My return to photographing glass (broken in South Africa :)

[Mike Buckley]

I had not realized that my wife had set aside a cracked wine glass in one of our South Africa apartments so she could report it to our landlord's representative. As I was washing it, I accidentally dropped it and the top completely broke. Paying the replacement cost is the best $3 USD I ever spent. The trick was getting it back to the U.S. in my luggage without it breaking even more.

[Digital]

What would it look like if tipped on its side? Maybe a more compelling photo.
Just a thought.



Bruce

[Mike Buckley]

That's a great idea, Bruce. Perhaps it should be titled "Fallen from Grace." I'll definitely try out your idea for a completely different story being told.

[FootLoose]

I like the lighting and tone in this shot, Mike. I can see an odd kind of face in the shape of the glass. The white oval shape in the bottom of the vessel is like a mouth and the front edge of the broken surface traces out two crooked eyes. It's a bit like a face might appear after consuming a bottle of wine ...

[Manfred M]

It works very, very well. A great shot Mike.

[rawill]

Mike - As usual you come up with some very interesting "photos".

But I liked this, because of the Vincent Versace quote.
I am starting to understand this, "I think!".
But will I ever really understand it?

[batmura]

The pp is fantastic!

[Shadowman]

I had not realized that my wife had set aside a cracked wine glass in one of our South Africa apartments so she could report it to our landlord's representative. As I was washing it, I accidentally dropped it and the top completely broke. Paying the replacement cost is the best $3 USD I ever spent. The trick was getting it back to the U.S. in my luggage without it breaking even more.

Still not relaxing on vacation I see. Nice image.

[Donald]

I just want to know how you'd have explained it to Customs if they had decided to search your luggage! "Well, er, officer, It's like this ........."

Beautiful image.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, everyone!

About the face, Greg: I can't figure out whether you've had too much wine or not enough wine.

Murat, you might be surprised to learn how little post-processing was needed for this photo. 95% of my post-processing time was spent eliminating the tabletop's horizon and creating a slight vignette around the base of the glass. The overall mood and appearance is controlled by the lighting. In fact, when the photo is displayed at this size, I was tempted to display it in color as a joke. That's because the only part that didn't appear black-and-white was the table top, which is made of glass that is thick enough that it displays a hint of green tone.

Donald: I wrapped the broken glass in a tee shirt to protect it and forgot to attach a label explaining that a broken wine glass was inside. I felt the note was needed just in case an American TSA agent inspected the contents of the suitcase. I wanted to make sure the broken glass didn't cut the agent.

[Brownbear]

An incredibly beautiful image... Exquisite... I can't believe that I am saying that about an image of a broken glass but it's a fact.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you for using the term, "exquisite," to describe the image, Christina. The concept that I had in mind from the outset was that a hopefully exquisite overall mood would be contrasted by the brutally jagged edges of the broken glass. You made my day!

[Brownbear]

Thank you for using the term, "exquisite," to describe the image, Christina. The concept that I had in mind from the outset was that a hopefully exquisite overall mood would be contrasted by the brutally jagged edges of the broken glass. You made my day!

[rpcrowe]

Lovely image... I thought about Customs also!