One might think by looking at this picture that the flash at the top of the stairs lit the picture. But the process was much more complicated than that.
Accepting the challenge of starting with a dark room and creating a photograph (from Latin: light writing) from the darkness, I took a flashlight and literally painted light in streaks through the still life.
This was my first experiment with "light from dark" pictures - but not the last.

 The next day, after receiving this excellent book by David DuChemin from Christian, I tried capturing some other motifs with the help of just a flashlight. The book was written for advanced amateurs who need to be reminded that a photograph is interesting if it is about something (rather than just of something). In other words, you should ask yourself, "What do I want to make a picture about?" rather than "What do I want to take a picture of?"

Like most enthusiastic amateur photographers, I got caught up in the thrall of my equipment. With the SonyUserForum's lens database (and others such as the Digital Photography Review), I constantly tried to get slightly better lenses (and cameras) over time for prices that seemed affordable. However, it wasn't until I laid out a good amount of money for an excellent lens (Tamron 2.8/70-200) that I felt I had met my match and had to stop blaming my "glass" for any weaknesses in my pictures. Besides, I had photographed Paris last year with a Sigma 18-200 and felt fine about the results!
But the searching (and wanting) was a process I had to go through. Now I'm concentrating on finding ideas and feelings to photograph, which is a much richer task.

(Nevertheless, I must say I am damned pleased with my Sony Alpha 700. I'd buy it again and again.)

Slowly but surely, I feel I no longer have to hide behind my camera. My next step along this artist's way is to find the light that will give my pictures the expression I have envisioned for them.