Thank you for your kind comment on my photos, I am learning, finally, after all these years. (Of course, a good camera and light box helps too!)
Quick question Wink, if you don't mind. I've given up trying to get good pictures of my stones now that I live in a virtual (seldom any direct sun) forest. Is your light box one of those that has the solid opaque sides with only one opening, or is it the type that the light shines through the sides of semi-transparent white material - thanks.
It is a large box, with a 13" round platform that will rotate 180 degrees and about 40 degrees tilt in any one direction. The camera will attach at the top on a rail or on the front door on a rail that will allow you to shoot from nearly any angle that you can imagine. The sides are translucent with light coming in from any combination of front (lights are in the two doors), back, platform, top, left and right sides, also with halogen floods for those stones colored by chromium that are bashfull under normal lighting, and with a top LED light array and also two LED lights on long goose necks to allow for spot lighting any desired area. Those are critical when trying to show dispersion and sparkle in a stone, but you have to be very careful not to overblow the spots, which is fairly easy because they have a reostat that allows you to turn them from off to way on and everywhere in between.
The red stone and the green were both very difficult to photograph and both had wonky colors which made the ability to at least moderately use photoshop critical as I was able to adjust the colors to accurately represent what I am seeing, at least on my monitor.
The top photo on my pages and in my new avatar was done by my webmaster with individual shots that I had taken. This is a man who has serious Photoshop talent as he made the composition of several individual shots look like it was a well composed photo. Frankly I do not believe that the photo could actually have been taken as the shadows and different focus lengths would have made it nearly if not actually impossible to take.
Wow, did not mean to go on a ramble. It is a gorgeous day outside and the light coming off the snow is so bright it hurts my eyes if I lift them up to look out the window. Yesterday was a glorious day for photography inside. It was dark and overcast with light snow all day long. I could not have stayed inside had it been so beautiful as it is now...
Wink
Previous Topic
Index