[Woodcarver] Help

[Alex Bisso]

OK it's about time I asked for some help on two issues.
    First, I seem to be at a carving standstill.  I have not finished a 
carving since early last fall when I completed a brown trout started earlier 
last year.  I just can't seem to get motivated enough to either start 
something new or complete some started projects that I told myself I would 
get done this year.  Can anyone tell me what has worked to get them 
motivated to get back to carving after a dry spell?
    Second, I have a recurring problem with getting good photos of carvings. 
My standard method of trial and error with the lighting, inside and outside 
works sometimes but not consistently.  On my last fish for example, I took 
one photo (after a couple of tries) using a piece of light blue foam from an 
old camping bedroll and the color and contrast came out very well.  However, 
when I tried to set up with a cloth maroon cloth background to take more 
photos, it looked good but my camera did not like it at all.  The photos 
were either too dark or too bright and glarey and the colors did not look 
true.  There must be a way to set up for photos that provides a good 
background and lighting for true color without glare.  Can anyone suggest 
something simple and reliable that might work.
   Thanks for any input.
Alex Bisso
Billings, MT