Coming from a press photography background, there aren't many topics, briefs or areas of photography I don't have some degree of familiarity with. From weddings and portraits to sport, news and features, all the way through to documentary and corporate. Last week however, took me to pastures new as I was invited to help friend and former colleague Nigel Whitfield catalogue items in an auction house.
Small silver objects - such as snuff boxes and sovereign cases - were the order of the day, which given their reflective surface, are not easy to photograph. Through his experience and expertise, Nigel had constructed a wooden frame with layers of diffusing material and a hole to poke the camera lens through. Together with studio lights positioned above and at each side, and an infinity surface/background, it proved the perfect set up.
Although I have been a professional photographer for over 20 years, my eyes and ears are open to original ideas, and I'm the first to acknowledge there's always something new to learn to make you better at what you do.
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