Along with blogging and spreading the word about cool, interesting, innovative and simply elegant wine labels that I encounter during my wine experiences, I also create fine art wine photographs as an artist. Finding the labels and drinking the wine with friends and family is only a portion of the experience for me. The other portion is capturing the moments either before, during or after the tasting.
The images that I create stop the moment and allow the viewer to notice the details and reflections in the wine, labels, corks, glasses and surface textures. I never noticed the beauty that was in the objects around me during a tasting until I started to photograph it.
I began photographing wine years ago, but most of the images revealed the bottles and glasses in their entirety. After a while the compositions began to be repetitive when photographed from similar distances. I slowly began to zoom in on the details and found a completely different experience. The compositions have become much more interesting and the possibilities have become infinite.
I have sold several pieces and have started taking requests for certain labels with my artistic interpretation. Many of my clients who have special requests have large wine collections with bottles that have significant sentimental value to them. Once the bottles are gone, they still have the memory of their bottles in a fine artwork.
Sometimes the requests are quite simple and other times they can be downright complicated. I have taken requests that have included specific bottles, combinations of bottles, glasses, bottle openers, decanters, surface textures and objects that are reflected in either the bottles or glasses. Bottle combinations have included the years of peoples births, the years of marriages/anniversaries, groupings based on varietal, wine region and color.
With the amount of glass and liquid I deal with, my biggest challenge in creating my art is not getting the reflection of my equipment or myself in any of it. I have come up with several techniques for disguising myself in the photographs. I am truly enjoying two of my passions while I create artwork for people.
Posts
