As many of you know, I’m a fan of Irving Penn’s photographs. I’ve also really admired the work on the blog Still by Mary Jo Hoffman. I don’t place what I’m trying out in their categories, but this is definitely inspired by their work. Obviously I’m also being influenced subliminally by the cover of my latest book! Interesting how that happens....

The thing is I think it was time to try something new, to set myself a new photo challenge. How far will I carry it? I don’t know. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen a few attempts at this type of photo. 

I’m using a light table, and shooting from above. I’m tweaking in Lightroom 6. I would love to have a proper macro lens, but I don’t have the budget for that right now, so I’m just using my 50mm. I’m cropping and adjusting. I’m playing. I’m learning. 

So while this is a new way to shoot for me, I know scads of people have done this. It’s nothing really new. Which is always the case with personal discoveries. Whenever you think you’ve come upon a new idea, odds are someone has already tried it out. That’s no reason not to continue though, because you’ll find your own way into it, and the results will be your own. Your own style and sensibility comes into play. There are always new spins on old ideas. 

How about you? Is there something that you’ve been waiting to try out or explore? 

So next, please treat yourself to this incredible 4 minute video about the work of Mary Jo Hoffman. If you’re in the newsletter, click here.