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#1
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Lighting of engraving on cylinder?
I need to photograph a antique "Air" cane from the 1850's that has
engraving and most particularly an inscription on it. It is steel and about 2+ inches in diameter. I can get the inscription fair but because of the curvature of the surface I only get some of it and hardly any of the engraving. The inscription runs along the length of the cane but the engraving goes all the way around it. I've tried low angle lighting that shows up fairly good but only some of it. I've tried a ring flash but that seems to wash most of it out. I also am not sure what color the background should be to set it off the best. I've used a fairly neutral light grey background but that really doesn't seem to work very well. Would a dark color work better or go very light? I am most definitely an amature photographer so any and all suggestions would be most appreciated. Bill Slater |
#2
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Lighting of engraving on cylinder?
"William J. Slater" wrote in message m... I need to photograph a antique "Air" cane from the 1850's that has engraving and most particularly an inscription on it. It is steel and about 2+ inches in diameter. I can get the inscription fair but because of the curvature of the surface I only get some of it and hardly any of the engraving. The inscription runs along the length of the cane but the engraving goes all the way around it. I've tried low angle lighting that shows up fairly good but only some of it. I've tried a ring flash but that seems to wash most of it out. I also am not sure what color the background should be to set it off the best. I've used a fairly neutral light grey background but that really doesn't seem to work very well. Would a dark color work better or go very light? I am most definitely an amature photographer so any and all suggestions would be most appreciated. you probably need to tent the entire subject. Sometimes you can raise a bit more detail in the engravings by running a strip of black tape, either suspending it over the subject just out of camera range or just stretching it across the fabric of the tent. or you could try hanging a piece of black cardboard instead of a long strip. time to play around. this is the opposite of placing specular highlights to get texture out of fabric. but first you need to get a shadowless environment with a tent. A simple method that my work is to go to a graphic arts store and buy a sheet or two of tracing paper, a white near translucent paper you can make a conical witch's hat and blast light through with the item in the middle, either shoot straight down or through a hole in the middle. Or go to the store and buy a couple yards of sports nylon and either hang with twine and clips/clothespins or use a hanger and hang it like a mosquito net. You can also buy cube like white tents, you see a lot of them on ebay since all those dealers often have the same problem with their small shiny items. if your light and exposure is correct, then the background is merely a complementary consideration, would have little to do with gaining detail on the item itself. You might want to consider placing the item on a sheet of glass or plastic and float it over a background so you don't have to worry about shadows. |
#3
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Lighting of engraving on cylinder?
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#5
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Lighting of engraving on cylinder?
Thank you both for your suggestions. I will give them a try and see
how I do. FWIW, I am a collector of antique pneumatic arms and have fairly extensive collection of air canes as well as air rifles. The earliest example I have is from approximatly 1714 - 1720. The earliest know examples are from the early 1600's. I have had a request to do an article on this particular cane. Mostly because it has an inscription that reads "Capt. R. Palmer - South Mayo Royal Rifles 1856". It is very uncommon to be able to pinpoint the original owner much less find information about them. This gentelman was a participant in the Crimean War and involved in all of the major battles. The most interesting to me is that he was an actual participant in the famous "Charge of the Light Brigade" and even more interestingly obviously survived it! Anyway, this is probably more information than you wanted but it is a passion for me.... ;^D Thanks again for your help! KBob wrote in message news: A fascinating subject (to shoot). Those things had deadly power and many were beautifully made--Lewis & Clark carried a fine example. Anyway, I'd favor using a very diffuse lighting method for something like this, and maybe you can fashion some sort of translucent surrounding out of white silk with a peek-through for the camera. You can also experiment with a temporary dulling spray to reduce surface reflection. A blued metal surface may also reflect some polarized light (i.e., glare), so you could try a polaroid filter as well. |
#6
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Lighting of engraving on cylinder?
"William J. Slater" wrote
FWIW, I am a collector of antique pneumatic arms and have fairly extensive collection of air canes as well as air rifles. [And need to take pictures of same.] "Rollout" photography is a method of taking pictures of cylindrical objects: http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/text-peripheral-basics.html http://www.digital-photography.org/r...aya_vases.html There is some discussion about lighting in the above sites and links. -- Nick Lindan |
#7
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Lighting of engraving on cylinder?
I will also give this idea a try. I got a e-mail from a gentelman who
suggested I try a "cyclograph". This sounds very interesting but I'm not sure I have the technical capabilities nor the equipment for this approach. I will try to "report" back on my success (or failures) but it will be a little while. I'm heading overseas this weekend so I will try these excellent suggestions out when I return. Wish me luck....... ;^D Thanks again to all of you. This Guy Here (put a "." between the "x" & the "n") wrote in message . .. If it were me, I'd might experiment with two light sources. I'd break out my strip lights on either side of the cylinder. Placement would be critical. I'd have to experiment, but I'd put them parallel to the cane on either side, but with the cane a little further back. I'd also probably ensure that perpendicular to the lights, I'd use something dark, to provide some contrasts & to help viewing the engraving. And alternative, depending on how big the area being photographed is, is a single discussed light source above the cane -- in other words, one end of the cane is pointed directly at the large light source. Let us know if any of these ideas (mine & others) work. |
#8
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Lighting of engraving on cylinder?
Here in the UK there are available special sprays to dull the surface of
brightly reflecting subjects (eg. Silver hallmarks on antique spoons). They are called K line dulling sprays and are available from calumet (www.caumetphoto.com.uk) However as a former dentist I remember very similar sprays ( probably french chalk or fuller's earth in a very fine spray used to determine tooth contacts) this could certainly be used. Although coloured red or green what is that to someone familiar with Photoshop! |
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