Wine bottle stoppers

[Mike Buckley]

My wife began the conversation with "I can't find any of our bottle stoppers." I responded silently, apparently with a guilty look on my face. "Oh. You've been photographing them."

Setup
Two medium continuous-light lamps are on the left and right sides just slightly above and in front. A small continuous-light lamp with a diffusion sock is above and on the right side to create a direct reflection in the top of the center stopper. A reflector was handheld at a 45-degree angle vertically above and in front to open up some shadows. The background is white foam core lit from below by a speed light to create a slight vignette. Made in two shots because I didn't have enough open bottles of the same brand to accommodate all of the stoppers.

[Rebel]

This is an awesome shot, I think it would look great in a wine bar or restaurant.

[Donald]

That is, I think, a tremendous image. A real attention-grabber. It's sort of image that could hugely popular as a poster. You have got yourself a total winner there, Mike.

[Shadowman]

Nice concept and capture.

[Stagecoach]

Excellent Mike, those reflections are perfect.

You missed one dust bunny, just above second bottle from the left

[bnnrcn]

WOW! Incredible !

[TheBigE]

Wow, very cool shot...it certainly could stand to be behind a wine bar on the wall well done.

The only one thing that I saw for me was the second wine stopper from left....the others are large and relatively detailed, but the second one from the left is flat and leaves a bit of grey space. I wonder how the impact would change if there was a bit more detailed stopper on the bottle .

Either way, fantastic.

PS - I guess with all the wine stoppers in the studio the only choice is for your wife and you to finish the opened wine bottle....

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

You would think that I had this concept on my shot list but I actually never got the idea until a few days ago when I noticed the various shapes of the stoppers. Four of them were given to us by friends over the years.

Thanks for pointing out the dust bunny, Grahame. I'm pretty sure it's a flaw in the background but I'll check my sensor to be sure. I reviewed the entire image at 100% looking for flaws of all kinds and find it unimaginable that I could have missed that one.

Erik made the point that the shape of the second stopper from the left isn't as interesting as the others. I agree and like this concept so much that I will purchase a more interesting stopper today so I can photograph it while the setup is still in place. I found a suitable replacement when looking at nearly 500 wine accessories online just now at a local big box wine store. By the way, that second stopper in the photo actually came with the bottle; it's the closure that was used in lieu of a cork.

Once I got the idea to make this photo, I dreaded making it happen and had to wait until I was in the kind of mood that would make the challenge enjoyable. That's because the many rounded surfaces of glossy and semi-glossy material had the potential to be a lighting nightmare. As an example, notice the middle stopper. The part that acts as a closure is like chrome and was lit by three light sources. The parts like chrome that are bright in the photo appear that way because at least one of the light sources is within the family of angles. The parts that are dark appear that way despite that the material is like chrome because none of those three light sources are within the family of angles. Those dark areas make for a very nice silhouette against the background. I was very lucky to make the various bright and dark areas throughout the image happen relatively quickly and easily. Those details are probably boring to most people but they're fascinating to me!

[Brownbear]

Indeed a great image, very unique. Looking forward to viewing more of these.

Just FYI it looks like a dust spot to me.

[John 2]

Absolutely love that Mike. A nice idea but it is your attention to detail that produces the result. Excellent work.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Christina!

Just FYI it looks like a dust spot to me.

The two dust spots right next to each other on my monitor are far worse.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, John! Apologies that I accidentally overlooked your post earlier.

I occasionally mention that the design of a scene is the part of studio photography that I struggle with the most. As an example, I went to the store today and bought a stopper that has lots of interest and I thought would be ideal for the scene. I realized that it isn't glossy like all of the other stoppers but I didn't think that would matter. As it turns out, it does matter.

So, I am stopping with the current composition of this scene and moving on to whatever my next photo will be. The second stopper on the left isn't quite as interesting as the others, as Erik and I have already noted. However, its slightly rounded flat top complements the shape of the fourth one and its shiny surface is consistent with all of the other stoppers and the foil on the bottles. That makes it a rather good fit, perhaps better than I initially thought now that I have tried a replacement that turns out not to work nearly as well.

Just FYI it looks like a dust spot to me.

It wasn't a dust bunny; my sensor is perfectly clean. Too bad we didn't bet.

[Brownbear]

It wasn't a dust bunny; my sensor is perfectly clean. Too bad we didn't bet.

It could be a real life dust bunny floating through the air, or perhaps a stray droplet of wine (that particular bottle is missing a stopper)... Anyhow I've become accustomed to it.

I'm a wise woman and know better than to make a bet with you. And I wish my camera sensor was perfectly clean as I'm going to have to give it up to the shop, soon.

Anyhow once again, excellent image! Brings to mind a line of soldiers resplendent in armour on the front line of the battle field.

[Mike Buckley]

(that particular bottle is missing a stopper)

Nope. The stopper on that bottle is a lot smaller than the other stoppers. If I had known you don't see it, I would have been willing to wager a lot more money on that bet.

[Brownbear]

I didn't see it but indeed I see it now. It's a wee one. I'm not familiar with stoppers, and thank goodness I didn't make a bet. It seems that the odds are not in my favour, today.

Nope. The stopper on that bottle is a lot smaller than the other stoppers. If I had known you don't see it, I would have been willing to wager a lot more money on that bet.