Coffee anyone???

This week's board assignment came from Ross. He wants to be "sold" coffee in any form. (Must have been influenced by the -48C temps we've been having this week!) Warm thoughts is what it is all about! Out came my black drop cloth and the kitchen stove soon became my mini studio. I tuck the cloth up under my cabinet doors and out comes the little Ikea spot lamp I bought for my son a few years back. Mom the cook is off - out comes mom the photographer (It's not that fast I usually have to let the stove cool down first to avoid any potential fire hazards!) Funny thing this shoot- I love coffee but ask any of my friends and they'll tell you (with a small snicker) that I can't make a good cup of coffee. Well, if I can't make it taste good maybe I can make it look like it tastes good. My only issue with this shoot- I couldn't make the steam show up more. Craig ( the school's director) gave me some advice - "try steam chips".

???????????? Is there such a thing? In my quest for the truth I googled the item and to my amazement you can actually buy them from a company in New York! Considering I had only a few days to do the shoot in, I think ordering these items are out of the question but may be in future considerations. I also got some other ideas for showing the steam rising from the cup. Photoshopping it in, using a dark backdrop (tried that didn't work) and opening a window letting cold air hit the cup after the coffee's been poured (I'm laughing at that one because my windows have had about an inch of ice on them over the last 2 weeks, and are far from being able to open!) Anyone have any other ideas? Keep warm!