Single Barrel

[Loose Canon]

The set is still up and the bottle is still full if I need to reshoot! I have chilled the studio to below freezing so the snow doesn’t melt! I’m considering doing just that and tossing around a couple of different techniques.

In fact it may stay up until spring and I’ll do another seasonal shot!

Fortunately I know of a good recipe for emulating amber liquor in case we go into even more extra winter innings and I have to use this bottle for survival purposes!

All comments are always welcome!

[Mike Buckley]

Great lighting! I'm just corny enough that I really like the two star bursts.

I've read about clear ice. How did you make yours?

I love the blue cast in the snow. Can you bring out more detail in the white areas of it?

Come on over to my makeshift studio. Last week it never got above 40 degrees in it and that was with the heat on. There's no reason we have to turn the heat on.

[IzzieK]

Terry...nothing wrong with the shot...but just a preference, the bottle being a taller object than the glass I would put the bottle at the left side instead of the right.

When it comes to wine and bottle, trust Mike.

[Shadowman]

Nice.

[Mike Buckley]

Another compositional idea (that would be very time-consuming) is to make a small Santa hat for use on the top of the bottle.

the bottle being a taller object than the glass I would put the bottle at the left side

Interesting. I have never given any thought about whether the composition would be better with the tall subject on the left or the right.

[Kaye Leggett]

Interesting. I have never given any thought about whether the composition would be better with the tall subject on the left or the right.

Isn't the preference to do with how we were taught to read, either right to left or right to left ?

[Kaye Leggett]

Would the use of rock salt save you from being cold - although I haven't tried it, maybe it would have the same effect ?

Great composition - the size of the glass is perfect for the size of bottle and the levels in the bottle and glass too.

[Loose Canon]

Great lighting! I'm just corny enough that I really like the two star bursts.

I've read about clear ice. How did you make yours?

I love the blue cast in the snow. Can you bring out more detail in the white areas of it?

Come on over to my makeshift studio. Last week it never got above 40 degrees in it and that was with the heat on. There's no reason we have to turn the heat on.

Thanks Mike!

I didn’t make the ice this time. I purchased it. They are acrylic props and very nice to work with. As long as I am fessing up, the liquid in the glass is not whiskey. It is a mixture of soy sauce and water!

Another fun fact? The snow is a super absorbent polymer similar to that found in baby diapers. Just add water and instant snow! Its pretty fun stuff! (Insert humorous comment about yellow snow here!)

Mike, lately I’ve gotten into a bad habit of not leaving myself enough wiggle room in my RAW conversion. I push pretty hard in post after moving into Photoshop and sometimes it gets away from me. In this case I lost the brightest part of the snow as you mentioned. I could get it back by reprocessing the entire shot. I thought I could get away with letting it ride this time, but I really do need to start watching myself a little closer with some of these details!

As long as you are mentioning it Mike I wonder why you didn’t call me on not having a highlight on the right side of the glass? Another thing I thought I might get away with but now I think differently. I think I’ll put one on it today and see how that goes.

The corny sparkles occurred naturally at those two spots. I shot this at f/20 just to see if I could coax those sparkles from the glass. But I did give them a little help in post.

Terry...nothing wrong with the shot...but just a preference, the bottle being a taller object than the glass I would put the bottle at the left side instead of the right.

When it comes to wine and bottle, trust Mike.

Izzie, funny you should mention that. I feel more comfortable with the composition in this position. The other way you mentioned looks weird to me and I have no idea why that is? I shot a vodka bottle and two handmade glasses a while back in the composition you suggested and didn’t get that feeling at all! I must wake up in a new world every day!

When it comes to wine and bottle Izzie I trust Mike, but I haven’t seen any of his whiskey work!

Nice

Thank you John.

Would the use of rock salt save you from being cold - although I haven't tried it, maybe it would have the same effect?

Great composition - the size of the glass is perfect for the size of bottle and the levels in the bottle and glass too.

Thank you Kaye. I fessed to what I used for snow above!

This is a nine shot comp (two for the background) and I used six lights for it. I don’t have six lights so I had to use three lights twice! I took a coffee break from shooting and it occurred to me that I am using 6x640Ws lights to light up a little bottle that I can see perfectly well without any extra lights at all! Maybe I need to rethink this whole thing!

[Mike Buckley]

Terry,

Please point us to the source of your acrylic ice cubes and instant snow. They deserve a permanent place in the declining size of the storage area of my makeshift studio.

I didn't mention the right side of your glass because I instantly see total separation from the background. That bright line defining the edge of the glass is small, but that happens. (It also happened in parts of the rear rim of the glass and understandably so.) If you used the lighting setup to generate the bright edges that I regularly use, that setup will always generate more noticeable edges closer to the right and left sides of the frame than in the center.

(Insert humorous comment about yellow snow here!)

TMI

When it comes to wine and bottle Izzie I trust Mike, but I haven’t seen any of his whiskey work!

There's a reason you haven't seen it: I haven't tried it. Does this photo of an empty, nearly opaque gin bottle suffice? Nah, probably not.

Maybe I need to rethink this whole thing!

It already takes long enough to think this stuff up. No need to take even more time rethinking it and changing the setup.

[shreds]

I am surprised that the whisky manages to stay in the glass long enough to be able to shoot it.

It wouldn't in these parts!

[Mike Buckley]

I am surprised that the whisky manages to stay in the glass long enough to be able to shoot it.

You won't be surprised in the slightest once you see Terry's post explaining the contents of said whiskey. Not everything is as it appears.

[shreds]

I did know a guy who years ago used cold tea to replicate whisky for photographs and I have to say you would not have known until you tasted it.

I have a whole variety of colours of the real stuff in the cupboard, depending on age and storage techniques. Still working my way through the Scottish variants, whilst now also on English and Welsh (The latter being particularly interesting, although it said that due to the different climates further south, the ageing process is also somewhat different. I suppose if Donald et al, become independent, then producing it without the border tariffs might prove to be worthwhile).

Not moved onto the Japanese varieties although some are said to be pretty special.

Then perhaps I can look at photographing the stuff.

[dem]

Izzie, funny you should mention that. I feel more comfortable with the composition in this position.

I think I might know the answer to why the bottle feels right when it is on the right.

If you are right-handed, this is where you put the bottle down after filling the glass.

It feels more "inviting" to refill the glass when the bottle is on the right. Just pick it up

[Loose Canon]

Hi Ian!

I think you have the right idea. Photographing whiskey is not something you just want to jump right into! “Serious contemplation” (and lots of it) is an absolute must!

I think you might be onto something there dem! And I am right handed!

[Brownbear]

Very nice... Almost enough to make me want to try a sip of whiskey (not very likely)... I love the star bursts, rich colour and clarity, and especially the light and colour on the right hand side of the bottle and the Jack Daniel engraving.

I always enjoy reading your posts, ie; thoroughly entertaining...

[Loose Canon]

Wow Christina! Seriously? You get it! Thank you for saying.

That it would [almost] make you try a sip of the whiskey even though you wouldn’t normally means that the shot is a successful product shot! That’s what these are all about!

The idea (which I haven’t mentioned yet) is to play the warm amber color of the product/reflections against a cold environment. I even brought the amber whiskey colors into the rough-cut cedar wood surface I shot it on in an attempt to emphasize said.

Every detail of the bottle/beautiful wood stopper/labels had to be brought out and the raised glass “Jack Daniel” signature lettering on the bottle is as important (if not more so) as lighting the label. It needed the highlights/shadows to make it pop and that is a function of the lighting.

You have a good eye and a good feel for this Christina. Thank you for saying and please let me know if you find something I could do differently.

[Mike Buckley]

I always enjoy reading your posts, ie; thoroughly entertaining...

Uh oh. There's no stopping him now.

[FrankMi]

I am really impressed with this image terry, and more so when I read about the thought and planning you put into its creation. A fantastically well executed still life.

[Brownbear]

Hi Terry,

My pleasure. The only thing I can think of is that I think real snow would be extra special, ie real and magical, albeit I imagine that would be very difficult to do. I can't advise in any more detail. The only experience I have in this sort of shot is from analyzing Mike's shots, so I leave that to Mike.

Wow Christina! Seriously? You get it! Thank you for saying.

That it would [almost] make you try a sip of the whiskey even though you wouldn’t normally means that the shot is a successful product shot! That’s what these are all about!

The idea (which I haven’t mentioned yet) is to play the warm amber color of the product/reflections against a cold environment. I even brought the amber whiskey colors into the rough-cut cedar wood surface I shot it on in an attempt to emphasize said.

Every detail of the bottle/beautiful wood stopper/labels had to be brought out and the raised glass “Jack Daniel” signature lettering on the bottle is as important (if not more so) as lighting the label. It needed the highlights/shadows to make it pop and that is a function of the lighting.

You have a good eye and a good feel for this Christina. Thank you for saying and please let me know if you find something I could do differently.

[Masq]

Nice picture! But i think, too much contrast