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A new look at antique objects

I found myself with the task of photographing quite a few antiques, ranging from furniture to various small objects. Wanting to go beyond "record" shots, I decided to play with three approaches. One was to leave things in their environment, placed as they are to be attractive when we move around the scene and focus our attention on different details in turn. The challenge here was to find a single viewpoint that gives some of the feel of the whole, but gives us one dominant item that should hold our interest in the photo. Here's one example of that approach:

It's certainly a busy background. The subject is unusual enough that I think it holds its own, but I definitely feel that the cleaner styles below are more effective.

Next is a case where I put myself inside the subject, giving a bit of a surreal appearance. It's an antique lamp, photographed with the lens inside the framework that holds the shade and pendants.

Last for now is an approach that is the opposite of the first photo. I set up these Indian clubs in a plain background so that nothing would compete for attention.

Indian clubs were used for group exercise, and were popular about a century ago.

Thanks for looking.

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