnus,
It's nice to see some still life work- this image has some interesting items but I'm not sure about the arrangement or the tightness of the frame- it needs more room all around. There are a few other basic things that need to be sorted- a)The whole arrangement has a heavy lean to the right.
b)As I have already said the frame is too tight and therefore has items trying to escape from the scene!
c)The candle flames need to be tamed- way too bright - as a matter of interest why two ? If I were going to include more than one candle I would choose odd numbers preferably using candlesticks, maybe at different heights.
d) The picture has a nice moody atmosphere but the background, being very neutral, does not help reinforce this. The choice of background is very important in still life work and should reflect the mood and theme of the scene.
e) This still life has quite a traditional feel about it, work of this kind is almost always compared to the work of great painters of the past- this means the whole group should be pin sharp front to back. F8, with an arrangement like this wont do it unless you focus stack.This is quite difficult to do with a moving element within the image (flames) so F22 might be a better option. Even so two conversions from a RAW image are generally required to get the best exposure for the flames and the group of objects.
f)I really like your choice of objects, there is so much potential here but the arrangement is not working, the wine bottle cut off at the top, the open book (a great choice) rather incidental and to the side away from the skull (?) that stares out blankly at the viewer. Obviously this is your choice but I think I would have it at a three quarter angle inclined towards the book which should be placed somewhere of more importance.
g) Basically you have chosen a great selection of objects that symbolise the passing of time and transcience of existence, all in all perfect for the vanitas style.B/W is a matter of personal taste but for this style of work I prefer colour.
I would love to see a reshoot of this collection- well worth exploring. Please forgive me if I've rambled on too much- still life, especially vanitas style is a bit of a passion for me.
Cheers, Gary

I like this compo and BW. What is the brand of wine?

Good effort Draken, my only comment would be the items are all quite dark and sinister ... except for the banana!

It was also very interesting to read Gary's comments on it, I hope you'll post the shots if you try out some of his advice.

It is a nice moody pic.

Thank you all, especially Gary, for your input.
I'm really impressed with Garys work and its alot harder than it seems to take still life pics.

Will give it another try when time allows and I feel like it.
I love these pics but I'm more into taking scenery pics.

The wine is Villa Puccini, really good one