Glass object close up

[Mike Buckley]

This is the same glass object displayed in my two earlier threads. This time I photographed it at a completely different angle and without its stand.

Setup
The background is translucent vellum. A speedlight laid down on the tabletop on the left and behind the subject is shining on the background. The background reflected the light back through the subject and toward the camera.

[purplehaze]

I can't help wondering whether I might not like this more in colour. Love how you have brought out the texture in the glass, though.

[bnnrcn]

I agree with Janis Mike. With one of your colorful BG and lighting set ups , the image might look super

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Janis and Binnur!

The reason I made the image in black-and-white is because that is how I conceived it. I would have to be in a completely different mind set to think of it in color. I can all but guarantee you that you would not like this particular scene presented in color, but of course I could dramatically change the scene by using a different background and/or by lighting the scene completely differently.

I once read a long time ago that nobody can be a really great photographer when working with both monochrome and color images; to be really great a photographer has to pick one or the other. Fortunately, I'm not saddled with having to be really great, so I'll continue doing both kinds of photography. Regardless, I disagree with the idea that a photographer can't be great at both.

[Minerva]

Very creative and nicely textured. Well done Mike.

[purplehaze]

Point taken about the original conception, Mike, and no criticism of your skill in b&w intended. I have been trying to figure out why, for me, the series of three works great in mono and this one less well and I think it has something to do with the negative space. I think maybe, for me, the negative space actively contributes to the composition and feel of each of the three in the series, whereas, in this one, it is just there. I might not feel that way, had I not seen the others; I don't know.

[Mike Buckley]

Fascinating, Janis! For me, the negative space in all four images plays an equally active role, though a very different role of course.

Is it possible that this image simply works less well for you and that it doesn't have anything to do with it being a monochrome? If so, that would be perfectly understandable to me.

[Mike Buckley]

A belated thank you to Carol!

[purplehaze]

Fascinating, Janis! For me, the negative space in all four images plays an equally active role, though a very different role of course.

Is it possible that this image simply works less well for you and that it doesn't have anything to do with it being a monochrome? If so, that would be perfectly understandable to me.

No, I actually think I might love it in colour, where the background was a complementary of the glass. But maybe the glass has no real colour of its own. Or the colour mixing in the glass due to the background lighting might obscure the texture. Darn you, you're making my think this lazy Sunday afternoon!


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[Mike Buckley]

The glass is fairly dark green under normal indoor light. Now that it has been a few days since I made the image, I can gradually begin to think about how to photograph it in color. Maybe someday...

[FootLoose]

I think this image demonstrates the importance of the relationship between the subject and the frame. If you were to crop an inch or so from the bottom - at about the point were the curve of the bottle (right of frame) bends back towards the left - it would completely change the feeling of this image. That is a rather sensuous curve.

While Mike has allowed the object to dominate the frame, the space around it is just as important to the overall perception of the image.

[Mike Buckley]

If you were to crop an inch or so from the bottom - at about the point were the curve of the bottle (right of frame) bends back towards the left - it would completely change the feeling of this image.

I agree, Greg. Your excellent point is an example of the personal decisions we make about photography that have more to do with how we envision the image than whether a particular decision is right or wrong.