First effort from the new studio: 8 frame 3D stack of a pocket watch

[JBW]

Sony Alpha a58 ~ Tamron 90 272E ~ ISO 100 ~ F/ 18 ~ 3.2s ~ 8 Shot 3D Stack ImageJ

[Shadowman]

Nice effort, good detail on the cover however the stem is a bit soft. Shadows look good but the crop is a bit severe, it's probably just me but full shadows have more appeal; especially when they aren't too distracting. Looking forward to seeing more from your studio.

[Mike Buckley]

Agreed with everything John mentioned. You've got a beautifully soft shadow, so let it show by giving it plenty of space. One way to think of it is that the watch is the primary subject and the shadow is the secondary subject; thinking of it as a secondary subject emphasizes how important it is.

Gotta mention the nice lighting that displays the design on the cover so well.

For a more dramatic effect, try a dark tabletop, perhaps also an old, wooden tabletop.

[JBW]

Hi John & Mike,

It was a minimal crop. I Start to lose detail quite quickly one I move back more than a foot or so. But I will move back to give more content next time.

I took 8 overlapping focus shots. Only 2 were on the stem. This could account for the softness. Or it could be the lens.

The shadows come from natural light. 1/3 (+ or -) of the roof is skylight while the walls are mosquito netting. Endless summer has advantages.

I used an old broken clay pot as bg. But my table is made out of pine with some very nice grain.

I'll be needing lots of mentoring

[Mike Buckley]

Is the wonderfully diffuse light caused by clouds in the sky, the material the skylights are made of, or both? The reason I ask is that it would be helpful for you to be certain of the factors that diffused the light so you can reliably predict how to repeat the quality of that light in future images.

[Mike Buckley]

I Start to lose detail quite quickly one I move back more than a foot or so. But I will move back to give more content next time.

I just now had another thought about that. I gather that you're saying that when the magnification is reduced, the beauty of the detail is at least somewhat lost. One way to deal with that is to move the camera closer to the subject, so much so that that not all of the subject is included in the image. It would make a very dramatic composition that complements the design on the cover.

If that setup would limit depth of field so much that it adds focus-stacking problems and if you're not concerned about reducing the size the image could be printed, you could simply crop this image tighter. As an example, I'm imagining a composition that excludes just a sliver of the edges of the top, right and bottom sides of the cover. Doing so anchors the subject to the frame and eliminates the issue of the shadow not being displayed enough. It also satisfies the compulsive needs of people like me who thrive on tight crops.

[JBW]

Is the wonderfully diffuse light caused by clouds in the sky, the material the skylights are made of, or both? The reason I ask is that it would be helpful for you to be certain of the factors that diffused the light so you can reliably predict how to repeat the quality of that light in future images.

When I took the shots the sun was behind the cone of the volcano. There were clouds. The material is a type of clear plastic. Today it had rain drops on it. And lest we forget the bottom meter of the walls are rough stone and the wall and roof structure is flat varnished bamboo. There is a lot of light bouncing happening.

I wonder what will happen when I bring in the plants?

[JBW]

I just now had another thought about that. I gather that you're saying that when the magnification is reduced, the beauty of the detail is at least somewhat lost. One way to deal with that is to move the camera closer to the subject, so much so that that not all of the subject is included in the image. It would make a very dramatic composition that complements the design on the cover.

If that setup would limit depth of field so much that it adds focus-stacking problems and if you're not concerned about reducing the size the image could be printed, you could simply crop this image tighter. As an example, I'm imagining a composition that excludes just a sliver of the edges of the top, right and bottom sides of the cover. Doing so anchors the subject to the frame and eliminates the issue of the shadow not being displayed enough. It also satisfies the compulsive needs of people like me who thrive on tight crops.

I was thinking along the same lines. This just might become another "Chrysalis" series.

[NorthernFocus]

What's you wife going to say/do when you start bringing spiders inside?

[JBW]

What's you wife going to say/do when you start bringing spiders inside?

She likes most spiders... they eat mosquitoes. But when it comes to snakes it's time to get out the machete.

[xpatUSA]

Sony Alpha a58 ~ Tamron 90 272E ~ ISO 100 ~ F/ 18 ~ 3.2s ~ 8 Shot 3D Stack ImageJ

Nice watch, Brian, like the apparent lack of wear perhaps due to the deep engraving. Good job on the lighting - you have the eye.

Shooting watches is what got me into this hobby - mainly wristwatches, though.

I'll comment on the sharpness only. I like watch shots to be really sharp - almost to the point of excess. So, from that point of view, I'd suggest a bit more acutance. One quick and easy way is the use of Piccure+

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/review-of-piccure-software/

http://relaunch.piccureplus.com/

There are other ways that are "better" but they tend to involve a lot of steps. With Piccure+ you just drag the image into it's window and let fly . . .



Although it is said that detail once lost can not be recovered, Piccure uses some pretty fancy techniques involving something called "de-convolution" which I won't try to explain here but it obviously works.

[mknittle]

Nice effort, good detail on the cover however the stem is a bit soft. Shadows look good but the crop is a bit severe, it's probably just me but full shadows have more appeal; especially when they aren't too distracting. Looking forward to seeing more from your studio.

+1

[madcrow]

Masterful work a joy to look at, with lots of detail.