This torn off piece of a manila envelope developed a nice patina after being stored in a box since 1997. I taped the subject to a green file folder with double sided tape in the middle so the edges would remain off the background creating shadows to give it depth. In Photoshop, I added brush strokes with no color to retain the original color of the folder. The lens was a Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED (an extremely sharp lens) at a distance of 2 ft. There were 2 Elinchom EL500 strobe lights with 10° grids on either side at 45° angles, 2.5 ft. from the subject, but I didn’t use flash. I shot with the incandescent modeling lamps only to add warmth to the manila.
This image was taken in spring, 1995. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that ex-president Donald J. Trump bulldozed a huge swath of earth the length of the southern border of this beautiful Monument to erect a wall. Possibly the ugliest wall ever built, in sight and intention.
The Queen of the Night cactus blooms at night once a year. This one was on my patio in Studio City, CA. The flower lasted for three nights. I made the capture on the second night with a Mamiya 67 Pro ll on Fuji Velvia 50.