Shiny surfaces

This exercise was an experiment in photographing shiny surfaces.  I chose a CD to use as my example (and confess to not using a tripod), and first of all photographed without any additional lighting apart from the light coming in through the window:

I then photographed the CD with my table spotlight shining next to the CD - I like the effect the light has had on the colour on the left-hand side:

I then tried making a cone, as per the instructions.  This wasn't enormously successful - the paper and lens reflected into the CD:

I then tried photographing the CD with the paper over the lamp instead:

Finally, I tried photographing the CD at an angle to reduce reflection, first with no additional light and then with the diffused lamp - again, not too succesful as the CD caught the window reflection instead - although I like the colour streak in the bottom picture:

I then experimented a bit with another shiny surface and different kinds of lighting, involving my pink geode, a candle and a table spotlamp:

And then with the ring resting on the CD, with the light shinning directly on it:

I then brought in all the combinations of light, CD, geode, trying to create reflections off the silver ring:

This was however, all playtime, so I then went back to the orginal instructions and photographed the ring inside the cone with the light shinning through the paper: