Keeping your eye in
As we try and keep occupied throughout this second lockdown I thought it would be good to look at household objects in a different way. This is a simple but effective way of 'keeping your eye in' whilst unable to go out to take pictures. An eye for a good composition is equally important for small detail as it is big landscapes, so finding objects to take pictures of around your home is a good exercise (as well as keeping a modicum of sanity) whilst in lockdown.
In this case, I decided to use a brushed steel desk lamp and see what I could achieve by placing it near a window (on an overcast day) using some black card for the background. Metal objects are particularly good to use as they reflect slivers of light off their surface which accentuates lines and textures. I had already decided to make all the images black and white and square in format as well as give them a moody low-key look, using Lightroom. This is the same treatment I give to some of my woodland images from time to time, so processing these images has helped me keep my hand in.
If you would like to learn how to create fine art images like these using Lightroom you might like to consider booking onto my 'Fine Art Printing in Lightroom' evening classes which you can find on my workshops page here.