Just For Grins

[Richard Madison]

Small pecan hf (6-1/2 x 4-1/2) with big, tall (5-1/2) ebonized mimosa finial. Practice for photography class tomorrow. Maybe should save the finial for a larger piece.

Comments/critique (+and-) of the piece and the photo are welcome.

[Scott Hubl]

No picture.:eek:

[Richard Madison]

Scott,
Usually forget to attach picture the first time around.

[Scott Hubl]

Much better now.:D

Looks good to me, and so does the photo.

[Jim Becker]

Richard, this is a nice piece with a great finish.

My one suggestion is to make the finial a lot more delicate...right now it's overpowering the body of the turning.

On the photo, very shiny objects are hard to do. You have a bad reflection (hot spot) from one of your lights...more diffusion necessary. Glossy finishes can really drive you nuts for this! There is a bit of overexposure, too....look at the bottom of the piece where it's not as defined...I suspect this is also a diffusion issue.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking box. I agree I would have made the finial more delicate and a little shorter.

[Curt Fuller]

I like that! Even with the big finial it looks pretty good. The main body looks like glass. Very nice.

[Joyce Baldauf]

Hollow form is gorgeous and so is the finial. Having said that, I feel that the finial is not delicate enough for the size of the hollow form.

When you have some time, give it a narrower finial. I don't think the height is the problem. Save this finial for some larger gorgeous piece.

Can you tell that I really like them?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Richard - nice work! Beautiful finish!

I agree with most others that the finial may add more to the piece if it were turned very slight - delicate.

As to the photo - glossy items are always hard to capture without having some form of glare. Jim already addressed the hot spot and suggested corrective action. Only other suggestion would be to have the piece sitting straight instead of leaning to the left. Just a thought...

[Richard Madison]

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate your comments.

Agree that the finial is a bit much. Had planned to trim it down a bit but was liking the shape so I just stopped where it is. May have a larger piece where its size will be a better match.

Glossy items definitely difficult to photograph. That's actually a reflection of the light and its reflector. Bummer. Photography instructor yesterday showed me their very expensive diffuse light source for studio shots. Very expensive! Also had suggestions to bounce or diffuse the light a bit.

Jim- I had too much light from under the table near the front of the piece. Built a little photo table with plastic top and clamp lamps underneath. One light somewhat under the piece, and the other to backlight the background. It sorta works. Just started trying to photograph my stuff, so much to learn. Used to know some photography 30+ years ago, but have forgotten most of it. Must try to re-learn old stuff and learn new digital stuff.

Thanks again for your kind words and thoughtful comments.

Edit: Damn, it is leaning left. Sorry about that.

[John Sheets]

Richard,
With a strong light either hitting behind or coming through your backdrop material, you basically have backlit the piece. Consequently, you likely have fooled your autoexposure into underexposing your subject. If you had used some off camera fill flash, or other indirect light, it might have worked better. Also the white background is a little too bright for good light balance.
Re: the finial, no comment. I've been photographing a lot longer than I've been turning :-)

[Ben Gastfriend]

Looks good to me. I don't mind the bigger finial, but sometimes fewer beads and coves look better. Nice job on the finish too!

[Richard Madison]

Thanks, guys. John, had to think about what you wrote to get it. (Aw BS it's not underexposed) But the piece is indeed a bit underexposed, due to too much light behind as well as underneath. Assume that is what you meant by "light balance". May actually learn something here if I try hard.