This time I broke an unopened wine bottle!

[Mike Buckley]

Sometimes ironies are the best parts of life. My wife suggested that I move the informal centerpiece of three unopened wine bottles laying on their side. That's because she understandably feared our cleaning service wouldn't realize what was holding them in place, would try to move one and cause an accident. So I temporarily stood the three bottles upright on our kitchen counter. Later that night after the service had safely moved them to clean the counter top, I accidentally knocked one onto the floor.

The bottle shown below is pictured here before it was broken. The tabletop and background are a single, heavy sheet of silver semi-glossy material.

Photo 1: Two medium continuous-light lamps with diffuser socks attached were used -- one on the right side flagged and pointing down; the other immediately above and barely to the right of the camera to light the front label.

Photo 2: Same as Photo 1 except one of the medium lamps was moved from the right side to the right rear area and a small continuous-light lamp was added on the left to brighten that side so it would be balanced with the other side. This version has some banding that I don't like.

[Stagecoach]

I like it Mike.

A question, on the part of the bottle that is standing vertically would it be an advantage to light the broken edge/face of the glass slightly more. I suspect something that would be extremely difficult to achieve.

[pnodrog]

What a disaster.

Did you wring the sponge out via a filter into a wine glass?

[Shadowman]

I was expecting some of the spillage to be used in the composition. Nicely captured.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, guys!

We soaked up the wine using a large bath towel, which we then put in the trash. Fortunately, the wine is neither expensive nor of exceptional quality.

Grahame: There are a million ways to light the scene and one way would be to do as you suggest. Given the limitations of my makeshift studio, I would have had to capture a second image and merge the two but that's not difficult to do.

[marlunn]

hmm, alcohol abuse, tsk tsk, but a masterful recovery with a splendid photograph to show the 'benefit' of a nasty slip 'tween glass and lip

[Kaye Leggett]

At least an opportunity came out of the waste !! Lovely photo, as ever

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Kaye and Mark!

I added a second photo to the first post in the thread because I was in a mood to make a photo of essentially the same composition though using a different lighting setup that creates a very different mood, displays the green color of the glass far more, displays the rear label and punt (the round thing sticking up in the bottom of the bottle), and displays improved separation between the two large pieces of glass. Unfortunately, it also displays some banding.