I am DONE with stupid coin Pictures!!!

WaterSport

That’s right Done! Done with taking, editing and posting 424 Pictures of all the coins I have in my Inventory. It took a long time and most of the pictures are not worth talking about compared to the excellent photography skills on theses boards, Heck, many are fuzzy, full of that darn slab glare, unbalanced light, spots galore, and with reflection from the lens. But my little Olympus and I with macro just kept trying. Trying to come close to a decent picture. We tried outdoors in direct sun, indoors in direct sun, on the floor, on the table on the porch, in the hall, on the bed, wherever the sun did shine.

We waited days for sun, then tried when it was cloudy, finally I used a black magic marker to cover up that darn hologram lettering causing me so much lens refraction. And eventually found that just plain spots on the tripod was all I needed. But still no great pictures. Did I mention that a computer problem caused my loss of my early Photoshop version so I had to buy a new version…For $600 Dollars!!!! Did I mention I lost the battery charger for the camera and to buy another !!!!

That’s right, laugh all you want. But I was determined and many times I said the heck with it. I debated numerous times on whether to buy a decent camera, But there were so many models on the forums suggested. Sony, Nikon, Kodak..but wait, I did not have another $1000 for new camera. And besides, I was half way done! I could do it! But who the heck wants to sit indoors on a beautiful day and take stupid coin pictures? I had things to do, I have a life, there was surfing, fixing the house and grocery shopping, Coin pictures today, No way, it will have to wait. But the Sun is perfect today!

So what did I learn, It takes a lot of TIME to take coin pictures, Sure, once set up, you can knock out a blue box in minutes, but then the editing starts. Loading is also a slow process. It was not until I was 2/3 done when I discovered you can load more than one picture and THEN hit upload. I learned that plain old brilliant proofs are almost IMPOSSIBLE to take a photograph of. Mattes come so close and tease you a lot. DCAM memorials..Hey, some turn out. But my camera Always had a problem about focusing on the slab, and not the coin inside. Easiest pictures to take, just plain old brown cents! I also learned I had a lot of misgraded and ugly coins. In fact, I upgraded several during the process.

So why did I do it? For me and you! I can now check out my pics when they are locked away, or if I am at work. I can share them with collectors like you. I can compare an equivalent date with a possible purchase. That’s rightI am DONE. How many of you can say that. Heck, ever looked at how many sets are even half photographed!!And many of you thought about getting all TrueViews, But HOW MUCH is that going to cost you (Lets see 424 X $5 = $2120!!!!!) Darn, maybe you better start saving up!!!!

So I am bragging about my bad photographs because it is an achievement. And if anyone of you finds a close up photo of a error or variety a bit of help then that makes it worth while.

Would I do it again, probably not. So think twice my fellow collectors for those who think its no big deal and want to laugh at sub standard pictures, be my guest. I am betting that many of you wisely figured out that $2000 could by a key coin first rather than a picture of one. And that compared with the time and effort, well you get the picture by now. CLICK! Enjoy

WaterSport

lordmarcovan

I feel your pain.


I have approximately 800 world coins I have to scan in order to sell them.

8 down, 792 to go...

Mesquite

Good rant! Taking good pictures can be both a humbling and exasperating undertaking.

Swampboy

This thread is useless without pictures.

66Tbird

Yep, ben thiar, dun dat. after a whiIe I just shoot a mess at low res at different angles, spin the holder, and the toss them in a folder, by coin, then to edit when I need to. I still like my Oly740 for close work, but my Canon S3 will work on manual and after some setup time. Lighting is the key

leothelyon

Yes, it's a long drawn out forage but once you get the hang of it, it's just a matter of resetting up and clicking away. The cropping and editing gets easier once you're familiar with the settings. The thing that gets in the way the most are the new ideas and the thought about starting all over............oh, I dread that the most!


Leo

morgansforever

Excellent rant. But failure is necessary for success. I have failed many times, but I'll still get on the horse

with my El Cheapo Fuji camera.

A little gas for the fire,

fc

and the thought about starting all over..

totally agree. you have pics when you first started that do not
match up to your current pic taking skill level.. so you look at those
old pics and wish to redo them :-|

sigh. it is like i want a matched set of quality pics but i am too lazy

morgansforever

Watersport, do you backup all your high res pics?

mgoodm3

It does take a lot of time, but I like it. I'm lucky if I can get 5 coins done an hour.

I collect camera parts.

StampAlarm

When I 1st saw all the neat coin pictures 5 years ago I said, man I gotta
start doing that. So, I did. A whole 2 frustrating pictures. After that, the whole
thing went to crap. And, I knew exactly what my problem was and is.

I'm NOT a photography person. I never have been. Why in the hell would I think I would
enjoy taking pictures of coins when I don't want to take a picture of anything?
So, I don't. I have sent a small group to a board member. Now, I'm as happy as
a lark.

WaterSport, my hats off to you for sticking with it.



Jerry

LucyBop

DoubleEagle59

That is one damn good rant!!

I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

messydesk

<< <i>I learned that plain old brilliant proofs are almost IMPOSSIBLE to take a photograph of. >>


An underappreciated fact of life, indeed, speaking of which, there's a "painful coin photo" contest that mgoodm3 is running that should be about ending now with one of these as the subject.

Nice rant, though. I have approximately 800 bust half pictures I need to post-process now. I took them all in one day, but that's just part of the work. I think I'll be tired of seeing bust halves by the time I'm done.

ibzman350

+1









Herb

planetsteve

So I am bragging about my bad photographs because it is an achievement.

Indeed -- they are steps toward success! I love photography, and I have come to the conclusion that coins are one of the most difficult of all subjects to image. I have been having the best results with my latest acquisition in this quest -- a twin-head macro flash for my SLR (see BST post for examples).

Think of it this way. There are few people who are good at shooting coins (though I see that some of them have already posted here! ) Wouldn't it be cool to be one of the best?

ModernCrapNut

And Photoshop Elements can be had for less than $50 and do 90% of what the $600 full version does.

btw, I see Elements 6.0 is out now.

CarlWohlforth

Congratulations on finishing! That is a lot of work. I have tried lots of changes but still don't have a quick and foolproof system. For me it is fun, but I don't try to take too many photos all at once but do take at least a few each week.

NIckelCollector

Watersport

I also feel your pain. I "only" uploaded 200+ photos and then went back a 2nd time to change the formatting. I agree having the photos will be invaluable in upgrading. Link to my photos below.

Frank

Gemineye

.......................

IGWT

Excellent rant! Did this one this morning.

RedTiger

Taking coin pictures is a bit like learning how to grade. There is no substitute for looking at lots of coins for grading, and no substitute for taking lots of pictures when learning that process. Yes, guides, and mentors can cut the learning curve down in both cases, as will natural talent. However at the end of the day, repetition, and lots of it, will help in terms of proficiency and consistency.

This is one reason, it sometimes is more than worth the percentage, to consign certain coins to someone who can take a good set of photos.

19Lyds

424 Pics! Wow!

This reminds me of the time that I decided to convert from storing my raw coins in 2x2's to 1.5 x 1.5's! That took me weeks and a lot of hand cramps from that flat stapler but saved a ton of storage space!