photographing seashells

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had advice on photographing

seashells. I have access to a large collection, and some of them

are very small and shiny. I would like to get some close ups and

abstract the patterns on the surface of the shells, but some have

interesting shapes I would like to photograph the entire object. So

if anyone can point me to any examples of seashells being

photographed in an artistic manner (most of the pictures I've found

so far are very scientific in nature) I would very much appreciate

it. Any advice on lighting (I've tried before but can't seem to get

rid of specular reflections) and backgrounds would also be useful,

or anything else I haven't thought about. FYI I'm using a Nikon

FM3A and 55mm f/3.5 AI macro lens. I don't have bellows or

extension tubes but am considering purchasing one.

Thanks,

-john

I think that there's a lot of artistic potential in this subject - I only tried it once, I found it to be a little like photographing pottery - some are almost translucent, some are highly glazed, some have strong surface texture and most have very complex shapes.

 

 

The specular reflections can cause problems with complex shapes, and this may be one of the few subjects where a light tent may be ideal for some... but for others you may want to use backlighting, reflectors and absorbers.

 

This lighting theme gives a very useful intro to controlling specular highlights http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=007tNJ

Not that it's really relevant, but there was an article in either Popular Photography or Nature Photography (can't remember which) in the last couple months of a guy who "photographs" seashells by scanning them. He's got a few books I think. Like mentioned above, some of the neatest looking ones to my eye anyway were the ones that were almost translucent.