Flake "HinFrance's A Collection of Dessert Fruits:
Love the lines of the wood on the table and the way they run top left to bottom right. Lighting is OK, but from the rear right?" yep.
"The highlight on the apples has run to clipping, a reflector on the opposite side might be useful to bring up the light." there was a curved white A2 reflector to add diffuse light at about 60 degrees to the main light (G2 star, 1AU away). Personally I have never had a problem with clipped blacks or highlights. That's just the way the world is sometimes
"Focus is running out on the grapes, which I don't think is intentional." Alas it was deliberate.
" Is a bowl of fruit really a collection? Does this meet the brief?" I seriously doubt it.
Golly what a lot of effort you have put into this, for which we are all very grateful. Are you the new Kristin?
I still have the feeling that photography is more of a technically rigid matter than anything else for you; an area you clearly have a good grip of. If I may say so, I detect a somewhat prescriptive view of what is right and what is wrong. But as I said before and will no doubt say again, it is the fact that we all have different approaches that makes this interaction fun.