Sangria

[Mike Buckley]

I spent several days trying to design a scene I had in mind (designing isn't my strength) to showcase a glass of sangria in the context of a table setting with condensation on the outside of the glass and a drip of water down the side of the glass. Everything worked fine except that I wasn't thrilled with the design.

So, I took the easy way out and designed the shot shown below in a classic overhead style requiring only a short while to get it the way I imagined it.

Setup
The camera is held above the scene on a boom. The imitation sangria is made of 2/3 pinot noir and 1/3 water to achieve the same color as if I had made real sangria of 2/3 pinot noir and 1/3 white wine. The imitation ice cubes are acrylic. The tabletop is white material. A small continuous-light lamp on the right side and a medium continuous-light lamp on the left side are shining toward the subject. The image is composed exactly as in the camera except that I cropped on the right side to eliminate most of the negative space created by the sensor's aspect ratio.

Imitation Condensation
I applied surf wax to the outside of the glass, heated it with a hair dryer, smeared it as evenly as possible with my hand and heated it again to produce an even, transparent surface. I sprayed a mixture of equal parts of water and clear Karo syrup on the wax, holding the atomizer away from the glass to create small droplets and closer to the glass to create larger droplets. This photo was captured about seven hours after I created the imitation condensation; it really lasts a long time.

[Helen Kolb]

No wonder your images are so good Mike - lots of work and thought go into them. Just visited your website....in awe! Helen

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[Wandjina]

Wow! .. great shot Mike. You are a meticulous fellow.
I would have probably just drunk the pinot noir and gone off and photographed something simpler.

[Rebel]

Great shot Mike, makes me want to drink some sangria... and I don't even like it!

[GBO25]

Yep, I like it. The colours and details are just great. But as I look at it I wonder what a wider angle shot would look like?

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Mike,

As others; I am in awe of your attention to detail - as such, you may not agree with my thoughts here, since you may have been deliberately arranged it this way.

I like the position of the glass within the frame, the only thing that attracts my eyes is the most submerged lemon slice, where its rind forms a dark line that exits frame top center. I think I would have preferred this to be completely contained within the frame, as the lower piece is.

I should of course recognise that in other respects, it is a masterpiece (as usual).

HTH, Dave

[chauncey]

seven hours after I created the imitation condensation

I interpret that to mean that you spent seven hours working on design/lighting/whatnot.
Spending that amount of time in PP isn't that unusual for me but, for prep work...
the patience of Job comes to mind.

The application of wax to the glass...what does that accomplish?

Regardless it paid off!

[Manfred M]

Another excellent image, Mike. I probably would have just gone out and picked up a bottle of real Sangria though.

Thank you for the thorough explanation. I've got to get back to doing some product type shots and I have plans for a few. Hopefully I'll have time after we get back from our fall leaf tour. The period when the leaves are down and before the snow begins is usually not great for outdoor photography.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

Martin: You mentioned that you would have photographed something simpler. Aside from preparing the imitation condensation, I doubt that I spent 15 minutes setting up this shot and half of that was spent properly positioning the camera on the boom, which is a bit tricky for a klutz like me. I did spend a couple hours preparing the imitation condensation but that was only because I tried various techniques before arriving at the final result through trial and error. Now that I know the method that works best for me, I could probably make it happen in 10 minutes.

Graham: You wondered what a wider angle shot would look like. That could be equally effective also and if you went super wide could include a dramatic shadow of the glass. That's the kind of choice that is mostly a matter of personal preference and can even be simply a matter of whatever mood the photographer is in at the time. I could easily imagine making a series of photos of sangria from above, each being very different from the other.

Dave: The submerged slice of fruit is a lime, not a lemon. Ha! Very much like my response to Graham, the choice you would make about not anchoring the lime to the frame would also work well. However, maintaining the framing of the glass would have meant removing the lime and re-positioning it and coming up with an overall composition that presents an appealing relationship between the ice, fruit, wine, and glass. I would certainly have gone to that effort if I hadn't liked the current composition. My decision to anchor that one piece of fruit to the frame was for the same reason that I would anchor part of a plant presented on a black background to the frame; I saw this image as a frame within a frame (the glass and sangria being framed on the outside and the collection of fruit and ice being framed on the inside) and I wanted something to be anchored to each frame.

Chauncey: The seven hours I spent in between making the imitation condensation and capturing this image were spent making the final touches on photographing and post-processing another image I ended up not being happy with, taking a shower, having a long, enjoyable conversation with my wife, and cooking and eating dinner. I know you're absolutely thrilled to know those details.

You asked about the purpose of the wax. This is the first time I have made imitation condensation, so I'm not positive that I understand its purpose. I think the first reason has to do with when the glass gets cold enough for real condensation to form. The outside surface takes on a certain dull look that is replicated by using wax, dulling spray or matte spray. (Robbie used dulling spray when he made this wonderful image of the Golden Ale.) I think that dull look is more important when photographing the outside of the glass rather than the inside as in my photo. When practicing the technique of spraying the droplets of imitation condensation, I found that the second reason for using either the wax or spray is that the droplets stick to the wax surface better than when the glass has no wax surface. I assume the same is true when using a sprayed surface but I never got that far with the spray.

By the way, I also learned that the imitation condensation would probably last forever. Keep in mind that my droplets are a mixture of equal parts of water and clear Karo syrup. I realized late last night that the water had evaporated and that the syrup had hardened, leaving the imitation condensation there to stay until I intentionally remove it.

Manfred: I only used 3 ounces of pinot noir and didn't want to buy an entire bottle of sangria just to make the photo. I look forward to your product shots!

[Barbara Ponder]

So much work and thought that I almost hesitate to comment. To me the ice looks too metallic, almost mirror like and the top lemon slice looks almost frozen, I would agree with the rind of the the fruit slice nearest the center being dark and drawing attention . The condensation looks fantastic and very realistic.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for such attention to detail in your comments, Barbara!

To me the ice looks too metallic, almost mirror like

One thing I have noticed about my own reaction to the details of subjects when doing this kind of photography is that I become aware of the various characteristics of the subjects in ways I had never noticed when using them in everyday life. As an example, transparent ice with a smooth surface such as this acrylic ice indeed has properties very similar to a mirror.

[bnnrcn]

I respect your preperation and your effort to create this excellent image Mike

[IzzieK]

Another good one, Mike...I admire your patience, something I regret I do not have...

[John 2]

The metallic look of the ice struck me as well Mike but the fact that it made me thirsty says it all. Good work - as always.

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone!