CH45: Dry martini (#2)

[Mitchell]

Thank you all for the suggestions. This idea just will not leave me alone. This is as dry as a martini gets! Any thoughts?

http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/photos/32405315-M.jpg

[Higgmeister]

Now that's dry. Was it good:booze?

Better than the first with nice detail in the wood and a more overall pleasing shot. The glass is dry as well as the olives, but where's the martini? The highlights are a bit harsh, but challenge worthy.

Good shot,
Chris

[douglas]

Nice composition, well done, definately challenge worthy.

[tlittleton]

Damn! I was thinking about doing something like this...

[Mitchell]

You snooze, you lose around here!:rofl

Give it a shot. I would love to see what you could do with this idea. I've never realized how difficult it is to take pictures of glass.

Damn! I was thinking about doing something like this...

[Higgmeister]

Hi Mitchell,
Yes, glass can be quite the bugger to shoot. It has a tendency to catch light from all sources as well as reflect them around on multiple surfaces. Controlling light is very critical with glass. One possibility is to make a light tent (or buy one) which gives a much more even lighting if that's what you are after. I spent less than US$30 on this light tent. It's 18" square and made out of a bed sheet and PVC (sprinlker) pipe. It collapses into a small pile of tubes when not in use. I use a variety of lighting, but her you can see two desk lamps with 60w bulbs. The exposures are reasonbly long, but I shoot still lifes with a tripod.
http://www.pbase.com/higgmeister/image/41941863.jpg

The results of using a light tent with glass:
http://www.pbase.com/higgmeister/image/43340062.jpg
Sony DSC-V3, 0.62s f/5.6 at 16.5mm iso100

Just letting you know some inexpensive options,
Chris

[ginger_55]

I thought of a dry martini right off. I think the idea is good, the glass looks dirty to me. Also, I am not sure it is a martini w/o liquid, I don't drink much and never martinis, but my parents did..............theirs usually had liquid in the glass for a bit. Also the glass really does bother me, putting liquid in it might help.

I would play with it, the idea "belongs" to you now.

ginger

[Mitchell]

I have a strange sense of humor with this one. I initially tried to make a "dry martini" picture with just a drop of vermouth. Too challenging for me to photograph, and nobody "got" what I was trying to convey.

This one is a "dry martini" because there is no liquid in the martini glass.

Yes, I know I'm strange.:dunno

Thanks for looking, Ginger.

I thought of a dry martini right off. I think the idea is good, the glass looks dirty to me. Also, I am not sure it is a martini w/o liquid, I don't drink much and never martinis, but my parents did..............theirs usually had liquid in the glass for a bit. Also the glass really does bother me, putting liquid in it might help.

I would play with it, the idea "belongs" to you now.

ginger

[Mitchell]

All I can say is, WOW. I've been impressed with you photos before, and now I'm impressed with your ingenuity. That picture is beautifully illuminated. Thanks for sharing your technique.

Hi Mitchell,
Yes, glass can be quite the bugger to shoot. It has a tendency to catch light from all sources as well as reflect them around on multiple surfaces. Controlling light is very critical with glass. One possibility is to make a light tent (or buy one) which gives a much more even lighting if that's what you are after. I spent less than US$30 on this light tent. It's 18" square and made out of a bed sheet and PVC (sprinlker) pipe. It collapses into a small pile of tubes when not in use. I use a variety of lighting, but her you can see two desk lamps with 60w bulbs. The exposures are reasonbly long, but I shoot still lifes with a tripod.


The results of using a light tent with glass:

Sony DSC-V3, 0.62s f/5.6 at 16.5mm iso100

Just letting you know some inexpensive options,
Chris

[Higgmeister]

Glad you could get something from the technique. I've fought furiously with glass in the past. The other option is wait till night time and use low, soft lighting. All other light sources need to be off. You'll have to use a tripod because the exposure may be a few seconds, but it does help take down the harsh lighting on glass. Glass is definitely a tough subject.

Good Luck and thanks for the comments,
Chris

[Dee]

Glad you could get something from the technique. I've fought furiously with glass in the past. The other option is wait till night time and use low, soft lighting. All other light sources need to be off. You'll have to use a tripod because the exposure may be a few seconds, but it does help take down the harsh lighting on glass. Glass is definitely a tough subject.

Good Luck and thanks for the comments,
Chris

for my "light tent" with white ripstop nylon. I found an excellent tutorial online about shooting glass. For high key photos they use black pieces of cardboard to reflect on the edge of the glass adding definition, then they photoshop the black cardboard out of the pictures.

Adding a light over the top of the light tent gives some pretty good results too.

[Sandy]

The dry martini is a great idea, nice composition with the olives. I prefer apple. Thanks for the tip on shooting glass.