Still Life

“Still life” indeed. In fact, they are not just still, they are dead. Notwithstanding their lifeless state, it is all those eyes, which grabs you and make you wonder about what these poor fish feel about their situation. They seem so surprised at what has happened to them. Many seem to be staring out, imploring us to rescue them.

Capturing The Fleeting Beauty Of The Mundane

Still life is a wonderful genre, where incredibly talented artists have focused on a homely arrangement of items, whose beauty is brought into focus by the creativity, skill and artistic sensitivity of the artist. This particular situation was offered to me, pre-packaged, so to speak, on the quayside at Naphlion in the Peloponnese. It was a perfect Greek Summer’s day, with a clear, strong, midday light reflected from the Mediterranean and shining onto a restaurant’s offering from that morning’s catch.

The restaurant staff that created it clearly possesses an innate sense of artistic composition, colour and organisation that not only excites the appetite of potential clients, but also greatly pleases the senses of all who pass by.

Them There Eyes

For me the aesthetic is intensified by the story of the eyes. Who can remain unaffected by the solemn gaze from every corner of the dish? The clarity of their colour speaks to the freshness of the catch as they peek at us from their jumbled disarray. I am not a vegan, but I still cannot eat anything that is “looking at me”. I have never eaten lobster, because I don’t want to encourage unnecessary cruelty. Their plight touches me.

Searching the image reveals different attitudes among the larger specimens, from glum perplexity, to gasping desperation to survive, to keeping a low profile in the hope that the problem will pass them by. The small ones seem to have all given up hope.

The Gift

That said, this catch does touch my spirit. It is a sight whose beauty attracts due to its powerful statement of the bountiful, wondrous generosity of nature, which nourishes us every day.

Technical

Camera: Nikon D70

Lens: 18-70mm zoom f/3.5-4.5G

Focal Length: 46 mm

Focus Mode: AF-C

Autofocus Area Mode: Single

Aperture: f/16

Shutter Speed: 1/320s

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Exposure Compensation: O

Metering: Matrix

ISO Sensitivity: 400

Hand held

If you enjoyed this image, please take a stroll through the rest of this website, where there is a variety of witnesses to the wonder of things surrounding us.

Copyright Paul Grayson 2015