Yesterday morning I tried a lot of lighting ideas. The black plush background works. But I spent several hours trying lights, barn doors, diffusers, and reflectors in different places and angles. Actually most of the bowl got pretty well lit. But there's one place where I need light and couldn't get it without getting a "blasted out" effect.
The books make it seem easier than it is in practice - at least with this mixed media bowl with lots of shine.
So today I made my field trip to the nearest big photo equipment store, a very nice discount place called PhotoBarn, in Lilburn, Georgia. This meant a drive almost to Atlanta, so it took an hour and a half or more to get there. I could have ordered the barn doors by phone (especially if I'd ordered them Monday morning) but it's just as well that I went in person. I learned some things just looking again at all the lighting accessories. And there's a very nice man there who did his best to help. (I've always liked it that he has his dog there at the store with him, too - a nice quiet big dog, my kind of dog.) So I got a bunch more stuff. We'll see tomorrow if any of it solves my problems.
And it was nice to get out of the crowded little 8x10' room - now totally converted into a photo studio - and out into the beautiful October countryside. I got some ideas just driving along. And it began to seem more possible to enjoy life and feel happy, whether work is going well or not.
9:49:15 PM 
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