For the love of 'objects'

Lately I've noticed a sudden surge of blog visitors from the largest country in the world. It took me by surprise initially, but it turns out that the guys who introduced us to the AK-47 assault rifle take their blog reading pretty seriously. If you're not so weapon savvy and your geography is really rusty then 'Russia' is the country I'm talking about.
One reader took it up a notch and wrote me an email, in what seemed the most bizarre yet fabulous font that I have ever laid my eyes upon. As much as I had to decipher the message, I was caught staring at how beautiful the russian text was. I eventually snapped out of it, and with a half decent effort from an online translator I managed to understand the crux of the matter.
In a nutshell 'Igor' wanted to know how I go about creating images of objects and what type of lens I used.

Now normally I don't like to get too technical, for fear that most people would feel I'm just rambling on about something that does not really interest them. But then again I'am a photographer, and if some one does care about how something is created and wants to know how, I feel that it is my responsibility to help them out. Information is definitely power.
I did reply to Igor's email and later realised that the contents of it were definitely worth sharing.

Photographing objects can be pretty awesome experience. What's amazing is that you don't really need something that looks like a million bucks. When I go about shooting objects I look for a few key elements, namely simplicity, form and texture.
To create the image, you obviously need the subject. Now this is where some photographers struggle. Overcoming this means having to think 'out of the box'. Once you do this everything else gets progressively easier. Look around you, at all those mundane looking objects. Look closer. You might have missed something about it that you never noticed. Now prop it on an interesting surface. Work the background. Get behind the camera and give it a few test shots. Notice how the image speaks to you? This is just the beginning. There are countless ways to experiment. If you read my post on 'Photography - beginner tips', you probably recall how I said that 'Experimentation is expected'. Keep at it and you will be rewarded.

With regard to the type of lens used, I personally find that my 'Nikon 50mm 1.8D' prime lens serves me very well. It helps to have a lens that lets in a surplus of light and provides tack sharp images. This particular one achieves both without a sweat. Another notable advantage is that it weighs close to nothing, so you can slip it into even the smallest of camera bags and carry it around. However, there are those that may prefer a prime with a longer fixed focal length. Obviously this would depend on what you usually photograph and how far you need to be. If you have the opportunity to try both, then this would definitely simplify your decision.
Below is an image that I captured using the above mentioned lens. I kept the background simple and accentuated the texture of the lamp, all the while maintaining a surface that works with the entire image. Do let me know what you think. As always I love to hear feedback.