Santa, Baby!

[Loose Canon]

Santa made the scene in Missouri!

I got my usual lump of coal. And honestly? I have been somewhat less than a good little boy this year so I had that coming! But I promise to try harder next year!

But…

…the good little girl in this house has been a very, very good girl this year!

Santa brought her a handmade piece of dichroic glass art on Sterling silver.

I was able to pry this piece off her neck long enough for a very (and I mean very) quickie shot!

It is a beautiful piece, lots of detail work, but it really shines when she lights it up!

[Mike Buckley]

I had never heard of dichroic glass, so thanks for introducing it to me!

I really like this and hope your wife does too! You either got very lucky setting up the shot quickly to reveal almost all parts of the sterling silver in bright tones or you're not giving enough credit to your wife for allowing you to work with it longer than your post implies. Either way, the shot works really well.

[FrankMi]

An excellent capture Terry, right down to the detailed reflections and delicate color balance.

[Loose Canon]

Hi Mike!

Sorry I missed the dinner! But at least I got to see the last piece of cake! (yum, Brother)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichroic_glass in case anyone else is wondering.

It looks like the other (heretofore unmentioned) glass artist in the glass studio is ready and needs some shots. I’ve been wondering how I might work with her and shoot her work all along but the blowers have been keeping me occupied. This work is done quite a bit differently and they have a resident artist who is very talented in this field.

Still really tricky stuff to shoot, man.

I shot this with a 100mm macro and shot it enclosed. One light and lots of bounce and flags. Its small size causes every unwanted reflection to be all that much closer together and more of a PITA to separate/control. My hat is doffed to the folks who shoot this stuff (product) so successfully.

Hi Frank,

Thank you sir. Any suggestions on how I could get a little more depth out of this shot?

[FrankMi]

Hi Frank,

Thank you sir. Any suggestions on how I could get a little more depth out of this shot?

Actually, I thought you did quite well with depth by picking up the fine reflection details. Beyond that, I think you would need to try another background to achieve some shadow depth.

This is well outside my knowledge area but what about some soft side light while your wife models the piece? For this image ratio you would only see a small part of her skin but could that add the sense of depth you are looking for?

[Wavelength]

Pretty cool image; loved it

[Loose Canon]

Thank you Nandakumar!

Frank I have tried three different backgrounds. All some form of black. Gray is next. Maybe if I shoot with it elevated off the background and I’m going to try this if I can figure a way to then deal with nice placement of the chain. Another idea I have is possibly hanging it from a wire. Then just cloning the wire.

I also like the idea of shooting it around the neck, but that won’t be in compliance with what is considered to be “best practice” for the type of shot I’m going for. Which, of course, doesn’t mean I can’t do it just for me. I was actually referring to the depth of the piece of glass and not necessarily the entire photo. I apologize for that omission.

Thank you all for taking the time to comment.

[Brownbear]

Beautiful, brilliant image as always... Lump of coal? I'm positive that Santa is just a little late because he is trying to choose just the right gift for someone who shares their knowledge and talent to help others learn.