Playing with my new photo equipment

[contender]

I posted a few weeks ago about finding a photo box set up at a yard sale. Ihad to "air it out" as it has been in a home where both people were heavy smokers. Well, today,, it was rainy & bad so I finally had time to play with it. Here's what I got for $20. (Not shown are a few more pieces of cloth and the storage bag.)

So, after I got it set up,, I took a few pics of more things I've been playing with. Recently I recieved some quilted maple wood to use for grips and I tackled it for my 2 shooter Flattop 357's used in SASS. Here's one of the sets of grips I made.

And here is it's mate,, with the other set of grips I made with the maple. MANY thanks to Chief Maxx Load 101 aka; Terry!

 

[sixshot]

Nice guns & very nice photo's Tyrone!

Dick

 

[flatgate]

I looks like your investment paid off!



flatgate

 

[contender]

I actually managed to get the color of those grips very close to actual color. (By accident as I'm not the best photographer.) I like to think it's a combination of the cloth tent, the correct lights,, and the fact I did use a tripod for the camera to help. I even finally figuered out how to access my timer shutter release. (I had to study my 93 page manuel to find info on it, & go back & forth to different referrences etc before I understood the greek writing.)
In any event, here's a few more pics.

 

[street]

Do you think the color displayed there is 100% true to life, contender? I ask this because the CCD on my camera does not show me what my eyes see. I sort of have to memorize what will happen under certain conditions. How's yours with respect to color reproduction?

btw, those grips are lovely.

CDFingers

Unless you have a device to set up your monitor, what your camera sees and what your monitor displays, and what your printer prints, will most likely be different. With all the different factors I'm surprised that we get anywhere close when we take a picture and then try to print it. Even the change from Sunlight to shade will change the color of a photograph. Yea, I know the camera usually adjust the white balance, but how well it does that determines how well the color is reproduced.

If you have a program like Photoshop, and you can remember what the color looks like, then you can adjust the color for better results.

 

[street]

Do you think the color displayed there is 100% true to life, contender? I ask this because the CCD on my camera does not show me what my eyes see. I sort of have to memorize what will happen under certain conditions. How's yours with respect to color reproduction?

btw, those grips are lovely.

CDFingers

Unless you have a device to set up your monitor, what your camera sees and what your monitor displays, and what your printer prints, will most likely be different. With all the different factors I'm surprised that we get anywhere close when we take a picture and then try to print it. Even the change from Sunlight to shade will change the color of a photograph. Yea, I know the camera usually adjust the white balance, but how well it does that determines how well the color is reproduced.

If you have a program like Photoshop, and you can remember what the color looks like, then you can adjust the color for better results.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Do you think the color displayed there is 100% true to life, contender? I ask this because the CCD on my camera does not show me what my eyes see. I sort of have to memorize what will happen under certain conditions. How's yours with respect to color reproduction?

btw, those grips are lovely.

CDFingers

Unless you have a device to set up your monitor, what your camera sees and what your monitor displays, and what your printer prints, will most likely be different. With all the different factors I'm surprised that we get anywhere close when we take a picture and then try to print it. Even the change from Sunlight to shade will change the color of a photograph. Yea, I know the camera usually adjust the white balance, but how well it does that determines how well the color is reproduced.

If you have a program like Photoshop, and you can remember what the color looks like, then you can adjust the color for better results.

Heck, my photos look completely different on my home monitor vs. the one at work...

-- Sam

 

[contender]

CD, a white sheet or other cloth will work. I did a bunch of research when I was building my first box,, (and before I found this commercial one.) On type I considered was one built using PVC pipe and elbow & T joints to assemble a frame. By not glueing all the joints, it could be made in such a way as to be taken apart when not in use.
That commercial one has spring steel pieces around the edges & folds up flat & goes into a neat case. Quite nifty!

 

[Bullet Puller]

While you have those camera manuals out, find the section on "white balance". Most digital cameras have a way to compensate for the quality of the ambient light. Or you can just let it do it's own thing in automatic. A little time spent reading about white balance will pay big dividends in color rendition.

On a sour note, if your monitor and printer are not calibrated also then it will be difficult to see exactly what colors you captured even though they may be perfect in the camera.

This photography thing can get complicated!

Hope this will be helpful.

Larry

 

[contender]

Thanks,, but until I get pics I can't live with,, I'll keep on doing what I'm doing. My manuel is completely in english, and has 93 pages. Not the easiest thing to understand when the give you one instruction, then say refer to page X then you go there & read 2 lines & it says refer to page Y, etc. My camera has many more functions I just don't understand. So far though,,, I've been pleased with my results.

 

[308longdistance]

Nice looking pics. I hear ya on the book, mine also came with a DVD. I'm pretty good at putting it on auto and............press the little button.

 

[doccash]

PLay with the white balance it is simple and everything to a digital camera.Alternate between fluorescent and incandesent, even try cloudy and you'll be amazed at what you see from your light box. Dr.C

 

[flatgate]

I don't mess with the camera much. Software seems to work.....

Being Color Blind with reds and greens makes it easy.......



flatgate

 

[rugerguy]

I found that the 'white' ( too bright) background seldom worked properly with any of the 3 digital cameras we have used....as for the "settings' hell, take one shot at ( with each setting, same pose) run it into the computer and then compare ( remember which is which though.....) then keep and use the settring that LOOKS the best.....yessir may take time, but ain't digital cameras wonderful, you delete what you want to and start all over again...in time you'll come up with some NICE still shoots........its taking pictures of :"stuff" ( people and events at a MOMENTS notice that MOST folks cannot handle) that proverbial "Kodak moment....." gun and pieces ,parts "posing" its keeping things "steady", and yes, as Flatgate says, if YOU are a "computer geek" and have and know HOW to use, ANY of the software, it's scary.............

 

[street]

I found that the 'white' ( too bright) background seldom worked properly with any of the 3 digital cameras we have used....as for the "settings' hell, take one shot at ( with each setting, same pose) run it into the computer and then compare ( remember which is which though.....) then keep and use the settring that LOOKS the best.....yessir may take time, but ain't digital cameras wonderful, you delete what you want to and start all over again...in time you'll come up with some NICE still shoots........its taking pictures of :"stuff" ( people and events at a MOMENTS notice that MOST folks cannot handle) that proverbial "Kodak moment....." gun and pieces ,parts "posing" its keeping things "steady", and yes, as Flatgate says, if YOU are a "computer geek" and have and know HOW to use, ANY of the software, it's scary.............

Rugerguy is right. You need to use different setting on your camera and pick the one that works the best for you. You try different loads for your guns and pick the best to shoot, same with a camera, you try different settings and use the best for your photos. You have to realize that your eyes can change exposer on the fly but a camera will average a scene at an instant in time and try to get the best exposer it can. Some cameras will expose too dark and some will expose too light. that's the reason that you need to play with the controls of your camera to get the best photos you can.

Rugerguy also said that you can use softwear to improve your photos, and I agree. With Digital cameras and softwear, such as Adobe Photoshop you can really work with a photo and get a lot better photo, then just with a camera alone. Yes I know, photoshop is expensive but so is a Mint Lightweight with a Green Wreath Box. Not many of us would turn one of those down. You can buy Photshop a lot cheeper then one of those Lightweight, as one of the green Wreath Boxes sold for $1700.00 on E-bay not long ago.

Not only can you improve your photos but you can combine 2 or more photos that are uninteresting into a very interesting Photo. See the Photos below. One is a dog standing on a dock with a lot of stuff in the background. Not a very good photo. Next is a picture of a duck, not a bad picture but not great. I then took a picture of the dock with nothing but the water as the background. I didn't include it because I can't find it, must have deleted it, not worth keeping. The last picture is the dog looking as if she is going to jump on the duck, which is a much more interesting picture. Oh! By the way I also added the shadow to the dog to make it look real. This is all done with Photoshop.

This is the three photos combined.

 

[45nut]

Contender just my 2 cents worth of non pro advice. It takes some playing around to get a light box and camera working together. there are 2 things you can do to improve the quality of your pictures that are very easy to do. Turn off the flash set your shutter speed very low and adjust the white balance on your camera. I had never her of white balance before last year when I bought my DSLR and some one on this forum enlightened me. Who ever it was thanks what a difference that made.

Same light setup and camera settings just with white balance set on one.
First pic with wrong white balance

White balance adjusted

Looks like you are off to a good start just need some tweeking. Have fun with it your equipment photropghry is a bottomless pit like guns!