Wine honoring Benjamin Franklin

[Mike Buckley]

This photo combines three of my hobbies -- photography (of course!), wine and information about Benjamin Franklin. I have read more than 20 books about him including books no longer in print such as the Pulitzer prize-winning 1939 biography written by Carl Van Doren (not included in the scene because its color didn't work). I've actually been thinking of buying a Kindle to be able to read books about Franklin only available in that format.

I included the glasses in the scene because it's understandable that a lot of people require glasses to read books. The glasses are also a nod to the fact that Franklin invented bifocal glasses for his own personal use. Like all of his inventions, he never financially profited from the bifocals; by the time he began spending large amounts of time on inventions, he was independently wealthy and wanted his inventions to be free so they would be more readily available for the public good.

Setup
The tabletop is wood and the background is black fabric. An LED flashlight on the front left lights the books and wine bottle. The same model flashlight lights the glasses and the wine bottle from the front right. A white reflector on the left lifts the shadow area on the pages of the books just a bit.

[Shadowman]

Would've liked to see more of the bottle so that the name was fully presented, but the imagination can fill what is missing. Nicely staged and exposed.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, John!

Would've liked to see more of the bottle so that the name was fully presented

If you were aware of the limitations, you might not have wanted the entire name fully presented. The only way to make that happen would be to turn the bottle. Once that is done, the image of Franklin on the bottle would be too far to the left for my taste; in the current version, it appears as if he is looking at the viewer, whereas turning the bottle eliminated that perspective. Considering that his likeness on the label is far more important than the name of the wine, I opted for creating a shadow so the name didn't appear to be suddenly cropped.

[Digital]

Mike, this is a nice photo. One suggestion is that the eyeglasses give the appearance that - I do not know how to phrase this - the wearer of the glasses has left the building (so to speak). I would have placed the eyeglasses in a more traditional position to give the viewer the sense that the owner (of the eyeglasses) would resume drinking, and reading in a short while.
I am going to shut up before I confuse myself, let alone you.


Bruce

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Bruce!

One suggestion is that the eyeglasses give the appearance that - I do not know how to phrase this - the wearer of the glasses has left the building (so to speak).

That interpretation works for me, as it makes perfect sense. A lot of people wear eye glasses only for reading.

I would have placed the eyeglasses in a more traditional position to give the viewer the sense that the owner (of the eyeglasses) would resume drinking, and reading in a short while.

What would that more traditional position be? For me there is no reason to think that drinking would be resumed because there is no reason to think drinking had begun. If a wine glass with wine in it had been included in the scene, I would then think the drinking and reading would soon take place. Even so, I don't know what the more traditional position of the glasses would be.

[Digital]

Mike, Instead of the eyeglasses being folded up, I would have unfolded them, and placed them upside down. This is what I mean by a traditional position. Sorry I did not clarify that in my earlier post.
As far as my comment on the drinking being resumed, that was not logical. I stand corrected.

Bruce

[Mike Buckley]

Ahhhhhh, that makes sense, Bruce. The position I used is as if I had taken the glasses out of a case and placed them on a tabletop ready to be used. Not sure what positions are traditional.

[rpcrowe]

Ben is one of my favorite historical characters... I really liked his autobiography but, I forgot who wrote it

[terrib]

I like it. It's a pleasing photo and you did good coordinating all the colors.

[Wavelength]

Superb

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

I really liked his autobiography but, I forgot who wrote it

That's okay, Richard. His autobiography includes a few details indicating that he forgot about what happened and when it happened.

[John 2]

That's well done Mike.

[george013]

I think you should have done this one with only 1 light source. The "shadow" behind the bottle on the books gives it a unnatural look. I like the composition.

George

[Manfred M]

Another beautifully done product shot, Mike. For a wine bottle shot, the wine bottle plays second fiddle to the books.

One minor and niggly detail - the modern printing on the temples of the glasses does look a bit off if you are using the glasses to signify something historical. I don't know why I noticed that right away, but I did.

When I first read the title and then saw the bottle, I suspect "Wine using Benjamin Franklin as a marketing tool" is probably a bit closer to the truth.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for the idea, George. Thanks also to John.

All good points, Manfred. I think the glasses reinforces the importance of the books you mention and downplays the wine bottle a bit. The title of the thread I used speaks more to my interest in wine than an accurate description of the photo. This is the only wine bottle I've seen that features Franklin.

I wasn't intending the glasses to be of any historical significance in and of themselves. Their style, not just the branding you mentioned, prevent that from happening.

The series of Federalist wines features iconic personalities from colonial America. Naturally, I favor the one using Benjamin Franklin and that's without having drunk any of them.

[Manfred M]

. Naturally, I favor the one using Benjamin Franklin and that's without having drunk any of them.

I seem to remember being quite young to not judge the quality of a book by its cover or the material in a container by the label. I would have thought the wine connoisseur would have ensured the wine was drinkable before you shot it...

[bnnrcn]

I like the soft lighting and warm colors in the image Mike. It reminds me cold winter days and a fireplace