EG-Keith

Bourbon & Mint Cocktail

Close up of a cocktail glass garnished with leaves of mint, a lemon edge and shredded ice. The glass rests on a wooden table, outside, with a natural grassy bac...
Read more

Close up of a cocktail glass garnished with leaves of mint, a lemon edge and shredded ice. The glass rests on a wooden table, outside, with a natural grassy background.
Read less

NIKON D750

settings

Aperture 40/10 ISO 100 Shutter 10/5000 Focal Length 1200/10

upload_date

Apr, 2017

Views

543

Likes

+51

Awards

Contest Finalist in I Love My Food Photo Contest

Peer Award

Outstanding Creativity

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

Superior Skill

All Star

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken a few months ago in the side yard of our (my husband's and mine) house in Byers, Colorado. Byers is a tiny town (actually not even a town) situated in a rural area along the I-70 Corridor, east of Denver. What seems to be a rustic wooden table is actually a number of weathered loosen boards from a fallen fence that I arranged on top of a plastic table. The background is the grown dry grass (we live in a very dry area) next to the back boundary of our property.

Time

It was late afternoon/evening, not sure what time, but something between 4:30 and 5:00, I guess, since at that time the sun was setting quite early here. I was counting on the golden hour to capture beautifully lit images.

Lighting

As I mentioned above, I was counting on the golden hour for my photo shoot but, to my disappointment, the sun hid behind the clouds when I was all set, and the light was actually quite dull. Since I had a deadline to submit the picture and also had everything already set up, I decided to go ahead with the shooting and brought my large reflector, which has a golden side. I didn't have anybody to help me, so I clipped the reflector to a flash stand pole, facing the sun (or where it should be) and my object as well. With the addition of some post-processing, I think I succeeded in getting a little bit of a golden-hour effect.

Equipment

My camera is a Nikon D750, and I used the lens that came with the kit since I haven't had the means to buy a better full frame lens so far. The lens is an AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm 1:4 G ED VR. I did use a tripod because the light wasn't as bright as I expected. No flash (I still couldn't afford an external flash, either), but, as I said before, I used a golden reflector clipped to a flash stand pole.

Inspiration

I have a free subscription to a website where people post requests for images and specify what they are looking for. In this case, they were looking for a picture of a bourbon cocktail in a clear glass, preferably like a stemware, with lots of ice, in a rustic setting. I submitted a few of the pictures from the shooting but didn't sell any (actually, they ended up not buying any picture, regardless of having a large number of images to choose from, submitted by many other photographers).

Editing

Yes, I almost always do some cropping and add a bit of a tone curve, at least. In this case, I also played with light and color to add a bit more of "sun" to the image.

In my camera bag

I am not a professional (though trying to become one) so I don't carry a lot with me when I travel or just drive around. My Nikon D750 and the 24-120mm I mentioned above. Four other lenses I had for my previous Nikon: AF-S NIKKOR 50mm 1:8 G (the only other full frame I have; the D750 is full frame); AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 G; AF-S NIKKOR 55-200MM 1:4-5.6 G ED; AF-S NIKKOR 18-105mm 1:35-5.6 G ED. Lenses hoods. Polarized filter (I already have a UV attached to my main lens and one to a smaller lens). Tripod. Small reflector that folds into a portable size that fits inside the bag. Rain protector cover for the camera. Little bag with cleaning cloths and brushes. Camera manual. I also used to carry my old camera, a Nikon D80 (which, amazingly, used to take better landscape pictures than my D750), but, sadly, I broke it a few months ago when I forgot it was in automatic mode (which I rarely use) and tried to change the aperture!

Feedback

Above all, be creative. I didn't have a rustic table for my picture, so I created one from some old junk from our backyard. Also, be prepared for sudden changes in light and weather conditions so that you don't feel too frustrated. I really know what I'm talking about, believe me! A few years ago, I finally went to Paris, after a whole life dreaming of doing it, and it rained the whole five days I stayed there! I mean, it RAINED! Cats and dogs! There wasn't much I could do, other than protecting my camera and myself (not totally necessary, actually, since almost all pictures needed to be taken from inside a taxi cab). I had the plastic cover for the camera with me, as well as a large plastic poncho. I was really happy I had decided to pack those!

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EG-Keith

Bourbon & Mint Cocktail

Close up of a cocktail glass garnished with leaves of mint, a lemon edge and shredded ice. The glass rests on a wooden table, outside, with a natural grassy bac... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow EG-Keith

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Close up of a cocktail glass garnished with leaves of mint, a lemon edge and shredded ice. The glass rests on a wooden table, outside, with a natural grassy bac...
Read more

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Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.