Personal Project: floating wine
Continuing with my wine themed photos series, I present a bottle of wine floating above a sea of corks.
I've had this photo in my brain for quite some time. I've been collecting corks for some kind of photo for a couple years now without really knowing what I was going to do with them. Then it hit me to combine the floating shot with my huge box of corks. I hot-glued about 400 corks to a piece of black foam core board as the base. It took me a while to figure out a method to elevate the wine bottle when it suddenly hit me. Just glue some corks to the bottle.
Stryker wine is also one of my absolute favorite brands of wine. Sarah and I had the luxury of visiting the Stryker Winery last August and knew instantly that their wine is special. So special, we ordered a case to be shipped back. This wine simply melts in your mouth.
These shots are a larger scale and similar to my floating nut shot. 
Want to see the set up for this shot?
View from the patio of Stryker Vineyards.
Heading back to the bicycles after tasting Stryker Wines.
Thanks for looking. Feel free to comment!
Wine photos
Mosaic courtesy of Big Huge Labs. It's interesting to watch the North Carolina wine industry take off and learn the ropes of a very complex industry.
Failed experiment
or not?
I have had a photo in my head of a wine splash for a long time. Well, I didn't get the photo but I did get the splash. Anyone know how to remove red wine stains?
Nikon D300 with Alien Bee 800. 6 second exposure with the strobe activated by a sound trigger.
1/11/10 Follow UP: I know what I'm doing wrong. I need a slight delay to capture the splash. About a 1/4 second delay from the trigger to the actual flash going off. Now to find a delay unit for my sound trigger...
Grilled Pork Loin with BBQ Sauce
Outtake from a recent food shoot. We were showcasing sauces and rubs. Grilled pork loin with fried green tomatoes prepared by Chef Michael of Jimmy V's Steakhouse.
Chicken Biscuits… yee haw!
A chicken biscuit from a recent shoot. It's an outtake from the shoot and not one the client selected. I always try to nail the client needs first when it comes to the composition and positioning of the subjects. When I feel I've accomplished the client's goals I usually snap a few frames at different angles. It adds variety and many times the client likes them better than their own picks. Sometimes not.
My assistant snapped a couple shots of yours truly. As a food photographer, you often find yourself as a food stylist too. I keep a tool kit ready with styling instruments along for every food shoot.
Lensbaby for food photography? Maybe…
An outtake from a recent food shoot. I was finished up showcasing the product and used the steak as a test for the Lensbaby 2.0 movable lens.
The lensbaby's shifted focus offers a different look but I'm not really sure it would work in the food photography. I don't see it being used very much.
The steak was prepared by Chef Michael at Jimmy V's.
Recent Work: Secret Food Photography
Some shots from a project I am currently involved with. Sorry for the censorship but the project is not finished and approvals are still awaiting. Furthermore, all food and commercial images posted on this blog will have a © watermark posted upon them. I am finding more and more of my images being used without permission across the Internet. Google Image search is a great tool for finding that perfect image and not having to pay for it. My website tracking tools are increasingly having trouble backtracking on my images that show up within Google Image search. I love Google but Google is a huge vehicle for piracy. DON'T STEAL IMAGES.
Chef Corbett Monica, chef and proprietor of Bella Monica
Chef Corbett Monica recently asked me to photograph him for some upcoming marketing pieces and his website. I've done several shoots for the team at Bella Monica restaurant and Bella Monica Flat Bread Company. They are always a lot of fun to work with and bounce creative ideas across. We created a dozen shots that Corbett can use on his websites, printed marketing pieces and news releases. The food at Bella Monica is just out of this world. If you're looking for something special; look there.