An S4 style knife and new Lightbox.

[HillBill]

Hi Guys.


First one of these I've made in a while.


I bought myself a Lightbox. With the weather being rubbish and lots more darkness, taking a decent outdoor pic has become impossible a lot of the time. So took the plunge to get consistent photos no matter the lighting or weather conditions. Let me know if the pic is ok, or any tips for improvement. Its unedited.


Knife itself is made from 5.2mm Elmax steel, Green canvas Micarta with red liners.


Thanks for looking.

 

[Robbi]

I know nothing about lightboxes but that knife is stunning.

 

[HillBill]

I know nothing about lightboxes but that knife is stunning.

Cheers Robbi

 

[salad]

that's very nice .
is that an extended pommel I can see at the end ?

 

[C_Claycomb]

Do you heat treat your own Elmax?

Regarding the photo, I know what you mean about lighting, I don't have a light box and this time of year can be quite a challenge. I am lucky to have a small conservatory and can use that when the weather is poor.

If I had taken that picture I would be pretty happy, but since you ask for suggestions...
Have you ever looked at the photography on Sharp by Coop? All light box work. Personally I think knives look better from a more side on view, to give a truer view of the shape, won't show the tang so much. What aperture did you use? The picture is a little small to tell, but it looks like the area around blade/handle junction is sharply in focus, but the tang near the butt looks a little fuzzy by comparison. Do you have a tripod and do you use a release or 2 second timer? A tripod and a f9 or higher aperture coupled with a longer exposure and hands-off release can do wonders to sharpness and brightness.

Chris

 

[HillBill]

that's very nice .
is that an extended pommel I can see at the end ?

Cheers mate, and yes it is.

 

[HillBill]

Do you heat treat your own Elmax?

Regarding the photo, I know what you mean about lighting, I don't have a light box and this time of year can be quite a challenge. I am lucky to have a small conservatory and can use that when the weather is poor.

If I had taken that picture I would be pretty happy, but since you ask for suggestions...
Have you ever looked at the photography on Sharp by Coop? All light box work. Personally I think knives look better from a more side on view, to give a truer view of the shape, won't show the tang so much. What aperture did you use? The picture is a little small to tell, but it looks like the area around blade/handle junction is sharply in focus, but the tang near the butt looks a little fuzzy by comparison. Do you have a tripod and do you use a release or 2 second timer? A tripod and a f9 or higher aperture coupled with a longer exposure and hands-off release can do wonders to sharpness and brightness.

Chris

Hi Chris.

Yes, I do all of my own heat treatment.

I'd not seen the photos on sharp by coop, just had a look. Very nice. No clue regarding what my camera used to take the pic. Its a Sony Alpha A5000, ive had it about 3 years and rarely used it. It set it on Superior auto mode and just had a play. Not well into the photography side of things, I normally just use my phone. Guess ill have to dig the instructions out for the camera and familiarise myself with it. Yes I have a small tripod that I used to take the pic. I do know the camera can be remotely controlled by my phone though, so i'll have to look into getting that set up.
Thanks

 

[C_Claycomb]

That is a nice camera. Too nice not to be using to more of its potential Definitely dig out the instructions, and I would suggest looking up some of the excellent photography instructional videos on youtube., or just how-tos on line. I have a Sony RX100 Mk1 which I have used for a lot of this sort of picture and with that I know that I definitely get better results when I tell the camera what to do, rather than letting it choose.

Main thing is that that as the aperture number goes up, the hole that lets the light in gets smaller, and the depth of field, the area that is in focus for any given focal point, goes up. Of course, as the hole letting the light in gets smaller, less light will get in, which is countered by leaving the shutter open for longer (or upping the ISO, but can make the picture a little grainier). Leaving the shutter open longer drastically increases the chances that you will wobble and blur the shot, hence using a tripod. The RX100 doesn't have a remote release, so a long exposure can be ruined by the vibration induced by pressing the release button, even on a tripod. So I use the 2-second timer...you use the 10 second for taking group photos that you can be included in. 2-seconds is about enough time for you to press the release, let go, and have the vibration die down before the shutter opens.

 

[HillBill]

That is a nice camera. Too nice not to be using to more of its potential Definitely dig out the instructions, and I would suggest looking up some of the excellent photography instructional videos on youtube., or just how-tos on line. I have a Sony RX100 Mk1 which I have used for a lot of this sort of picture and with that I know that I definitely get better results when I tell the camera what to do, rather than letting it choose.

Main thing is that that as the aperture number goes up, the hole that lets the light in gets smaller, and the depth of field, the area that is in focus for any given focal point, goes up. Of course, as the hole letting the light in gets smaller, less light will get in, which is countered by leaving the shutter open for longer (or upping the ISO, but can make the picture a little grainier). Leaving the shutter open longer drastically increases the chances that you will wobble and blur the shot, hence using a tripod. The RX100 doesn't have a remote release, so a long exposure can be ruined by the vibration induced by pressing the release button, even on a tripod. So I use the 2-second timer...you use the 10 second for taking group photos that you can be included in. 2-seconds is about enough time for you to press the release, let go, and have the vibration die down before the shutter opens.

Thanks for the advice mate. I've been figuring it out.

I do now use the 2 second timer

Manually adjusting the AWB has been the most helpful so far. I've got a new tripod on its way, my other was a tiny flimsy thing that keeps wanting to fall over when the camera is angled downwards. Ill experiment with the aperture and shutter speed settings. I'm also thinking a better background would help. Something with more texture. Would that affect the overall outcome in a positive way do you think?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I think a slightly textured background would be better. Looking at stuff that I have done that I have liked, and looking at the stuff done by people who really know their stuff, I would say that shots with subtly patterned, but 2D backgrounds are better than scenery, or really three dimensional backgrounds. Although, flat patterned backgrounds show the knife well while scenes that incorporate related gear sell the idea of what the knife could be for.

Example of lightly patterned background that shows the knife. This tends to be what is used by Jim Cooper on http://www.knifegallery.com/index.html
IMG_6428 by Last Scratch, on Flickr

IMG_4920 by Last Scratch, on Flickr

And example of "life style" background
IMG_4550 by Last Scratch, on Flickr

 

[samobaggins]

Hi Guys.


First one of these I've made in a while.


I bought myself a Lightbox. With the weather being rubbish and lots more darkness, taking a decent outdoor pic has become impossible a lot of the time. So took the plunge to get consistent photos no matter the lighting or weather conditions. Let me know if the pic is ok, or any tips for improvement. Its unedited.


Knife itself is made from 5.2mm Elmax steel, Green canvas Micarta with red liners.


Thanks for looking.

That is an absolutely stunning knife! I want one

 

[warrenbond]

Great looking knife Mark ,think a few props would make a more interesting pic.

 

[HillBill]

Thanks Warren. . You might be right mate. I've been experimenting.