Kathy Chantler
“Glass was certainly a challenging subject – it is just so reflective and picks up light from anywhere and everywhere. I was particularly interested in the rim lighting with black background and the added distortion effects with liquid included as well as the occasional splash
Sarah Jennings
“This project was really out of my comfort zone, so was left until the last week to get started I’m afraid.
Setting up took a while, then the light was not right and the backdrop all wrong, lots of shadows including the photographer and her camera .Enough try again but another day.
Next session in the dark, new backdrop and involving husband holding torch with coloured beams. This time I did manage to produce some images, not competition material but worth the effort and I certainly learnt a lot .”
Carol Haines
“I haven’t really worked with glass very much before so when planning the work, I thought about light, reflection, and background. I looked at some images on the internet of other photographers to give me some inspiration and during our first meeting we looked at how to build a set with card to diffuse the light, and the use of a reflective black tile to put the glasses on.
We also discussed backgrounds. This pushed me into buying a Light Pad and a glass ball to do some reflective work. Both were relatively cheap on the Internet.
On the first evening we shared our attempts and discussed the difficulties we had found. This was extremely helpful and although some photographers are more experienced everyone felt at ease to share their work. I particularly liked Kathy’s work where she had lined some wine glasses up one behind the other and the reflections of each glass reflected through the bowl of the glass giving odd shapes. This is what I tried. The light box gave a diffused backing to my work and my kitchen surface gave a dull reflection. I shone a lamp on the glass as I do not have flashlights and was pleased with the results. The first challenge made me experiment, made me think about structure in a Tabletop image and gave me a new idea to work on. “
Tami Nunley
“I learned that it was harder than I thought to photograph glass. it reflects everything! I almost managed to eliminate the window reflections by using boards on the sides, and a light pad behind the glasses. I also learned how to ‘improvise’ with red wine vinegar for the red, and by mixing turmeric with water to look like champagne!”
Denlse Adams
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the glass challenge this month as it made me push my limits and learn something new. I have learnt how to use my tv as a light source as i have no other lighting. I was so inspired with other members techniques and excited to give some of those a go. As a beginner, it has helped me to focus on one thing and try and improve my images by trying different techniques. Im very much looking forward to next months challenges.”
Peter Carter
“Knowing that photographing glass is not as easy as one might suspect, I looked forward to meeting the “Glass” challenge. First thing was planning and preparation, and that meant checking Google for videos and articles, including those recommended by Chenxi. Then having decided to photograph a brandy glass there was much trial and error before eventually getting the image I was after, complete with rim lighting.
Post processing showed up every mark of dust on the glass! Note to self to remember that in future. From my trial and error (eg reducing/increasing flash power), I found that very small adjustments could make a huge difference to the image.
With other club members submitting their own images and explaining the thought processes behind their own creations, I was fascinated to try similar experiments myself with different glass objects such as a decanter with fairy lights and green hock wine glasses.”
Paul Goby
“I really enjoyed the photographing glass challenge set up and shared by Chenxi. It inspired me to delve into tabletop photography, which is something I have intended to do for a long time. It transpires that glass it actually quite tricky to photograph, I found it a significant challenge and very satisfying when I got a couple of pleasant images. This is definitely something I will continue to pursue!”
Chenxi Ni
“I really challenged myself on this month’s theme – glass. It is a transparent object with a highly reflective surface, which makes it extremely difficult to lit. After a few experiments with a variety of light sources (such as table lamp, strobe light, speedlite and TV), I found the back lighting method fit the subject well.
With some little success of photographing high-key empty glasses at the beginning of the projects, I start to work on the low-key wine bottles with gradient rim light. Subsequently, I was busy playing water splash out of glass, that was such good fun 😛 In the end, I had to smash some of the wine glasses for finish off the project, lol.
All in all, it was a successful month for me. I watched a lot of Youtube videos and tried quite a few different setups for photographing glass, and definitely learnt a lot. Looking forward to the next month’s challenge. ”
