B&W Glass Triptych

[Mike Buckley]

I literally stumbled upon this style of lighting where the tops of the glass vessels are only a little lighter than the background. That part of the vessels is possibly being lit using the bright field method that defines the edges of the glass with dark tones, as opposed to the rest of the image that is definitely being lit using a dark field method that defines the edges with bright tones. But I really don't know with any certainty why the tops are lit as they are. I only know that I could control that effect by positioning the vessels a certain way.

Once I came upon this style of lighting the tops of the vessels, I decided to make a triptych. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the middle one. The square format and the bold positioning of the subject within the frame are appealing for me.

[Plumcrak]

Very interesting Mike. Although I know better, it looks as if you painted the rim flat black. I do like it. It gives your glass an entirely different feel.

I actually prefer the third image over the other two.

[revi]

Very nice indeed.

Could reflections within the glass wall play a role (with the light leaving the rim being diffused by the ground surface)?

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Jon and Remco

Could reflections within the glass wall play a role (with the light leaving the rim being diffused by the ground surface)?

I doubt that it has anything to do with reflections in the glass but I really don't know for sure. I am certain that it's not a matter of the light being diffused on the rim; the quality of the light on the rim is the same whether it's dark or bright.

[Rob Zijlstra]

Beautiful like this!

[bje07]

Very nice shots.
Is it possible to have the set up of these shots?

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Rob and Jean.

Jean: The lens is pointing somewhat downward toward the subject, which is resting on a background of black felt. The single light source is a lamp with five compact fluorescent bulbs shining through translucent white acrylic, though in this case the acrylic may not have had any affect on the appearance of the photo. The light is shining around both sides, the top and bottom of the tabletop (which is also the background) and subject.

This type of setup usually requires gobos placed between the light and the camera to prevent glare and loss of contrast. I think the reason they were not needed in this particular setup is that the lens was not pointed straight toward the light source.

This setup creates what is called a dark field image and is a variant of the setup that is explained in great detail in the book, Light: Science and Magic.

[bje07]

Thank you Mike four your quick reply.
I'll test it.(black felt was the missing element for me)

[Mike Buckley]

Jean,

Considering the lighting setup that I used, I should have mentioned that the color of the tabletop was unimportant; it probably could have been white. Any time the only light source is behind an opaque background, the color of the background will always be rendered black.

I initially used felt, which happened to be black, only because it's give helped prevent the glass vessel from rolling around on the tabletop. As it turned out, the vessel as shown in these photos was not resting directly on the felt.