Wine: Bright Outline of Three Bottles

[Mike Buckley]

Perhaps my most minimalist image

Note: The image is in full color.

Setup
A background of black velvet (though the color didn't matter; even a white background would have produced the same result) is in front of a larger, circular diffuser. A medium continuous-light lamp behind the diffuser and background is shining toward the subjects and camera. A black card on the right side of the scene prevented light from directly entering the lens, which otherwise was causing flare and reducing contrast. It was not possible to get more than one bottle in focus at a time, so three captures were made, each with one bottle in focus. The three captures were then manually merged.

[Digital]

Mike, very nice photo. I like the "abstractness" of it.


Bruce

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Werner]

Nice

[Manfred M]

Nice example of simplification and abstraction.

[bje07]

Nice example of simplification and abstraction.

+ 1
Jean

[Wavelength]

I know what they are, since you mentioned it; really well done

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

The title of the image at my website is Bright Shoulders, which comes from an idea given to me by a friend when she saw the photo. Though the photo has an abstract characteristic, it works better for me with the title suggesting the realism of the wine theme.

I've been saving a full-page advertisement of a single wine bottle made in a similar style, though probably not a photo, for a couple of years or longer as a reminder to make an image like this. Then a couple nights ago I happened to walk by a pair of wine bottles and noticed their shoulders brightly lit like this by the light in the room. I knew immediately that I had to try making an image with three wine bottles. It took awhile to get the right combination of wine bottles, distance between subjects and light source, distance between subjects and camera, size of the background, exact placement of the light source relative to the background, and focal length of the lens, but it all finally came together as I envisioned it.

[John 2]

Now that's different. I like that.

[ST1]

Well thought out and executed Mike


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bnnrcn]

I like it a lot

[Rainforest]

Took me a minute! I like it too.

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone!

[mugge]

Mike, I like it a lot. Me think you are experimenting here. I wonder where this is going. Keep it up, this is what photography is about.
Cheers Ole

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Ole!

I wonder where this is going.

This is one direction the image took me.

[Rita]

Love this image. If I hadn't read what the subject was I would have been really trying to figure out what it was. The abstract quality appeals to me.

[rpcrowe]

Great capture - IMO - one of your best!

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you also to Ole, Rita and Richard!