So, OK I was a little bored last night, and decided to just find something around the house to photograph. This is what I came up with. Below are 3 versions of the same shot. I can't decide which I like better. C & C invited.

If they don't all show, just keep hitting refresh, they'll eventially show up.

Pentax K10D ,Pentax smc P-FA 35mm f/2 AL 1/50s f/8.0 at 35.0mm iso100, Sigma EF500 DG Super with Lumiquest Softbox.

First just straight process a little levels, curves and smart sharpening.



Next I added Daves Etherial Glow action at about 60% opacity.



Last a high key B&W conversion


[Edit] I added a lower contrast B&W at NaClH2O's suggestion. What do you think?




By the way, the wine was delicious. (Had to drink it, I did open it after all. It would have been a shame to waste it. )

[Photo Tramp]

I like it Alan,
The composition is laid out very nice, great colors and focus. I think just a touch more shadow would be in order. (just my opinion) I do like it as it is and it has an appeal. I would say you did well being board.

Now how much of the bottle did you finish after the shot. would be funny to see the before and after shots. I know if it were me after finishing the glass in this shot I wouldn't give you 2 cents for the shots the rest of the night.

[clarenceclose]

Reloaded the page but cannot get the photo to come up.

[roscot]

I like it Alan,
The composition is laid out very nice, great colors and focus. I think just a touch more shadow would be in order. (just my opinion) I do like it as it is and it has an appeal. I would say you did well being board.

Thanks for your comments David. Which version do you prefer?

Now how much of the bottle did you finish after the shot. would be funny to see the before and after shots. I know if it were me after finishing the glass in this shot I wouldn't give you 2 cents for the shots the rest of the night.

LOL, I only drank what was in the glass. I get Migraines, so Red wine at any time is an iffy proposition. It was late last night, so it was just enough to put me to sleep.

[roscot]

Hi Clarence,
I don't know what it is with pbase and hot linking here. I wonder if anybody else is having this problem or I'm doing something wrong?

[NaClH2O]

Hi Alan
I actually like the B&W conversion, but I wish for a teensy bit less contrast, don't know why, but it kinda bothers me that the left upper edge of the wine glass almost disappears. I didn't like the middle shot much, the etherial glow thingy make it look OOF to me.

NaCl(great composition btw, thanks for sharing)H2O

[roscot]

Thanks Salt.
I edited my original post and added a lower contrast B&W. What do you think?

[xfraser]

Very nice composition. I like the first picture the best. I like the color and the sharpness

[clarenceclose]

Got it (B&W only) this time and I really like the compostion and high key treatment.

[ericc]

I like the second one best of the three. They are all good, though. The only criticism I have (and it's small) is the glass loses it's definition on the upper left side too quickly. It's hard to get that clear edge to stay defined, so you're forgiven.

By the way, the wine was delicious. (Had to drink it, I did open it after all. It would have been a shame to waste it. )

No, it would be a crime to waste it. You made the right choice.

[Alvin]

Roscot, this is nice (shot and the wine). I'm late to this party, but I too would like to see the back edge and left side of that wine glass. Is there any way for you to bring it out without affecting the rest of the last image as it is now? Otherwise everything else is perfectly fine.

[Photo Tramp]

Hi Alan,
After looking at all of the shots you have presented (I like the composition BTW) I would choose (in color) your second shot and in (B&W) your last shot. I would love to see these posted in a Magazine for an add for the wine.
After looking back over them again your last shot really looks like it came out of an old life magazine add. Truly a beautiful rendition.

Good shooting.
Cheers: David

[roscot]

Thank you everyone for your comments, they have been most encouraging and helpful.

Here is what I hope is the last edit for the B&W version. I layered the lower contrast version over the original, added a mask, then erased all of the top layer except for the wine glass, which now retains it's edge and the bottle retains that nice glow..

[foxglove]

Hi Clarence,
I don't know what it is with pbase and hot linking here. I wonder if anybody else is having this problem or I'm doing something wrong?

You need to make sure you're getting the link without anything before pbase.com. For example, the one that is currently slowly loading on my dial-up (sigh... wish we could get high speed) is i5.pbase.com. In Firefox, I right-click and choose "Copy link location" not image location. It's some weird pbase thing...

Julie

[foxglove]

They finally all loaded (argh, I hate dial-up!) but it was worth the wait. Of course now I'm thirsty, but that's another issue.

I really like your final one, it works very well. I'm curious about how you set it all up, though - background? Lighting? I like the almost floating-in-space effect of the white background. Every time I try to do something like that, the background is far too obtrusive. I'd love to hear your trick, if you're willing to share!

Julie