The piece in the middle is from a hand-carved set of chess pieces from India. From 2 exposures, one lit from below the glass chess board, the other lit from a reflector board at a 45^ tilt toward the chess pieces from underneath.
In camera, took photos with 3000^ color balance for the blue cast.
Converted RAW files to JPEGs in RawTherapee, and then edited in Gimp.
Levels
Merged layers with "Soft Light"
Cloned out dust.
Crop
Rotate
Slight USM
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Beauty of image: Medium
Technical skill: Medium to high
I agree with Michele's comments about the composition but what I really like here is the lighting - particularly how the shadows are formed on the central piece.
ok now, you have an interesting item in there that is surrounded by some less interesting pieces. this again should be about - what is my focal point? I'll PM you a pic of mine that would give you an idea of what to do. It would be about rearrangement and changing perspective and adding a little DOF.
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