Glasswork

[Marie Hass]

After I saw Mike Buckley's latest post, I told my mentor I wanted to learn how to shoot glass on a black background, too! I wanted to pour wine in a glass! I wanted to take pictures of it, too!

Over the course of several days, after much practice in pouring wine, much crying over much spilt wine, over much head scratching, much meticulous placing, I have learnt much.

please c&c.

Marie

[Mike Buckley]

What an absolutely fabulous pour on the right side of the glass balanced by an equally fabulous splash on the left side! I can't get over the beauty of that curl in the wave on the right side of the splash.

It's no wonder you spilled a lot of wine in the process of making this photo, as I have never attempted anything even half as daring as this composition.

I especially like the many shades of gold that convey it's a white wine. They're really gorgeous. (I intentionally went for the opposite approach in my version. I poured a small amount of wine into the center of the glass to create bubbles rather than a wave or splash with varying tonalities.)

For those who have not tried this bright-line method of defining the edges of clear glass, it's not easy to understand how difficult it can sometimes be to ensure that the bright tones appear throughout all edges of the glass. You did very well! Even the top part of the base is separated from the background, which is usually the most troubling part for me.

Notice that three areas in the background display truer black tones than the rest of the background -- most noticeable in the lower right area but also two less noticeable narrow vertical strips on each side of the bowl of glass. When I want a uniformly black background, which is always the case when I want a black background, I always check for that by viewing my monitor from immediately above it; the areas that are inconsistent are easily seen at such an extreme viewing angle. If I identify them, I eliminate them by selecting a true black and painting the entire background. Depending on the situation, I might also paint the inner part of the bowl of glass and even the inner part of the stem to ensure a uniform tonality and the idea that we are "looking through" the clear glass.

[Jim B.]

Wonderful lighting and execution, Marie. I'm putting a small table top studio together and am looking forward to trying my hand at this type of photography.

[Shadowman]

Marie and Mike,

Do you use an assistant to handle the wine pouring?

Marie
Nice capture.

[Marie Hass]

John,

Thanks for commenting! I did the pouring since it was so tricky. Since I was shooting tethered, I had the assistant click the mouse.

Marie

[Marie Hass]

Dear Jim,

It is lots of fun, but very time consuming to make everything just so. I was constantly sitting in front of the camera making micro-adjustments and watching for the effect in the wineglass.

Marie

[Marie Hass]

Dear Mike,

Thank you taking the time to comment! It took a lot of practice pouring the wine first, then several attempts pouring into the wineglass to get this shot.

The rest was not easy, as you can appreciate.

Marie

[Mike Buckley]

John,

The only assistant I use is to drink the wine afterward. She (my wife) refuses to assist the photographic part of the project but insists on assisting the part that comes afterward.

[Mike Buckley]

I'm putting a small table top studio together and am looking forward to trying my hand at this type of photography.

Be sure to see your doctor first to gain a thorough knowledge of your tolerance. This stuff can become addictive.

[IzzieK]

Beautiful work, Marie!...A few more bottles being emptied on the excuse of photography and you will probably push the inspirational competitor to the wayside... I wonder how this may affect your shots when you have one too many....

[Shadowman]

John,

Thanks for commenting! I did the pouring since it was so tricky. Since I was shooting tethered, I had the assistant click the mouse.

Marie

Nice, I think I'd rather be at the controls (of the equipment) but since you were shooting tethered; all the technical aspects were obviously worked out ahead of time. Setup, timing, execution, and reshooting is what makes this type of photography so frustrating yet enjoyable.

[Shadowman]

John,

The only assistant I use is to drink the wine afterward. She (my wife) refuses to assist the photographic part of the project but insists on assisting the part that comes afterward.

You should start exclaiming "this wine is for working folk (or artists) only!".

[Marie Hass]

Dear John,

Yes, all the technical details were worked out ahead of time. All the assistant had to do was to click the mouse. The rest, you would have laughed. The studio sounded more like a boudior - imagine me yelling "NOW", "NOW", "NOW" to my assistant.

Marie

[John 2]

That's stunning Marie. Encouraged by Mikes excellent work, I recently tried to capture some red wine against a black background and produced rubbish. I have a long way to go by comparison with this.

[TheBigE]

Very nicely done, I really like the way the light appears to be around the edges of the glass. I think it adds a nice balance. I think if you could bring out the wine a bit more it would take it to the next level. For me the focus of this image is the glass and the wine is secondary. Either way great work.

[Manfred M]

Beautifully executed Marie. With all those examples of glass and liquids between you and Mike, I'm getting tempted to set things up again and start shooting glass and metal again.

[Mike Buckley]

I'm getting tempted to set things up again and start shooting glass and metal again.

In the same image? You must be a masochist!

[DonnaK]

I read all of the posts and learned all of the time and effort you took in capturing this image. It paid off in a super exposure. I'm not sure I would have had the patience. I would have sampled some of the wine to calm me down before I proceeded again. However, I really like the result you achieved. Nice work, Marie!!!

[marlunn]

Very nice Marie, very well executed and bonus points for the perseverance to get to such a good shot - now, I am off to find a glass and some wine, not to photograph, but I feel like a drink for some reason

[Shadowman]

Dear John,

Yes, all the technical details were worked out ahead of time. All the assistant had to do was to click the mouse. The rest, you would have laughed. The studio sounded more like a boudior - imagine me yelling "NOW", "NOW", "NOW" to my assistant.

Marie

Your response made me laugh.