A camera, a bottle, a cooler, a flash, and a flashlight...

October 22, 2013 • Leave a Comment

What do you do when you take some camera gear, a bottle of liquor, an old foam cooler, a piece of plexiglass, and some patriotic material? Take 91 pictures and try to figure out which one you like best... None of them turned out exactly like I wanted, but the flash batteries were shot, the camera batteries were shot, and I decided to come in for the night.

This one was about the best. I would like to eliminate the specular highlights on the spout and put a little more light on the material under the bottle. I think a small softbox and a flash would spread the light out enough to get rid of the highlights. I was using a flashlight in this case which is a pretty small light source and will give those highlights.

I have one of those heavy foam coolers like my mom used to get her medication in. I put a flash in it with a radio trigger. On top I had a piece of plexiglass covered with a piece of navy blue paper (didn't have any black) that I had cut the footprint of the bottle out of. I taped the paper to the plexiglass with gaff tape (heavy black tape that sticks well but doesn't leave residue). Because the flash showed through the cooler, I wrapped a black garbage bag around it, then I taped the material to the paper on the plexiglass. I found I had to add a piece of tape to the edge of the p. glass because you could see a little light shining through the material. The background is the night sky and trees behind the house.

By the way...don't look for another photograph like this anytime soon. At the rate I go through liquor, this bottle will last me about two years at least!

Keywords: Jack Daniels, Light Painting, Night, Still Life

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