You Capture - Still Life

This week's I Should be Folding Laundry challenge was Still Life. I've always struggled with still life photography - for one thing, there are so many cliche still life photos. The bowl of fruit. The candle and the stack of books. Etc. Secondly, the lighting can become very complex, and I don't consider myself well-versed in lighting at all. I don't really have much lighting to work with either.

That said, in typical Bizarre Dave fashion, I came up with something. I don't know what to call it. "One Hell of a Party"? "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll"?



Lighting was tough. I wanted it to feel kind of dirty, but at the same time you had to be able to identify the subject matter. The clear bottle (and the reflections from it) posed additional problems. Eventually I settled on a 10" exposure, with an overhead light turned on for half of the exposure and an LED flashlight providing some eerie blue tint from the side which I don't think I like now that I look at it closer.

I also wanted to add a pack of cigarettes to it, but I didn't want to spend the money on something that I don't support. The cocaine will have to suffice.