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SOME DO'S AND DONT'S IN STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
DOWN UNDERartists
Australia and New Zealand
SOME DO’S AND DONT’S IN STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
By Dean Hohn
I’m going to share with you the story behind the making of this still life image and hopefully, it can be a lesson to everyone to make sure your backgrounds are secure before changing the arrangement around.
I had taken several slow exposure shots with sidelight trying to get the effect I wanted. I decided I needed to move a panel to the right of the setup and in doing so, I bumped the background panel and it fell forward. When it fell, it knocked the vintage bottle of Bundaberg Pure Gold Rum, which was a special edition bottle from the 2000 Sydney Olympics and could only be purchased in the duty-free shops for incoming and outgoing travelers.
When I saw it start to go, I reached but missed and the bottle hit the carpeted floor and snapped the cork lid off. Needless to say, I was feeling very sick to my stomach and wanted to vomit when I saw the top go in one direction and the bottle in another! Luckily the bottle didn’t break. Mind you it might as well have as it’s no longer a collector’s item in mint condition!
What makes this all the worse is we’re house-sitting for friends and it is their bottle of rum!
When I finally gathered myself and started to come to grips with what had just happened, I went out to the other room to my computer and did a Google search for the bottle of rum. $1999.00 and there is a replacement bottle on the way! I sincerely hope this is the most expensive still-life image I ever make!
Please learn from my mishap and secure your background when setting up a still-life, so something similar doesn’t happen to you too.
