I have these huge pieces of painted placard that I’ve been using for backdrops.  They weigh a ton and I had been hauling them upstairs, downstairs, outside and back inside. In addition, if I wasn’t shooting towards a wall that I could prop them against, I had to haul my kitchenaid to the shooting site because it was the only thing heavy enough to hold them up.  You can imagine how relieved and happy I was when Roger Stowell http://www.camerahols.com/ showed me that all I needed was several pieces, 35 cm x 25cm,  of free standing butcher’s block,  each side painted in colors of my choice.

Well, boy howdy, try to find some butcher’s block in the French countryside!  Really, it’s a nightmare!  I visited several handyman and construction stores where the clerks looked at me as if I had asked for blood diamonds or had escaped from a mental institution. They were not helpful.

So I decided to help myself; if I couldn’t find butcher’s block, I would substitute heavy, free standing plank wood and have them cut it into pieces.  Problem was, none of the planks I saw could stand on their own.  I really miss my husband, this kind of thing is not in my area of expertise.  Long story short.   I found a corner shelf that was approximately the correct dimensions.

And it can stand up on it’s own.

You can also drape it with a piece of cloth to change the background.

But the most amazing thing about this shelf is that it can hold up the huge placard pieces.

I am so amused.