Wine: I finally did it! Hooray!

[Mike Buckley]

When I constructed my makeshift studio a couple years ago, my goal was to combine my photography and wine hobbies. Photographing wine means photographing glass because, of course, wine is stored in glass bottles and served in glasses. So I spent the bulk of my time in the studio mastering the photography of clear glass and loving every minute of it. A few months ago I took the next step and began photographing various wines in their bottles and glasses.

I decided this week that I was finally ready for the very first time to photograph wine being poured into a glass. Indeed, when I first began this journey a couple years ago, my good friend Tom challenged me to make that kind of photo.

The photo shown below is not only my first such photo, it only took one try. That's despite that both of my hands were needed to make the shot: While I poured the wine using my right hand, my left hand operated the remote control (to release the shutter and fire the flash) and also held the continuous lamp that lit only the bottle. The fact that the timing required no other attempts was nothing other than dumb luck...and I'll take every bit of it!

I had two specific goals in mind when I made this shot: Unlike most photos of wine being poured into a glass, I wanted the glass to be standing straight up rather than at a 45-degree angle. That's because in decades of drinking wine, I have seen only one person pour wine into a glass at a 45-degree angle and that was just two weeks ago. Similarly, unlike most photos that show the wine splashing out of the glass in a very dramatic fashion, I have never seen anyone pour wine that way. (If they did, their cleaning bill would be astronomical.)

In summary, I chose to make a photo that perhaps a wine lover would enjoy because the wine is being poured the way a wine lover would almost always pour it -- carefully, while enjoying the sound of the gurgle and the sight of the gentle bubbles in the glass.

The wine is Albrecht 2012 "Traditional" pinot gris made in Alsace, France. Alsatian white wine is known for its flavors of minerals and sometimes spices and this wine is no exception. It's perfect with mildly spicy light meats.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Mike,i am not a wine drinker, but that does not stop me enjoying your image,congrats and well done!

David

[Donald]

In summary, I chose to make a photo that perhaps a wine lover would enjoy

They do! Or at least this one does.

Excellent image, Mike. Beautifully set up, composed and lit. The wine looks fresh and with some body. I think my best compliment is to say that as I look at this picture, I can taste the wine.

[teokf]

beautifully done. Love it!

[RichardTaylor]

That's a super start.

[Stagecoach]

Superbly done Mike, it's made me thirsty

Grahame

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, guys! Much appreciated!

[ClaudioG]

Hi Mike, i dont usually comment on your glass and wine images but believe, i am always fascinated by how much effort u put in and it definitely shows in your images. Please not i am no pro at this kind of photography but i can stand toe to toe with the best of em when it comes to drinking red wine , the only thing, and maybe im wrong here, the straight glass, im struggling to identify which is the front part and the back part of the rim. Is that not maybe why they photograph at 45 degree. I do know which way it is, its just my eyes seem to keep going back to check?
Aside from that i really likes!!!

[Shadowman]

Nice image.

[gregj1763]

Congratulations Mike. The colours, tones and lighting are superb.
I would expect Alsatian to be contacting you soon to ask for your image to be in their next promotional magazine.

[AndrewMcD]

At the risk of paraphrasing cliches I think your "dumb luck" is a product of your preparation and knowing what you want. Fascinating and perfectly presented as usual. I too did note the ambiguity of the rim, is it this way or is it that? So I just jumped back to the top of the page and looked at it again. When I focus on the stream of wine the orientation of the glass is obvious but if my eyes roam the tilt of the rim shifts.


Andrew

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone!

Andrew is correct that the wine being poured provides the perspective about which rim is in the front and which one is in the rear. Yet my eye also jumps back and forth about that if I don't concentrate on where the stream of liquid meets the two rims. Some of us discussed the issue in this thread. Later today I'll try making the front rim darker in this image with the poured wine to see if that somehow solves the problem.

I also wonder if shooting the image at a perspective that shows the top surface of the wine in the glass from above would have provided helpful information to the mind's eye.

Having said all that, Light: Science & Magic is considered the bible of understanding light and all of the images of clear glass vessels of all types in that book pose the problem we're discussing. For me, when there is no information in the image indicating which rim is in the front, it doesn't matter that we don't know that or even if our mind's eye thinks incorrectly about that as in the case of the cracked glass.

[Kaye Leggett]

The wine looks fresh and with some body. I think my best compliment is to say that as I look at this picture, I can taste the wine.

me too

[bnnrcn]

After seeing the image I would really like to have a glass of cold white wine,very nice and tempting image

[Loose Canon]

Congratulations Mike! Awesome job.

Guess you better find you one of those Big Red Tubs now! Liquid photography like this can become a habit! Makeshift Studios, Inc. might be in for a tsunami!

As far as I can tell, there is enough information in this shot to tell which rim is which. One rim is hidden where the stream of liquid passes it.

I guess you could always shoot from a PoV that converges both rims into one.

By the way? I could taste the wine too! Except it tasted like vodka! I guess it turned!

[Mike Buckley]

Many thanks, folks!

Makeshift Studios, Inc. might be in for a tsunami!

You crack me up! You will surely be very disappointed to learn that I did nothing to protect from accidental spillage. I simply placed the wine glass on my normal tabletop and poured the wine into it. Didn't spill a single drop!

I always try to photograph clear glasses shooting with a perspective that displays both rims. Otherwise, there would be so little information that conveys the three-dimensional shape of the glass. I suppose it might have worked almost as well to allow both rims to converge if the front and rear edges of the wine in the bowl didn't also converge.

[Brownbear]

Congratulations! Terrific image! I absolutely love the stream of wine and the bubbles!

[Manfred M]

Nice shot Mike and a very interesting optical illusion you have created with this shot.

Unless you carefully look at where the wine passes the edge of the glass, one can't really tell if the camera is shooting from below the glass or above the glass. Really interesting that way, and I suspect the shadowless lighting is how this effect is created.

And of course, I'm sure that the wine in the glass met with a happy end (for you)...

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Christina and Manfred.

About the front and rear rims of the glass, I wonder if that situation would be more obvious if I had included the horizon in the image. I really don't know.

And of course, I'm sure that the wine in the glass met with a happy end (for you)...

I opened the bottle to make this photograph. Before pouring the glass of wine back into the bottle, I confess to enjoying two sips in celebration of my first photo of wine being poured. Fortunately, the cold weather made my makeshift studio the perfect temperature for serving slightly chilled white wine.

[Mike Buckley]

This is the revised photo with the front rim darkened a bit. If I darken it any more than this, it looks really weird. I'm not sure that the darkened rim helps the eye automatically see that it's the front rim, but it doesn't affect anything adversely for me.