A still life (originally Dutch, stilleven) is not necessarily still or lifelike (but boy, what a pain it is, don’t even try anything impromptu — it won’t work!) To be precise, it is always still, and it is up to you as a photographer to extract movement and meaning. Or meaning via movement. Which means three things: calculation, a sturdy tripod, and lots of shots. Trigger goes down for attempt 47:

The top light was warm and soft, and the hard spotlight on the right was bluish white, measured for the optimal highlights. The blue tiles on the wall were pushed in post. There was just enough water.

Note to self: next time clean the bread crumbs off the worktop (countertop for my US friends) with a cloth, not with Photoshop — a LOT less pain.

Still life… food for an incarcerated soul.