A few days ago, I made one of my usual trips to a small thrift shop I’ve come to appreciate over time, looking for props. It’s not just a place to browse or donate. Every purchase supports a local no-kill animal shelter, which makes it easy to justify bringing home “just one more thing.”

This time, I came home with a few simple pieces. Vases and pitchers, each with a bit of texture, a bit of wear, and just enough character to make me pause. Nothing rare. Nothing valuable in the traditional sense. But they felt worth spending time with, and that’s usually all it takes.

Back in the studio, I placed them on the table without much of a plan. I wasn’t thinking about a project. I was simply responding to what was in front of me, adjusting, stepping back, moving things a fraction of an inch, then moving them back again… you know how that goes.

The flowers came in quietly. At first, I thought they might carry the image, but as I worked, it became clear that the vessels were doing most of the talking. The flowers softened the scene, but they weren’t the subject. More like supporting actors who understood their role.

What began as a simple still life started to feel more settled. Not defined, just there. The kind of feeling that makes you slow down.

I wanted to work with film, so I reached for my Hasselblad 501CM.

After I retired from portrait work, I found myself missing it a few years later. Not enough to return to it as I once knew it, but enough to notice. Still life has filled that space nicely. It offers the same attention to detail, the same quiet conversation between subject and light.

Once everything felt right, I made the frame you see here.

Second Life Still Life.

Sometimes a single frame is enough to suggest a direction. This one did.

This is the start of a project. I’ll continue selecting pieces from the thrift shop from time to time, bringing them into the studio, photographing them, and returning them as donations along with a few prints for the shop to sell.

A simple cycle. A win win. I like that.

As a bonus, it’s nudged me back into making prints after a few years away. This time, I’ll let a lab handle that part. I have no desire to get reacquainted with expensive ink sets.

I’ll share the process as these still life shoots unfold. The setup, the film, the developing, and the digitizing. All of it is part of the work.

I have a few more images and some behind the scenes moments from this shoot to share, but I’ll save those for upcoming posts.

This post is really about how a project can begin.

Perhaps not with a plan,
but with a small noticing,
a quiet pull toward something worth returning to.

What began as a simple trip has turned into something with purpose. Not just making images, but creating something that gives back in a small way to a place that already does in a big way.