Amarone old-school wine label

[Mike Buckley]

My guess is that I've had these empty wine bottles about 3 years because the wine probably wasn't released until five years after the grapes were harvested. I kept them because I like the old-school look of the labels and wanted to photograph them.

I'm glad I had two bottles because I discovered that it's not possible to display the entire bottom label in a photo of one bottle. That's because the width of the label is larger than half the circumference of the bottle; when looking straight at the center of the label, it's not possible to see either extreme side.

Amarone is made in northern Italy using a process used nowhere else in the world. The grapes are dried about four months after they are harvested to become somewhat half like raisins before being processed into wine. This produces a very rich wine.

By the way, this is the only capture I made of the scene. I'm reasonably confident that previously I had never made less than five captures to arrive at an acceptable studio shot and I usually have to make at least 10 to 20.

There is a really cool illusion in the photo that I couldn't have planned to happen if my life had depended on it. Hint: You don't even have to display the photo at a larger size to see it.

Setup
The tabletop and background are loosely draped burlap. Black fabric is behind the background to prevent the nearby white wall from showing through the porous texture of the burlap. A medium continuous-light lamp fitted with a diffusion sock to reduce the brightness is positioned near the right front corner of the tabletop. A cream reflector is placed on the left side of the scene to open the shadows and to add a reflection to the bottles.

[Brownbear]

Beautiful image.... I adore the look (light,colours/tones/old style romance) and feel of this image.

As hard as I might try I can't see any optical illusions, just a gorgeous image.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Christina! I'll point out the illusion after awhile if nobody identifies it.

[Mike Buckley]

About the illusion, Christina: Take a close look at the right end of the upper label of the bottle on the left. Notice that it seems as if we are seeing the underside of the label through the glass. Instead, that area is a reflection of the upper label of the bottle on the right.

[Downrigger]

It's a great image and a striking illuison, Mike (I didn't find it on my own, either. I'm fascinated that you knew you were done after a single take. That's impressive.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Mark! My view of making this image in just one capture is that it was extremely lucky, not impressive. I don't have the luxury of using tethered shooting (because my makeshift studio doesn't have the required space), so I never know if an image is right until I walk the memory card from one end of my home to the other end and look at it up close on my computer monitor. As you can imagine, most of my shoots involve a lot of walking back and forth from end to end of my home.

[Shadowman]

I thought the illusion was the formation of letters made from the archway.

[Mike Buckley]

Sorry, John, but I'm not seeing what you're seeing. The photo shown below is a 100% view.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice image Mike. I love the color of the bottles and the drawing-like labels. I fing the wine making process very interesting. The illusion looks so natural that I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't explained

[Shadowman]

Sorry, John, but I'm not seeing what you're seeing. The photo shown below is a 100% view.

Mike,

It's the area to the right of where you cropped, starting with the tower.

[Mike Buckley]

I'm still not seeing anything, John.

[Shadowman]

I'm still not seeing anything, John.

It takes away from the illusion when viewed this close, but starting with the doorway-barrel-window it forms the letter "c" and reading across it looks like the word "crop". I was viewing with one eye closed.

[Mike Buckley]

I was viewing with one eye closed.

Ahhhhhh, that explains everything! I knew there was something wrong about the method I was using to view photos.

[Brownbear]

Thank you for pointing out the illusion, and also for the explanation. Indeed I thought it was the underside of the label seen through the glass and I never would've guessed that it was a reflection.

About the illusion, Christina: Take a close look at the right end of the upper label of the bottle on the left. Notice that it seems as if we are seeing the underside of the label through the glass. Instead, that area is a reflection of the upper label of the bottle on the right.

[Brownbear]

Thank you for pointing out the illusion, and also for the explanation. Indeed I thought it was the underside of the label seen through the glass. I never would've guessed that it was a reflection.

About the illusion, Christina: Take a close look at the right end of the upper label of the bottle on the left. Notice that it seems as if we are seeing the underside of the label through the glass. Instead, that area is a reflection of the upper label of the bottle on the right.