Oma’s Kitchen Items, 2020
My grandma was a really good cook and after she died 30 years ago I kept a few of her kitchen items in my possession and still use them. They bring up fond memories any time I look at them. I always liked the thick glass and how it feels in my hands. I know this sounds silly, but the aesthetics of these glass and metal items appeal to me. Since a very long time I was thinking about to make a photo of these kitchen items. This idea got propelled when I finally saw the photo Still Life, San Francisco, California, c. 1932, in Ansel Adam’s book Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs some time ago. It shows a couple glass bottles, two eggs, and also the same kind of egg slicer that I have from my grandma. No, I didn’t want to copy his arrangements but his photo gave me pleasure about how the light falls on and around his items. Adams writes, …very rewarding effects are possible with available light in the studio, whether from natural skylight or window light, or from existing artificial sources.
I don’t even have a studio but I knew it was doable in our living room, with its large windows and high ceiling. Today was finally the day when this plan was put into practice. A gray overcast sky produced a very soft light, even more diffused by the tall windows on the left. I used black foam board as my backdrop and a couple white pieces to direct the light, either shading it off (left side) or using the board as a reflector (right side). For this photo I handhold an additional 22” white reflector for some extra light from above right.
The boiled egg and the half lemon add some texture and life to the image. Oma’s kitchen items are older than me and using black and white for the final photo was part of the plan from the very beginning.
By the way, if you wonder what the kidney-shaped glass container on the left is, here is the story. My grandparents were operating a little restaurant and country side pub before I was born. A popular item on the menu in this part of Germany, the Upper Lusatia, was head cheese (Sülze), mostly served with fried potatoes or fresh baked bread, raw onion rings, plus oil and vinegar. I guess drinking beer with this food was mandatory…😉 This glass bowl was used as a mold for making the head cheese. After the jelly was cold and hard, the mold was flipped upside down on a plate and the other food items were added. My grandpa loved head cheese and I remember that this glass container was still used in their home when I was a child.
Nikon D750, Carl Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/2 ZF T*, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch, @ f/16, 1 s, ISO100