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Fun with photos part II
Stork
Posts: 5,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
For the last week or so I've been playing around trying to do better pictures without investing in a lot of equipment. These are some of my favorites so far.
All I've been using is my iPhone 6, a couple of gooseneck LED lights from Home Depot, a plastic cup to rest the phone on, a piece of black felt I liberated from my husband, a card table in the basement, and for 'editing' PicMonkey (online lightweight editor).
I still can't replicate a dedicated set up/dedicated settings just yet, but with a few shots I can get to at least passable on some things. PicMonkey even let me figure out how to do some of that cool layering with the slab labels.
So, for fun:
My favorite medal--it's hard to replicate the toning--has some pretty blues, and it's hard to focus on everything with just the phone. This is a MUCH better shot than I've gotten before though.
Next is a 5 rin. The color is actually pretty accurate. The fuzzy thing and what looks like a scratch are slab issues.
Next is very pretty-in-hand 50 sen with my favorite hoo birds. I just could not get the blues to show up well and it's much prettier in hand. Still cool (to me) though.
And finally, my Uruguay puma coin of the unkown proof mintage. Proofs are listed in Aluminum Bronze for 1930, but I've only seen essais. No proof for 1936 that I can find, but NGC has slabbed several as such (and some MS too, so they are making a distinction), and PCGS has slabbed as 'specimen' strikes.
And, this is what I've been up to the last week.
All I've been using is my iPhone 6, a couple of gooseneck LED lights from Home Depot, a plastic cup to rest the phone on, a piece of black felt I liberated from my husband, a card table in the basement, and for 'editing' PicMonkey (online lightweight editor).
I still can't replicate a dedicated set up/dedicated settings just yet, but with a few shots I can get to at least passable on some things. PicMonkey even let me figure out how to do some of that cool layering with the slab labels.
So, for fun:
My favorite medal--it's hard to replicate the toning--has some pretty blues, and it's hard to focus on everything with just the phone. This is a MUCH better shot than I've gotten before though.
Next is a 5 rin. The color is actually pretty accurate. The fuzzy thing and what looks like a scratch are slab issues.
Next is very pretty-in-hand 50 sen with my favorite hoo birds. I just could not get the blues to show up well and it's much prettier in hand. Still cool (to me) though.
And finally, my Uruguay puma coin of the unkown proof mintage. Proofs are listed in Aluminum Bronze for 1930, but I've only seen essais. No proof for 1936 that I can find, but NGC has slabbed several as such (and some MS too, so they are making a distinction), and PCGS has slabbed as 'specimen' strikes.
And, this is what I've been up to the last week.
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Comments
Virtus Collection - Renaissance and Baroque Medals
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Those are pretty darn good.
I agree.I-phone no less
You have excellent taste as well. I don't think I could pick a favorite from that group!
Thanks...the cell phone cameras have much improved over the last few years. They still lack a lot of control a dedicated set up would yield, but definitely serviceable, and makes me a bit more skeptical of a regular ebay seller who has bad shots. Not everyone has a cell phone and not every item is worthy of more than a modicum of time to list (like the .99 buy it nows), BUT decent photos are now in the hands of the masses.
Not me, not yet anyways, but those photos may make me go out and buy one. Regular cameras may be going the way of the dinosaur.
this puts cell Phone pics on another level.
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
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Thanks...the cell phone cameras have much improved over the last few years. They still lack a lot of control a dedicated set up would yield, but definitely serviceable, and makes me a bit more skeptical of a regular ebay seller who has bad shots. Not everyone has a cell phone and not every item is worthy of more than a modicum of time to list (like the .99 buy it nows), BUT decent photos are now in the hands of the masses.
Not me, not yet anyways, but those photos may make me go out and buy one. Regular cameras may be going the way of the dinosaur.
Even if they do, I strongly suggest to anybody with good, expensive equipment of 10+ years and non digital too, to hang on to it,because iin a few years they will become good collectableos, and we know how much condition and full set are important. Check out sales of old unused or used but pristine Apple mobile collectables, first and second generation of iPods etc. $20K asking etc.
Cathy, you said it. Good images have become available to the masses, which means we should all try. But your images are a delight.
myEbay
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