Watch images inside the soft/lightbox

[chaman]

This is a more serious effort from my part, this time staying away from the sterile, cold, featureless white BG. I used my previous setup of wood, and old tools as complement to provide a warmer feeling around the images. I must say that I still find natural light quality to be more pleasing in quality than the light provided inside this box. This is perhaps a subjective view from my part of course. The light inside the box is, of course, more diffused and creates much less shadows than when I use natural light. This is a great benefit could also have a more negative result.....the images show every little imperfection, scratch, stain etc from everyday use and/or the passage of time over these time pieces! LOL! Here are some of, what I consider to be, some of the best obtained so far. I still have a few more images waiting to be processed. Remember these were shot inside the soft/light box.

269A2908 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2915 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2930 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2949 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2953 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2960 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2966 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2980 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A2999 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3008 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3013 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3034 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3040 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3065 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3067 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

What are your views? Im about to receive a vintage piece soon and Im planning to shoot it with natural light and then inside the box to see which I like best.

[JBW]

everyone to their own but I find the backgrounds add just that little bit extra of complexity that puts all of these shots into the way to complex range for me.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, the rich background colors provide a nice touch to the timepieces.

[xpatUSA]

... The light inside the box is, of course, more diffused and creates much less shadows than when I use natural light. This is a great benefit could also have a more negative result.....the images show every little imperfection, scratch, stain etc from everyday use and/or the passage of time over these time pieces!

<big clip>

What are your views?

Interesting comment re: imperfections. I used to visit a watch forum (tz-uk) long ago which made much of wabi-sabi as it relates to watches. Often a watch that had been "restored" to perfection could be ridiculed while a beat-up Seiko chronograph could be revered as more "genuine" if the wear-and-tear had been honorably earned.

At one point in my own watch pics I became obsessed with perfect rendition of all things watch to the extent of lighting to properly show scratches and dings ... a bit anal to be honest, looking back.

[Tom Barry]

These are very well done and most of these shots tell the story of what happens when a watch is used in everyday life, rather than merely looked at. I also used to photograph my watches and share the photos on a watch-fanciers site. I tried soft light boxes, natural light, and even "wrist shots" of how the watch looks when worn. Finally, I tired of it all. But I keep the shots that would serve for insurance purposes in case of theft.

[chaman]

Thanks for commenting John, Ted and Tom. You are right though. All those scratches and imperfections are indeed badges of honor.

[chaman]

A few more from the same day and setup:

269A3104 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3108 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3110 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3114 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3116 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3126 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3128 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3132 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3137 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3142 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

269A3144 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr

Im getting the hang of it, I think.

[shreds]

I think the natural muted backgrounds work well.

Clearly DoF is critical on such exacting shots and I do like the 'close ups', but have never really considered a lot of the practicalities of shooting such objects. Clearly like most glass, reflections and hot spots become critical points from a photographic point of view.

As a photographer rather than an horologist, I may miss some of the finer points and rarity of the timepieces, so giving it that extra sense of 'place' to the non specialist viewer is important.

[chaman]

I think the natural muted backgrounds work well.

Clearly DoF is critical on such exacting shots and I do like the 'close ups', but have never really considered a lot of the practicalities of shooting such objects. Clearly like most glass, reflections and hot spots become critical points from a photographic point of view.

As a photographer rather than an horologist, I may miss some of the finer points and rarity of the timepieces, so giving it that extra sense of 'place' to the non specialist viewer is important.

Thanks for stopping by and checking my images. I guess you need to be a bit of a watch nut to fully appreciate why the close ups. In my case is the love for everything mechanical. Each of these, even old electronic ones is a little world of moving things, cogs, little levers. If you have ever watch a mechanical innards ticking away there is a wheel that when working looks like a little heart beating called the balance wheel. It almost looks alive.

These watches I chose randomly some because of its interesting looks like the vintage Bulova Accutron for example. Others because of their unusual yet captivating shapes like that old Exacta Raketa russian old mechanical watch from the 1970s. Is referred to as the UFO is some watch enthusiasts circles. Hope tis kind of explain the why of these images. This kind of images combine two of my most beloved hobbies. A good match, IMO.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Oscar - What camera/lens combo are you using to get these great shots?

[chaman]

Oscar - What camera/lens combo are you using to get these great shots?

I used a Canon 5d Mark IV and the Canon L 100mm Macro f/2.8 lens. Glad you liked these!

[pramariena]

I like most of those pictures and think they are fine for an advertisement. At the same time, I agree with the other users because the focus seems deposed in some photos, especially on the third one. I would make the background less bright and saturated with color.
The watches are fine; I like them. my father used to have one of those Komandirskye watches. He got them from his friend who immigrated to the US from the Soviet Union. My father greatly appreciated those watches because that friend mattered a lot to him.
I consider them a family heirloom and am always careful with them.

[Chataignier]

I used a Canon 5d Mark IV and the Canon L 100mm Macro f/2.8 lens. Glad you liked these!

Ah yes, I love that lens, I've kept mine when i changed from Canon to Fuji and still use it with the new setup and an adaptor.
Great shots - I like the natural backgrounds and the light looks good to me. For character shots this light would be too clinical, but it's just what is needed for conveying all the detail.

[royent]

This thread is four years old
Roy

[DanK]

This thread is four years old
Roy

And the OP last showed up in January of 2019.

I wonder if there is a way to alert new folks joining the forum that they can look at the top left of posts to see how old they are. It often happens that newbies don't see this and respond to very old threads. Of course, sometimes the topic is still an interesting one, but the previous participants are often long gone.