This story is about the paper.

I had to photograph a diamond ring today as an auction item; this is a new territory for me as we don’t usually get such things. The ring, with my camera and my abilities was going to be shot in the box, as on the table it was hard for the auto focus to get it in focus. I will have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of art on display, but a diamond ring can’t be put out for a few thousand people to see, as it will undoubtedly be stolen.

I once had $60,000 worth of prints in my office in Detroit and someone with a key came in and took my umbrella, which had been a free gift with a bottle of Aramis perfume.

Anyway, I decided to photograph this unusual ring, 18 k white gold and 1.6 carets of pave diamonds, using velvet paper as a background. This story is about the paper.

I had some in my basement in a DMI (art supply store, Detroit) and I took a cut up sheet. There are still plenty of other sheets in the bag.

The reason for using this black velvet paper is that it is a good background for photography as it doesn’t reflect and creates a soft, black area.

I remembered the paper was there because we used it to photograph Josh’s (my youngest son) portfolio for entrance to Art School.

This was done in the winter before his high school graduation.

Josh’s 40th birthday will be in a few weeks.

This story is about the paper.