Ammonite

I had a lot of catch-up work to do today and only got around to my Blipfoto mid-evening. I bought the ammonite years ago in what was then called Yugoslavia. It was found in the Dolomite Mountains. Ammonites are a widely known fossil with their typically spiral-form shell. They lived in the sea between 240-65 million years ago and having one sitting on my mantle shelf reminds me of the geological timescale of our planet and that our species is destined to disappear like the ammonites and the dinosaurs. Seeing the big picture puts petty human frustrations in proportion and also reminds me of the miracle that I'm even here!
I photographed it on a plain beechwood background and also sitting on a fancy metal belt buckle to add some bling. The purists might see this as sacrilege but I have chosen to upload this latter view. For the first time this year I used my Lumix Panasonic with its close-up facility and lit the scene by making use of two kitchen spotlights at right angles to each other above the black granite worktop, positioning the ammonite in such a way to emphasize the spirals. The granite harmonised with the ammonite colouring and the neutral buckle colours. I braced the camera using a neck strap, so the slow shutter speed would not cause the picture to blur.