Poll: painful photo contest- pictures restored!

mgoodm3

I finally have the time to get this thing online. It finally ended recently with the coin returning home. I think that the coin itself was the prize. Maybe I'll throw something else in the package for the winner. One of the contestants made a picture with both the obv and rev (ignore the rev). Quite a few never sent pictures

#1



#2



#3



#4



#5



#6



#7



#8



#9



#10



#11



#12



#13



#14



#15



#16



#17

mgoodm3

I put my pic in there. You can't vote for it though.

jmj3esq

Some real nice photos in there. It was a tough decission.

Longacre

Great contest. It's amazing how different the pictures look.

Cladiator

I want to vote for #11 but there is no #11 option in the poll.

mgoodm3

<< <i>I want to vote for #11 but there is no #11 option in the poll. >>



#11 is not an option. No soup for you!

AUandAG

#13 accurately shows the slide marks on Jeff shoulder.

bob

Cladiator

I vote for this one...



<< <i>#11


>>

commoncents05

I voted #2. It was between that and #13, but there was too much glare on #13.

-Paul

MarkInDavis

I like #2. 11 and 13 close behind. Which looks most like the coin in hand?

poorguy

#11 No contest.

mgoodm3

I really like the soft lighting on the portrait and fields on #13. That's a tough task with this coin.

mgoodm3

There's something about the look of the portrait on #8 that appeals to me.

carl

<< <i>I want to vote for #11 but there is no #11 option in the poll. >>



I have to agree that #11 is the one I would pick.
Seldom take photos of coins. If I have the coin, why take a photo of it? People change so I take photos of them. Coins stay the same.

ChuckC

I want #11 too!!

BECOKA

While 13 is real nice, there is too much glare mixed with shadow. I think #2 is the real winner.

I wish I would have known about this contest, I would have loved to try this coin.

mgoodm3

#2 is nice and sharp. I like sharp images.

IrishMike

Wasn't the original idea to get a photo of the coin as it actually looks in hand?

mgoodm3

As far as I can tell there is no set definition of what a coin "looks like in hand" It depends upon a lot of factors. You could certainly say it looks "like the coin does under these specific lighting conditions"

IrishMike

My photo was not nearly as good as some of the others, but I thought the genesis of the contest was that you weren't able to capture the coin as it looked, my bad if I misunderstood.

mgoodm3

The genesis of this contest was that this coin is a bear to get an image of. I think that quite a few of the images are reasonably accurate given the difficulties. There are some white balance issues out there. #3 is kinda what this coin looks like under fairly standard lighting shooting from straight on. When reflecting light off of the mirrors, which is what most people do with proofs "in hand" this coin tends toward yellow/gold color.

Goldbully

<< <i>I vote for this one...



<< <i>#11


>>

>>




ditto!!!!!!!

CarlWohlforth

Well, it has been so long I forgot which was mine. I suspect it wasn't among the front runners.

I'm a bit surprised #3 and #6 have so few votes but I am not at all surprised #2, #11 and #13 are popular.

After this contest I purchased a copy stand and more lights. I read Mark's website carefully. I still can not consistently get great photos. I'd love to blame my camera but think there is some talent and artistry involved too - and I seem to be missing some of it.

mgoodm3

I only know my own pic. I can look it up at home for you later. As soon as I got the images I gave them a random number and recorded that in an excel file.

Shamika

I like #1 the best, but I don't generally collect proofs.

speety

I voted #13.

PS... I forget which one is mine

Swampboy

mgoodm3,

What a monumental task! Thank you for your effort and thanks to the shootists.

I'll edit my post with a choice.

How to decide amongst so many great shots.



edited to say; I need to pick one so I'm going with awesome #14.

Barry

For me it was a tough choice between #2 and #11, but since #11 wasn't a choice, I picked #2.

kryptonitecomics

#2 but the coin looked different colors in different images so I don't know how accurate the color was on #2

IrishMike

<< <i>#2 but the coin looked different colors in different images so I don't know how accurate the color was on #2 >>



Would never have guessed it was the coin that showed up at my house.

AlixTCat

I should have figured #11 was yours and I could not vote for it. I voted for

Jonathan

mgoodm3

bu,mp

messydesk

A rather diverse approach to shooting this beast. This was much more sensitive to placement of coin and light than lustrous coins are.

ricko

It was a tough choice between two and thirteen... I chose two... but I see others may have had the same dilemma. Cheers, RickO

mgoodm3

bump

mgoodm3

for the late night. I'll conclude this tomorrow.

Bochiman

One little thing that comes to mind....size might be an influencer for people...would be nice if the images were all sized the same (yeah...I know people probably didn't send them in the same size but it still would be nice).

BlindedByEgo

<< <i>It was a tough choice between two and thirteen... I chose two... but I see others may have had the same dilemma. Cheers, RickO >>



I agree about the tough choice between those two, but I chose thirteen for the reality factor.

BlindedByEgo

<< <i>One little thing that comes to mind....size might be an influencer for people...would be nice if the images were all sized the same (yeah...I know people probably didn't send them in the same size but it still would be nice). >>



Once again... Size DOES matter

csw

I voted for No. 5 on the theory that it was a more accurate representation of the coin, but what do I know?

Bochiman

<< <i>

<< <i>One little thing that comes to mind....size might be an influencer for people...would be nice if the images were all sized the same (yeah...I know people probably didn't send them in the same size but it still would be nice). >>



Once again... Size DOES matter >>



Sounds like you hear that a lot

perfectstrike

I liked the lighting on 2 over the lighting on 11, but they are close.

David

NHSBaseball

Gotta go with #4.

DuPapa

Some great shots and a close vote.

Is this like voting in the primary election?
Will there be voting for the top 3 or 4 candidates in a general?

EagleEye

I likes #2 and #13. They were very similar but #13 caught some of the hairlines on the plastic down by the shoulder, so I went with #2.

If the coin is actually a steel-blue toner, my choice would be. #3.

mgoodm3

For those of you that never saw this coin or tried to photograph it, this coin is truly difficult to get even a decent photo out of. I sent the coin to 26 different people and only got 15 pictures back

mgoodm3

last bump I will award the winner later this eve (already likely pretty obvious who is going to win).

mgoodm3

Winner and runners-up:

1) #2 Messydesk
2) #13 Airplanenut
3) #9 Speety

Good job folks. Those are all nice images.

Stuart

I felt that both #2 and 11 were superb with excellent focus, depth of field and proof reflectivity:

TwoSides2aCoin

This would be better with Statehood quarters instead of nickels.

messydesk

<< <i>This would be better with Statehood quarters instead of nickels. >>


Nah, those are flat and cameoed. This nickel was anything but. Thanks for the contest, Mark. It was a tough coin to photograph such that you could see all the reflectivity and details without either blowing out one feature or burying another in black.
It was an honor to win!