Terry made me do it: Wine & Sherry

[Mike Buckley]

Terry (Loose Canon) quipped in a style befitting his screen name that this photo would be improved if I made a boilermaker out of it.

Not being a cocktail aficionado, I had to Google "boilermaker." For those who are as ignorant as I am about these matters, he was apparently referring to a shot glass of whiskey combined with beer. However, he was so specific that he suggested a "grape boilermaker," surely his own invention that would work only in the world of photography, not alcoholic beverage consumption.

His boilermaker would have been made of wine in the large glass and bourbon in the small glass. I went with him regarding the large glass and used pinot noir. I opted for sherry in the small glass after deciding against pinot gris. (I was hoping the two pinots would be fun.) Though my variation on Terry's theme is also unsuitable for consumption, at least sherry is traditionally served in a cordial glass, which is what the small glass is.

On a slightly related subject, I don't suppose it matters to anybody that I will be serving a nine-course seafood dinner Saturday night and the first course will be an oyster shooter. Nah, I didn't think so.

For those who understandably desire accuracy, the title to this thread is actually misleading because "Wine & Sherry" suggests that sherry is not wine. Indeed, sherry is fortified wine.

It will be interesting to see how people react to these two versions. I'll only mention at least for now that the traditional way to make a photograph of glass with liquid in it is to use a bright field (dark outlines).

EDIT: Please look for the third image posted later in the thread.

[deetheturk]

I like them both Mike,well done!

Cheers David

[Digital]

Mike, I like them both. Nice captures.



Bruce

[mknittle]

I like #1 best, Mike though both are very good!

[AndrewMcD]

I like the second better because the color of the sherry is richer (at least here at work on my not calibrated monitor). Wondering what one has to do to get an invite to a 9 course seafood dinner and will they be serving "grape boilermakers?"
Andrew

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, everyone!

Sometimes I just get lucky. I started to break down my setup, so I first removed the pair of glasses. I wasn't being careful because I had planned to take them to the kitchen sink. The small glass fell over and I realized that that composition might be the best one yet. So, I returned the glasses to the tabletop and made another photo.

Actually, I do like this one best. That's not just because I'm a sucker for diagonals but also because I like the whimsical nature of it. The diagonal makes the composition a bit more dynamic, less static than the other composition. Viewing this makes me wonder if someone hadn't had a little too much to drink and accidentally dropped the small glass into the large glass.

[Daisy Mae]

Time to give 'Tio Peppe' the ( make it expensive) rights to this kinda gorgeousness.


Manzanillo or Fino with some olives and bruschetta.

[Mike Buckley]

Manzanillo or Fino with some olives and bruschetta.

You have amazing timing, Sharon. I will be serving Manzanilla for the first time on Satruday. This one is made by Valdespino. One reason I'm going to serve it is that it is made from the palomino grape, which will be my 135th wine grape.

I don't know anything about serving sherry, especially dry sherry such as this one. The bottle is 375ml, making me think that perhaps it should be served in a very small portion that would be appropriate for a cordial glass. Yes or no?

[Daisy Mae]

[QUOTE=Mike Buckley;364479]You have amazing timing, Sharon.

Oh I do, don't I?

Depends on how many guests you're having. Traditional glass sizes for wine work out at 125ml which provides 6 for a bottle, or 3 for a half bottle. Not too sure about your cordial glass size, but I doubt that an amount of less than 75ml would provide a useful amount per person. That's a maximum of 5 people from the 375ml half-bottle. Given that the sherry will be around 15% alcohol, it's probably about as much as you might want to serve without it dominating any further proceedings. On a similar note, I do recall reading one article suggesting that sherry could be the only wine you would ever need to serve with a meal, starting with a fino or manzanilla and working through various other types as the meal progresses, finishing up with a hugely sweet PX. Hope it goes well and don't forget the olives whatever ye do ! !!

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Sharon!

One of our guests has a reputation for being late, so I'll start with the Manzanillo and Spanish green olives stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes for the others while we wait for him to arrive. We'll enjoy four other wines throughout dinner (I should have mentioned that to you), so I'll probably provide a tasting portion of the Manzanillo using normal glasses intended for white wine rather than cordial glasses.

Thanks again!

[Plumcrak]

Mike, of the first two images I prefer the second one for the same reason Andrew gave...the richness of the colors. Then, as I scrolled down through the comments I came to the third image. I must say I think that one is dead on. Dynamic and Whimsical hit it on the head.

LOVE IT!!!!

[flashback]

Mike,
I'm part of the club that admires your work but I have to admit I was a bit ambivalent about the first two images. Interesting but it just didn't seem to grab me, speak to me or engage me.
Then you produce this third image and I have no doubt of your genius. This third image is fantastic: it's so much so not staged, it creates a story that one wants to engage. It's perfect in its imperfection. The angle of the cordial within the larger, the colors of the liquid different yet complimentary, the entire composition is just....great.
Put your glasses away, retire your camera, I think you've hit your high water mark (although honestly, I enviously await your next composition. Hope this isn't too much pressure.)

[Shadowman]

Very nice, both pleasing to the eye, but the condensation adds to the image.

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone!

high water mark

Low wine mark, Jack, not a high water mark.

[Bobobird]

Breaking glass, now wasting wine.... The EPA needs to get on you.

That said --- super images. Now that you have the technique down pat, you cannot keep doing this all the time so what next ??

[Mike Buckley]

what next ??

I've got a list of 30 specific images that I want to shoot and many of them are using this style.

Now that you have the technique down pat, you cannot keep doing this all the time

Sort of like nobody wanting to shoot landscapes, street photography or, ahem, birds all of the time? So far I've shot wine bottles, wine glasses, bowls, light bulbs, wine, soap, bubble wrap, ice on branches, dripping liquid, quartz crystal, and bubbles as both realism and abstracts and I've only just begun. The last thing I'm worried about is running out of enjoyable photos to make. If and when I get to that point, I'll deal with it then.

[Wavelength]

I want the first image with more bright colored liquids like blue, green and red ,as 3-in-0ne

[Mike Buckley]

I want the first image with more bright colored liquids like blue, green and red ,as 3-in-0ne

I like the style you describe. You might prefer this one that I made 11 months ago.

[Brownbear]

Hi Mike,

These are truly fabulous! I adore all of these, but my personal preference is for the first for the sheer elegance and beautiful light (something about the black background adds to this for me) and the 3rd composition... I would love to see the something like the 3rd and 1st image combined. Easy for me to say...

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Christina!

I would love to see the something like the 3rd and 1st image combined. Easy for me to say...

It actually is possible to combine the two using just one capture. However, you are right that it is not easy in the sense that doing so would be very time-consuming. The time-consuming part would be making the sherry appear when using the dark background with the same color and vibrancy as it appears when using the bright background.

Notice that the color of the sherry in the first image is not vibrant, which is my primary objection to that image. The sherry is actually acting as a lens that displays the black background material. It's doing that in the image using the white background material, which is exactly the same size and position as the dark black background material. The difference is that the bright background shows the color of the liquid whereas the dark background disguises it.

Alternatively, I could combine two captures, which would actually be less time-consuming. Even so, I like the bright background so much that, for me, it's not worth the time to make such a much more difficult image knowing that I probably wouldn't like it any better and possibly not as much. So, you lose.