Sometimes there’s more to the picture

The assignment was to shoot a knife. Sounds simple. Sure, any reflective blade always needs special attention. The lights had to be just so for smooth gradients. The knife needs to tilted ever do slightly to avoid reflecting entire studio on the blade. That’s all just technical craft which gets easier with experience and practice.

My late father very much appreciated the fine craftsmanship of the knife makers in Finland. The knife in the picture was part of his collection and was inherited by my son after my father’s passing.

What makes this picture even more important for me was that the piece of gray driftwood actually traveled to my studio from Finland. The past summer, my sons and I took a road trip to a family cottage in northern Finland close to the Arctic Circle. It’s run down and isolated, but full of history and close to a lake. This place was very dear to my father and I think he was always the happiest there. One day we rowed to a small island in the lake and I found the piece old juniper just sitting there. With the perfect gray color and interesting curls, it was a natural photo prop which I obviously had to bring home with me. (No need to tell TSA about this. 😉)

So, the shoot became a tribute to my father, Finnish nature and craftsmanship. All meaningful for me and I think it shows in the picture.