Salt!

Inspired by a photo challenge started by 'oops', my trusty forum member. The soft appearance you see on this photo is not created my any filters or Photoshop editing. I had only one 550EX there and no decent bouncers (I tried to use Lumiquests as reflectors but they were quite weak in lower light levels), and only one table lamp, so I decided to go around the lack of overall light. I took long exposure flash shots, handheld, so the effect I got was a bit dreamy (if you rocked the camera bit during exposure) and the shine of the brass was enchanced by the slight overexposure and very small aperture. The flash was diffused though a bottle of brandy (!) to the back of the scene, creating a colored smooth shadow to the back of the frame. The white surface of my kitchen table reflected the shadows nicely.