“So beautiful that it is delicious as well” is the Chinese saying that inspired Zili Zhang’s “Autumn on a Plate” series. Zhang had created “Golden Leaves,” a series featuring fall leaves and branches, and was encouraged to create additional works. He did not want to repeat himself, so instead, he brought the leaves indoors and arranged them on a blue plate, the ideal color contrast to the warm colors of the leaves. Though he originally placed a knife and fork on the plate, Zhang ultimately decided on chopsticks to deliver an Eastern aesthetic.
To create the photos, he used a Fujifilm GFX100S camera with a GF110mmF2 lens, with a two-light setup: The main light was a Godox AD400Pro with a large Westcott 4x6-foot soft box on the left, and the second light was a smaller Godox XPRO with a smaller soft box on the right.
“This setup helped to create the face-like reflections on the plate,” he says.
One challenge: The plate itself was scratched from use. Zhang spent considerable time in Photoshop eliminating its imperfections. He says he loves the quiet resonance of the photos. “It’s truly amazing how much can be done with so little.”
Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.
