pens turn this weekend.

[brian watts]

-bacote,osage,canarywood,curly maple slim line pen,wild plum slim line pen,black walnut,curly maple,bacote

2 pic- canarywood comfort pen

3- bacote comfort pen

just wish my pic came out half as good as the pens did need to learn how to take a better pic.. can any one help??? thanks for looking

[Allen Neighbors]

Nice pens... you really have been busy!
I can't help you with the photography, other than to tell you that a little more richness in the color is enough to make these pretty darn nice pics! I can do that with my Photolightning, but not in a digital camera...
Love the pen stand, too!!

[David E Keller]

Nice looking pens, Brian. I really like the looks of that bocote... It smells a little like pickles to me for some reason.

[brian watts]

Nice pens... you really have been busy!
I can't help you with the photography, other than to tell you that a little more richness in the color is enough to make these pretty darn nice pics! I can do that with my Photolightning, but not in a digital camera...
Love the pen stand, too!!


photolighting is that a program ? sorry iam lost on pic's stuff

[David DeCristoforo]

Actually I don't think the photos are bad. The color looks right and the focus is sharp. There are some "hot spots" and shadows that could be eliminated by diffusing the light source. The biggest problem with the photos is that they are cropped too tight. The last one actually cuts off the tip of the pen. A little more space around the subject would make them feel more relaxed. And I would lose the feather. It is not something that has any relation to the subject and looks out of place. Maybe if the subject items were bird calls it would work. Just MMHO...

BTW, nice work on the pens. I love bocote so that's the one I would buy...

[Matt Ranum]

Despite the pic the pens look great!

As far as photos, I asked a similar question early this year and ended up with lots of good advice and examples in the thread. Here is the link if want to look at it.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=132438

[John Hart]

Nice pens Brian. Matt's photography thread appears to contain your solution to the photography. White balance and lighting are key.

Take your pictures at a very high resolution and at a decent distance to get everything in the picture to ensure your total composition, good focus, and lighting. The selt timer and the tripod together will eliminate any camera shake. Then crop and modify the resolution, and tweek your color in your software after the picture is taken.

[Michelle Rich]

nice pens..photo isn't that bad..good to have a few emergency gifts around the house..never know when you've forgotten a birthday or such...

[John Keeton]

Brian - nice work on the pens! I still struggle with the lighting issues. It seems that your depth of field is not deep enough on the pics - not everything in the pic is in dead focus. That usually happens because you were too close to the subject. John's suggestion is good - back up and then use software to crop the pic.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice bunch of pens Brian. Really like the Bocote also.

[Aaron Wingert]

Great pens Brian. I also am a big fan of that bocote pen.

As for the picture, I think that anything in the picture beside the subject can really detract. The turkey feather in this case, in my opinion, detracts from the subject. As you've probably seen, there are some call makers that post pictures of their calls on their websites with so much other nature or hunting-related stuff the picture is much too busy and it makes it harder to showcase their work. Your work is awesome, so I say let it stand alone in the picture and speak for itself. Just an opinion!

[Jeff Luedloff]

Great job on your pens, as for as your pics I would make a clear Plexiglas holder and remove feathers and anything else that would draw someones attention form your pens. also maybe some white board to reflect the light behind you pens to remove shadows or a light tent to soften the light. you do such good pen work show your work off.... just my opinion...

[Karl Card]

Nice looking pens, Brian. I really like the looks of that bocote... It smells a little like pickles to me for some reason.


David,

I never noticed the smell until you said something about this, now i do smell pickles every time I turn this wood... I guess as long as we dont have bocote on our bologna or hamburgers we will be ok..
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as far as the pens go, that third one is really nice and I really like the grain activity.

Good job

[Donny Lawson]

Nice work Brian.Looks like between calls and pens you have plenty to do, but just wait until you add bowls,spin tops, bottlestoppers,light pulls,X-mas ornaments,etc,etc,etc, to it all.Then you will be busy,busy,busy...Sounds like fun:D.Now lets go make some shavings.
Donny

[brian watts]

thanks everyone for the nice words . still learning about the pic stuff. i went got 2 75 watt daylights and it didnot help any of the pic.. dang this pic stuff is hard for me to get right ..

[brian watts]

hope this is better NO feather or wood.. let me know.. my wife think iam crazy i guess because she ask why i need lights to take a pic..:D

[Allen Neighbors]

http://www.photolightning.com/tryit.html
This is the photolightning I was talking about...

[James Combs]

Much better on the photos, they may be a little on the dark side but there is no distractions from the pens.

[brian watts]

Much better on the photos, they may be a little on the dark side but there is no distractions from the pens.

going to get another light sat . i have two all ready guess i need another one..

[David E Keller]

I think the new pics are an improvement. You may be able to adjust the photo with editing software. i use photoshop elements because my wife uses it for her photo hobby. There's a guided editing portion of the program that's pretty simple to use.

[Jeff Luedloff]

Brian, here is a link that might help. Here (http://www.nealaddy.org/node/16)

[Billy Tallant]

Some very nice looking pens. I really like that 1st pen on the left.