Hi Craig,
I think it was you that mentioned food photography. How about
:
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=53416
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=27346
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=49668
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=47659
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=43102
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=35785
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=39616
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=32287
other still life stuff
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=28164
one or two of my wife's
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=51133
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=23375
You really don't need lots of equipment. A sheet of black cloth, a sheet of white cloth (see your local haberdashery shop), couple of sheets of black card - known as black flags to sink the light and emphasise darker bits, the side off a cardboard box covered in tinfoil to act as a reflector to fill in dark faces.
Still life on a table top is all about controlling light, managing where it's coming from, managing reflections, filling in darker and lighter bits. You can do a heck of a lot with natural light. If you use a flashgun, then it's pretty much a golden rule to not use it directly onto the subject. Bounce it off a sheet of white card or off the wall/ceiling.
This one:
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=41893
was done with a £10 flashgun and a big sheet of white paper.
This one
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=35785
was the same £10 gun, no paper, but did use a cocktail stick and a square glass flower vase.
Sorry to hear about your back, you have my sympathy as a fellow back pain sufferer.
Duncan
Edit: Correction, some of the above were taken with a flash costing more than £10, but with a bit of careful adjustment, they could just as easily have used a simple flash.