Finished a small collage on Thursday, torn book endpapers and a bit of ledger paper, mostly empty. Making it took about six hours across two evenings.

Then I spent most of Friday trying to photograph it. Kitchen table, north window, the light here in November is roughly the colour of dishwater. Fourteen shots. The paper is slightly warmer than the photos make it, and the torn edge disappears into the grey background.

I know the advice. Get a lightbox, get a proper setup, treat the photo as part of the work. I resent it. The piece is a physical object made of thin, fragile paper and it does not care about a screen. What I make on the table at 23:00 is not what comes out the other end.

So I'm considering just posting the bad photo. Slightly grey, slightly off, and honest about it, instead of the lie of a perfectly neutral white background. Not sure if that is stubbornness or a real idea. Probably both.