Skull, hourglass and guttering candle
Still life photograph, 85mm. A weathered skull resting on a dark oak table beside a wooden hourglass with the sand almost run through, and a beeswax candle burned down almost to the holder with a long frozen drip of spent wax down one side, its flame the only light in the picture. Deep shadow fills the whole background. Objects grouped left of centre with empty table to the right. Palette of bone cream, warm flame amber and near-black. Real bone porosity, dust on the hourglass glass, wax pooling, 4:5.
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Three glasses at different fills
Still life photograph, 100mm. Three identical plain glasses standing on dark grey cloth, one nearly full, one about a third full and one empty, so each refracts the background differently and each throws a different shadow. Backlit by a soft window behind so the water glows and the glass edges go bright. Grouped close together with one slightly forward. Palette of near-black cloth, clear glass and one band of cool daylight. Real meniscus curve, a bubble on the inner wall, a water ring on the cloth, 4:5.
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Single stem in a laboratory flask
Vertical still life photograph, 100mm. A single flowering stem standing in a clear glass laboratory flask far too large for it, the stem visible through the glass and refracted so it appears to shift where it crosses the water line. Plain mid-grey background well behind. One soft source from the left with a black card on the right keeping that side dark. Flask centred low in the vertical frame. Palette of one white bloom, green stem and cool grey. Real glass thickness at the base, a graduation mark on the flask, 2:3.
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Instruments on a green baize
Wide still life photograph, 50mm. A set of brass navigational instruments, dividers, a rule and a small telescope, arranged loosely on a worn green baize that has gone bald in patches and carries an old ring stain at one edge. The brass is unpolished and dulled to a soft brown. Low raking light from the left so each instrument throws a long shadow across the cloth. Palette of dull brass on faded green with long shadows. Real engraved scale markings, verdigris in the joints, baize nap direction, 16:9.
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Bottles on a windowsill at dusk
Still life photograph, 85mm. Five old glass bottles of different heights and colours standing on a windowsill with the last of the daylight coming through them from behind, so each one glows in its own colour and casts a faint pool of that colour onto the sill in front of it. The room behind the camera is dark. Bottles grouped left with an empty length of sill to the right. Palette of amber, deep green and pale blue against a dimming sky. Real glass bubbles and mould seams, dust on the sill, 4:5.
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Keys with no locks left
Square still life photograph, 100mm. A ring of six old hand-forged iron keys with elaborate wards, none of which could open anything still standing, resting on dark folded wool. The iron is black with age and pitted, with one key noticeably brighter where it was carried in a pocket. Hard light from the upper right so each key throws a distinct shadow. Palette of black iron on charcoal wool with one bright edge. Real forge hammer facets, pitting and a trace of red rust, 1:1.
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Tulips three days past their best
Still life photograph, 50mm. Tulips in a plain glass jug three days past their best, the stems bent over at different angles under their own weight so no two heads face the same way, several petals already fallen and lying on the table below. Cool north light from a window at the left. The water in the jug has gone slightly cloudy. Table running across the lower third. Palette of faded rose and cream against cool grey wall. Real petal translucency and edge browning, pollen dust on the table, 3:2.
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Tarnished spoons in a jar
Vertical still life photograph, 85mm. A dozen mismatched silver spoons standing in a plain stoneware jar, none of them matching, all tarnished dark in the bowls and recesses but rubbed bright along the handle edges where hands have held them. Soft light from the right. Plain dark background well behind. Jar centred with the spoon handles fanning out at the top. Palette of black tarnish, warm rubbed silver and grey stoneware. Real hallmark detail, one bent handle, fine scratching, 2:3.
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Open book with a pressed leaf
Square still life photograph, 85mm, shot from almost directly above. An old cloth-bound book open near its middle, the binding stiff enough that the pages will not lie flat and curve up at the gutter, with a dried and almost translucent pressed leaf lying across the right hand page where it has left a faint brown stain. Soft window light from the left. Palette of aged cream page, brown leaf and faded green cloth. Real foxing, printed text too small to read, the leaf veins backlit, 1:1.
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Copper pan hung against plaster
Still life photograph, 85mm. A single copper pan hanging from a nail against a rough limewashed plaster wall, its base darkened by years of use while the sides are still warm and bright. Hard light from the upper left throws a clean shadow of the pan and its handle across the wall texture. Nothing else in frame. Palette of warm copper against chalky off-white plaster. Real hammer marks in the copper, a tin lining worn through at the base, plaster grit, 4:5.
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Dried hydrangea heads
Vertical still life photograph, 85mm. Three dried hydrangea heads in a plain earthenware jug, their colour faded almost entirely to a papery greenish cream with only a trace of the original blue left at the centre of each floret. The petals have gone brittle and one head has begun to shed. Flat light from a window ahead of the arrangement. Palette of paper cream with a ghost of blue against warm earthenware. Real brittle petal translucency, fallen florets on the surface below, 2:3.
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Preserves lined on a shelf
Vertical still life photograph, 85mm. Four home preserving jars of different sizes standing on a plain shelf, each filled with fruit in syrup and each carrying a small handwritten paper label with one short word on it. Light from a window to the left passes through the jars so the fruit inside is visible as dark shapes suspended in amber. Palette of amber syrup, dark fruit and pale shelf. Real sediment settled at the base, a run of dried syrup down one jar, ink bleed on a label, 2:3.
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Lemons on a rumpled linen
Square still life photograph, 85mm. Four lemons on white linen that has been pushed into deep irregular folds rather than smoothed, one of them cut in half with the cut face turned towards the light and already beginning to dry at the edge. Single window light from the upper left throws the cloth folds into strong relief. One lemon overlaps another. Palette of hard yellow against warm white cloth and grey shadow. Real pitted lemon skin, juice bead on the cut face, linen weave, 1:1.
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Letters tied with a faded ribbon
Still life photograph, 50mm. A bundle of old letters tied with a ribbon whose colour has almost entirely gone, the top sheet noticeably more bleached and brittle than those beneath it and a scatter of brown foxing spots across one corner. The folded edges have started to split. Soft flat light from a window ahead. Bundle resting on a dark timber surface, slightly off centre. Palette of aged cream paper, faded rose ribbon and dark wood. Real ink fade to brown, paper fibre at the torn edge, 4:3.
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Pears going over on a shelf
Wide still life photograph, 85mm. Five pears set in a row along a plain painted shelf, running from firm and green at the left through to one at the right that has collapsed on one side and is weeping slightly onto the wood. A small fruit fly rests on the third. Even soft light from the front left. Shelf running the full width, wall plain behind. Palette of green through gold to brown against pale grey wall. Real skin bruising and shrivelling, a sticky mark under the last fruit, 16:9.
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Tools laid out on a bench cloth
Still life photograph, 50mm, shot from above. A set of hand tools laid out in strict size order on an unrolled canvas tool cloth, every one clearly used with worn handles, chipped paint and bright polished working edges. The spacing between them is exact. Flat even light from above with a slight fall to the corners. Cloth filling the frame. Palette of canvas oatmeal, dark steel and worn beech handles. Real handle patina from hands, rust freckling on two blades, 3:2.
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Grapes over the edge of a bowl
Square still life photograph, 85mm. A bunch of dark grapes in a shallow pewter bowl with a third of the bunch hanging over the rim and down onto the table below, several individual grapes detached and lying scattered. A soft bloom still on the skins where they have not been handled. Single window light from the right. Palette of deep purple-black fruit with grey bloom, dull pewter and dark timber. Real bloom rubbed away where fingers have touched, one shrivelled grape, 1:1.
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Cigarette cards spread out
Still life photograph, 50mm, shot from above. A dozen old collectable cards spread across a dark table in a loose overlapping fan, every corner soft and furred from handling, the printing faded and one card creased across the middle. The illustrations are visible but the type is too small to read. Soft even light from above left. Palette of faded ochre and dull red printing on cream card against near-black timber. Real card fibre at the worn corners, foxing on two, 4:3.
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Mending basket left open
Still life photograph, 50mm. An open wicker mending basket with reels of thread in mismatched colours, small scissors, and a sock stretched over a wooden darning mushroom with the darn only half woven and the needle still parked in the work. Soft light from a window to the left. Basket right of centre with a length of thread trailing out onto the table. Palette of muted thread colours, warm wicker and grey wool. Real thread fray, the weave of the part-finished darn, scissor tarnish, 3:2.
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Everything from one pocket
Wide still life photograph, 50mm, shot from directly above. The entire contents of one coat pocket laid out in a single row on a plain grey surface: a folded ticket, three coins, a button, a short pencil, a key and a crumpled receipt, with no relationship between them beyond having shared a pocket. Even flat light from above. Objects spaced evenly across the full width. Palette of muted greys and browns with one bright coin. Real creases in the paper, lint on the button, worn pencil, 16:9.
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