Ed,
Creative! Makes me thirsty
Thank you!
Are there speedlights underneath the red sheet?
No, there was only one fill flash on a side
I think the backlighting on the white drink works very well.
I love the flames.
Thanks!
However, I wish I could see certain things a little better. Like I want to see the lemon peel be brighter and maybe even see more about the red sheet.
It looks like a difficult setup - lots of elements plus melting frost! Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock...
While I agree in general about the lemon peel and the cloth, this is a possible submission to the "Chilled" contest, hence I was trying to dim/remove anything that was not delivering the message.
And, yes, it was ticking. I had to remove the screen from the fireplace since it was lit by the flash and this created a pure firehazard on the cloth and yes the ice was melting by the seconds. I had to have everything ready, place the glasses, pour the drinks, remove the screen - and after that all I had was 15-20 seconds...
Here is a most current version after a few rounds of updates:
Once again, thank you for your comments!