This is an inexpensive example of the porcelain and bone china that is available from the factory stores of the Lomonosov (Imperial) Porcelain works. There are stores in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, but the store along Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg was within a mile of our cruise ship, easy walking distance until you try to bring back bags and bags of the beautiful cups and plates and art objects.

This cup features the traditional two-headed imperial eagle of the Czars, and embedded within that figure is a smaller depiction of St. George slaying the dragon. Every last detail is hand painted.

On the technical side, this image was made using multiple wireless i-TTL flash units triggered by radio, using the latest gadget sensation, the RadioPopper. Two background flashes were gelled in red and blue respectively, while a single white reflector shines a white light on the cup itself.