Field notes on light, rooms and the hours between.
By the end of October the north window stops giving anything warm after three o'clock. The light is flat, honest and very forgiving for portraits. I moved the small table closer to the glass and shot the same cup every half hour until it got dark.
A cheap white sheer curtain does most of what a softbox does, with none of the setup. Two layers cut the contrast further. The trick is distance: the subject should sit at least a metre away from the fabric.
Old window panes are rarely flat. Shoot through them at a slight angle and the background bends in a way no filter imitates. It works best on overcast days, when reflections are weak.