Photoclubalpha

hi
this was my first attempt at still life, the judge at the local camera club said the proper way to photo wine is to have a light under it so you can highlight the bubbles.

i did'nt know chotes du rhone or any red wine had bubbles!
any way got dis-heartend and gave up photos for couple of months started using this sight and ephotozine.

hope somebody likes it. all comments welcome.

mikehawthorne

Hi Mike,

I don't do much still life myself so I can't offer lots of help here, although I think the wine should look darker, the image needs to be sharper and the composition doesn't quite work for me. Only my opinion (see next comment)

What I would say (as an active camera club member) is take most judges comments with a large pinch of salt - there are a large number out there doing the rounds who haven't a clue and bring their own pre-concieved and often misguided opinions with them - bubbles in Cote du Rhone is a fine example.

The best way to improve is look at lots of images and see what works for you, glad to see you taking up the camera again, I hate it when judges put people off their photography.

Best wishes

Paul

Mike, you should definitely not be down-hearted, even if you haven't got bubbles in your red wine (!) - the man reading the paper shot (daily news?) is a gem which will stay in my mind for a long time.

Don't worry about the bubbles. You might as well use a sparkling wine next time.
Anyway, please use the same composition. It's a nice setup. (But do change the cheese for a more "rural" one)

Hi Mike,

sine thoughts about your picture;

The background doesn't helps at all: it is too present and the brick pattern accent the faults of the lens -the reflection of the bricks in the glass is nice, but again, it doesn't help defining the subject.

I'll put the cheese on a dish and use a cheese knife (or a hunter's knife) instead. I won't put the knife over the cheese and I'll show the bread differently, probably more of the crumb (is that the way you call the inner part of the bread?) and I won't find any problem showing the label of the bottle...

Regarding Camera Club Judges... As Paul said, take their comments with a grain of salt. Otherwise you risk to find yourself photographing for the judges, following their taste and not yours, just in order to get a couple of medals... I miss photoclub discussions -this forum is nice, but I love prints!!!

Regards