j.w.s. Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I traveled the few miles to the shop today through our latest winter storm and decided to hammer out a few blades from the billet I made for my hydraulic press video while I watched the world turn white beyond the windows. So in honor of Winter Storm Thor, here's a few knives that go with the theme.. 128 layer 5160 & 15N20.J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Nice work, beautiful and discrete pattern. Thanks for sharing.Also very inspirational background - have been thinking about the how to picture problem for a while. Greetings:Gergely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Nice work, beautiful and discrete pattern. Thanks for sharing.Also very inspirational background - have been thinking about the how to picture problem for a while. Greetings:GergelyThank you. Go buy yourself a fabric photo cube and at least 3 lights. The fabric cube helps diffuse the lights and the lights eliminate unwanted shadows. Move the light around, get only the shadows and angles that make the piece contrast well against your backdrop, which in my case is just some satin fabric and a piece of firewood. Highly polished pieces often become a bit of a bear to photograph well. Oh, and pay attention to the color temperatures of your lighting! "Natural" is not always natural in a photograph.J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Wow thanks, never heard of a photo cube before - it looks like a very handy solution.Bests:Gergely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCROB Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Very nice...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 A diffusion dome or screen prevents highlights in shiny subjects too. Shooting photos on cloudy days is a good technique as well.If you must use a flash cover it with a single ply of tissue paper to diffuse the light, this isn't perfect but really helps. If you have a speed light, angle it above or below the subject so light can't reflect directly back and aim it at a piece of white paper as a reflector. This really helps.A proper diffusion cube, dome, etc. is the best but there are ways to make do.If possible a background far enough away to be out of focus draws the eye and attention to the subject as there's nothing instinctively interesting about the background.A rumpled blanket with a piece supported by a wire a fishing magnet or a flat black stick and glob of wax 5-6' in front. The camera/tripod 15-20' back, shooting with a shallow depth of field (narrow aperture) through a macro zoom, all lights through or off flat white diffusers can do magic to small shiny objects.Geeze I miss my T-90 Canon and film sometimes. I think almost all of catching a good photo can be done digitally, after the fact. Where's the fun in that? Catching a good shot meant exactly that CATCHING it. A good photo is a very ephemeral thing, sometimes lasting milliseconds. Staging a good portrait is a different game of course and that's what taking pics of your work is. Staging a portrait.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 A diffusion dome or screen prevents highlights in shiny subjects too. Shooting photos on cloudy days is a good technique as well.If you must use a flash cover it with a single ply of tissue paper to diffuse the light, this isn't perfect but really helps. If you have a speed light, angle it above or below the subject so light can't reflect directly back and aim it at a piece of white paper as a reflector. This really helps.A proper diffusion cube, dome, etc. is the best but there are ways to make do.If possible a background far enough away to be out of focus draws the eye and attention to the subject as there's nothing instinctively interesting about the background.A rumpled blanket with a piece supported by a wire a fishing magnet or a flat black stick and glob of wax 5-6' in front. The camera/tripod 15-20' back, shooting with a shallow depth of field (narrow aperture) through a macro zoom, all lights through or off flat white diffusers can do magic to small shiny objects.Geeze I miss my T-90 Canon and film sometimes. I think almost all of catching a good photo can be done digitally, after the fact. Where's the fun in that? Catching a good shot meant exactly that CATCHING it. A good photo is a very ephemeral thing, sometimes lasting milliseconds. Staging a good portrait is a different game of course and that's what taking pics of your work is. Staging a portrait.Frosty The Lucky.Also good advice.. I think the whole photo cube set up I use can now be purchased for less than $50 on amazon. I added a few lights. I just wish I had a digital slr so I could really control the depth of field the way I actually know how.. I'm not one to monkey with pictures in gimp or photoshop too much.. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Hi JWS,Your work had a real inspiration on me. I made my two first knives a couple days later as I saw your knives. Although the overall shape differs from yours but the handle style and the starting idea came clearly from you.Thank you very much for showing your excellent work and being the source of inspiration.Bests of luck:Gergely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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