# Your best bottle photo's



## Screwtop

I love looking at bottle pics, especially the ones done right. Let's see some of your good pics.


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## Robby Raccoon

Yes, the light passes through that one quite nicely. I did something similar (blindly, as the sun was in my face, with curiosity as to how it may turn out) with a Art Deco soda.

I think my favourite picture is of this c. 1854 arsenic bottle and a caterpillar-- a toxic caterpillar: how ironic.


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## Screwtop

Shoot dang! That's an awesome bottle!


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## Screwtop

When you collect bricks, why would you drive 40 minutes to an actual town, when you can simulate one in your back yard! Here is my amateur shot of stuff from the 1910's.


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## sandchip

Great picture of the Harter's, Screwtop!  I've never seen sun behind a bottle work in a photo, _until now!_

Here's one that turned out okay, I guess...in spite of myself.


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## sandchip

Robby Raccoon said:


> ...c. 1854 arsenic bottle and a caterpillar-- a toxic caterpillar: how ironic.



Looks like he's wanting a snort!  Or, wait a minute, is that his rear end?


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## shotdwn

Nice black and white picture Screwtop. I especially like the 1906 dated brick.


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## Screwtop

This is one of my best bottles.


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## Screwtop

If you want a sun-backlit bottle photo, always do it in the early morning, or evening. The above photo was taken in the evening. Most of the sun dipped below the tree line, making it less bright than what it was. If you wait till late morning/daytime, the sun will be this blindingly bright fireball that will drown out all color and embossing on your bottle. More color will be shown in the early morning too. Always make sure the sun is not directly behind your bottle. Go below the bottle, or too the side. If the sun is directly behind the bottle, you will only highlight one portion of your bottle.


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## Old Wiltshire

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I am in the UK and photograph a lot bottles and associated items, mainly for putting
 up on the UK forums where I also try a provide a little bit of the background information for each one.
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My collection is fairly cosmopolitan with pieces from all over the world including a sub collection of US items, a few of which are shown below.

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I use a light table for a lot of the photographs but do take some on the spur of the moment when the light is right.

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I also construct composites which are particularly useful for showing figural bottles.

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## Old Wiltshire

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PHOTOGRAPHING BOTTLES

I do like the natural background images, I think that approach lends itself to some great artistic
 interpretation and can show our collections in a whole new light so to speak.
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I have been asked several times on the UK forum about photographing 
bottles, some because they want an accurate record of a collection and
 some purely for the enjoyment of this aspect of the hobby.
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This is an extract of a post I put up sometime back and is a method which is simple, inexpensive,
uses natural daylight and works equally well with both ceramic or glass items.

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_....I hope the following photographs are pretty self explanatory. 
This is a south facing bay window in which, after removing the cushion from the window seat, I place a board as seen. 
I then clip a cut length of heavy duty lining paper (about £5 or so a roll from B&Q) to it as shown.
 I always use a tripod to mount the camera which is a relatively cheap Fujifilm Finepix S6800 (less than £100 when I bought it). 
This gives a consistent distance and angle from the subject if taking photos of a number of items.
 It takes a little experimenting to suit your own particular circumstances but with very
 little effort or expense I think everybody could achieve reasonable results...._






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It is a method which is easily adaptable to your own circumstances, you don't need a tripod,
 just something to steady the camera and give a consistent distance.
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You also don't need a 'proper' camera, modern cell phone cameras are excellent and with a little practice
 in focussing and framing most people can achieve professional looking results.

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## sandchip

Showoff!  Just kidding.  Thanks for the pictures and great tips.  One question though:  would I need to reverse the set up for glass bottles, so that the window is behind the camera giving a little more light to reflect off the paper to show through the medium to dark bottles?  Thanks.


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## Old Wiltshire

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Hi Sandchip,

I think it is just a case of experimentation with the equipment and circumstances you have.
I have used different coloured backgrounds or additional small led lights to the side to reflect off the background to enhance or bring out embossing.
Once you have the basics together the only expense is time but I think it is worthwhile going that little bit extra.
It gives a great deal of satisfaction when something comes out right and you know you can repeat it.

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The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words is very apt in our spheres of interest, a good quality image 
saves a lot of writing and assists greatly if you are looking for an id on a particular piece.

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## sandchip

Thanks!


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## hemihampton

Nice Pics & Nice Bottles. LEON.


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## RelicRaker

These are all great—Screwtop's backlit Hutch and Leon's ambers are stunners. 
My current fave...


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## Harry Pristis

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Old Wiltshire's images are always a joy.

In recent years, my own images tend more and more toward the 'technical' rather than the artful.




Early:*

*Late:*


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## Screwtop

Technical photos are one of my favorites. Look at amazing bottles, and learn a little about them all in one picture. It's a win-win!


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## Screwtop

This is my entire collection, minus all the crappy 30's-60's bottles I have found.






This is a scarce, local Hutch.


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## Nick79

Some bottles just need to be back lit
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Sent from my SM-J327U using Tapatalk


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## Screwtop

Yikes! Blood maker? I don't even want to know what was in there. 

Great bottle!


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## Travlers_end

*1963 10 oz mountain dew bottle by Hoyt Minges unopened  my first bottle*

Here's to a new hobby


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## Harry Pristis

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Here's an image of a little mustard barrel with pontil scar which turned out okay:

*


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## sandchip

Very nice.  Makes me want a hot dog!


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## yacorie

Nick79 said:


> Some bottles just need to be back lit
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> Sent from my SM-J327U using Tapatalk



Great bottle.  I love this shape and the subject matter is great.  Did you buy this or dig it?


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## Nick79

yacorie said:


> Great bottle.  I love this shape and the subject matter is great.  Did you buy this or dig it?


Thanks, bought for 25 bucks. It was a local so I had to get it

Sent from my SM-J327U using Tapatalk


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## yacorie

Nick79 said:


> Thanks, bought for 25 bucks. It was a local so I had to get it
> 
> Sent from my SM-J327U using Tapatalk



dont blame you.  I’ll be on the lookout for one myself.


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## sandchip

Found this back in the fall of 2011.  After a brutally dry summer, this was the only time in my life that I had ever seen this creek dry up.


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## Screwtop

That's pretty cool! In-situ! Looks really...crusty. Did it clean up okay?


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## sandchip

Screwtop said:


> That's pretty cool! In-situ! Looks really...crusty. Did it clean up okay?



Yeah, but clear and slick.  Like most of my finds.  I think it looked its best laying there just as I found it.


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## Screwtop

Here is my flask.







Something cool I thought to mention. I have a cistern on my property that is fed by a spring. The spring is said to have some of the best tasting, and purest water in Carter County Kentucky, and was reportedly used for a moon-shining operation during the 20's and 30's. Here is a pic of the water from "Boone Springs".






A large Bromo.



Barq's rootbeer, Portsmouth Ohio. This is a personal find. I found it in a creek near Portsmouth, last year. It has an Owens date code of 1953.


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## Screwtop

Hemingray - 42 insulator in the rain.


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## Screwtop

Vartray Ginger Beer bottle in the rain.


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## WesternPA-collector

I should have contributed to this post sooner. Here is one of my Old Overholt whiskey flasks inside a window of the distillery where the whiskey was made!


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## hemihampton

Recent find, Clasped Hands Flask.


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## slugplate

Old Wiltshire said:


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> I am in the UK and photograph a lot bottles and associated items, mainly for putting
> up on the UK forums where I also try a provide a little bit of the background information for each one.
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> My collection is fairly cosmopolitan with pieces from all over the world including a sub collection of US items, a few of which are shown below.
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WOW! You got some serious bottles there Wiltshire! Great pix


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## sandchip

Just as my son found it.  There has been rains heavy enough to wash out a road bed upstream earlier in the year.  I figure it came from somewhere up that way and hung up in the limbs.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64

Beautiful photography work. Bottles can be so camera shy and stubborn. You make it look simple...very nice.


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## nranderson




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## nranderson

Not particularly old but I like the way it turned out!


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## treeguyfred

Not my best or favorite but a good bottle that I like quite a bit, and incidentally has the X mark on the bottom. These pics came out pretty nice...
~Fred


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## ROBBYBOBBY64

treeguyfred said:


> Not my best or favorite but a good bottle that I like quite a bit, and incidentally has the X mark on the bottom. These pics came out pretty nice...
> ~FredView attachment 207315View attachment 207316


Sweet.


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## treeguyfred

Sanford's Radical Cure... "It's so Rad"


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## ROBBYBOBBY64

Fred, that bottle is Bluetiful!  Lol!  Great picture also. ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## treeguyfred

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> Fred, that bottle is Bluetiful! Lol! Great picture also. ROBBYBOBBY64.


Thank you Robby!


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## Chelle

Screwtop said:


> I love looking at bottle pics, especially the ones done right. Let's see some of your good pics.
> 
> View attachment 187195


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## DeepSeaDan

I've posted this pic here before, but what the heck, it is my fave shot of my fave colour:


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## planeguy2

Not really bottles but still cool!


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