Knife Photography

[tvic]

Fall shot…

[doglegg]

Fall shot…

Calendar shot.

[QTCut5]

Fall shot…

Excellent color and composition, Tim....nailed it!!

[Sasquach]

Fall shot…

Love this shot Tim!!!

[Sasquach]

We got out early for our walk today. Billy jumped another deer, this one was a button buck. The end result was the same though, Billy got dusted as the deer gracefully leaped a briar thicket and disappeared.

[GSPTOPDOG]

Fall shot…

Calendar shot.

.... What D.L. said....

[GSPTOPDOG]

Mahalo, T-Dog Until I took those pics in the grocery store I have always been alone when doing knife photos. But in the store I got one or two suspicious sidelong glances from other customers as I was positioning my pocket knife on the produce! At one point, a store employee even started shadowing me, pretending to sweep the floor. Oh, the things we do for art and our hobby!!!

Many thanks Q ... I like a background of sunbaked adobe, the color is not as strong as a solid red, and I found that a strong red background does not work well when I am taking closeup shots.

As for those pics in the grocery store, the upside is that there are great color and texture contrast, as can be seen with the avocados and purple onions. ...

On the downside, according to my research, is that there might could be a slight problem with cross-contamination....

[QTCut5]

On the downside, according to my research, is that there might could be a slight problem with cross-contamination....

That thought actually crossed my mind and I briefly considered how I might feel if I saw someone putting their personal stuff on the produce I say "briefly" because no sooner had I thought this then I witnessed a woman with a snotty toddler sitting in her shopping cart putting its fingers into its mouth then slathering saliva over everything within reach....including the produce Naturally, I immediately felt compelled to wipe down my possibly baby-spit-contaminated knife with a sanitizing hand wipe!

Squach--pretty Buck (the one on the mossy log that Billy didn't chase into a briar thicket!)

Back to solitary photography for me this morning at Kealakekua Bay. I'll be the first to admit these are not the greatest pics, but I got out a bit too late and the sun was already in position to cast too harsh light and unfavorable shadows

[tvic]

Thanks for the kind words, doglegg, Q, Charlie and TopDog!
I really like that Buck, Charlie!
Cool Biohazard knife, TopDog!
Love the scrimshaw! Those are great shots, Q! Obviously the water in the background for that knife is very appropriate! Cool knife and beautiful background!

[Corn Creek Cutlery]

Fall shot…

Tim, that shot is in the home run, slam dunk, can't miss zone! Beautiful shot! Many

[Sasquach]

On the downside, according to my research, is that there might could be a slight problem with cross-contamination....

That thought actually crossed my mind and I briefly considered how I might feel if I saw someone putting their personal stuff on the produce I say "briefly" because no sooner had I thought this then I witnessed a woman with a snotty toddler sitting in her shopping cart putting its fingers into its mouth then slathering saliva over everything within reach....including the produce Naturally, I immediately felt compelled to wipe down my possibly baby-spit-contaminated knife with a sanitizing hand wipe!

Squach--pretty Buck (the one on the mossy log that Billy didn't chase into a briar thicket!)

Back to solitary photography for me this morning at Kealakekua Bay. I'll be the first to admit these are not the greatest pics, but I got out a bit too late and the sun was already in position to cast too harsh light and unfavorable shadows

Thanks Q. The Buck on the log is not a user, I just took it out for a photo op. The buck pictured below is the one that saw hard use for 10 or 12 years going to work with me every day in a harsh chemical laden environment. It is still in my EDC rotation. And the buck Billy didn't chase into the briar thicket, like most whitetails knew his turf and put a barrier between himself and Billy as quickly as possible. A good barrier too, that thicket is like a bazillion fish hooks attached to steel wire all rolled into a big ball. It's not impenetrable but you'll be a sad sight when you get to the other side, easier to go around. Billy has more sense than he's given credit for.

Well Q, you managed to get a couple of great shots in spite of the adverse conditions. Beautiful knife and background all with a nautical theme.
Is that handle ivory? The scrimshaw is beautiful.

[Fingers]

Italiano

[GSPTOPDOG]

Italiano

Mama mia!!!

[GSPTOPDOG]

On the downside, according to my research, is that there might could be a slight problem with cross-contamination....

That thought actually crossed my mind and I briefly considered how I might feel if I saw someone putting their personal stuff on the produce I say "briefly" because no sooner had I thought this then I witnessed a woman with a snotty toddler sitting in her shopping cart putting its fingers into its mouth then slathering saliva over everything within reach....including the produce Naturally, I immediately felt compelled to wipe down my possibly baby-spit-contaminated knife with a sanitizing hand wipe!

Wow! I Love the scrimshaw! A great photo indeed ... After your experience with that bratty 'lil kid at the grocery store who was most likely spreading deadly bacteria and viruses, onto your knife, ...Well... I have made some minor adjustments now when I go shopping for produce

[Fingers]

Thought I’d gotten lucky and had come across a native blade hafted onto a wooden handle.

[Fingers]

Thought I’d gotten lucky and had come across a native blade hafted onto a wooden handle.

But on closer examination all I had was a small piece of broken plastic. What you see isn’t always what you’ve got.

[Sasquach]

Thought I’d gotten lucky and had come across a native blade hafted onto a wooden handle.

But on closer examination all I had was a small piece of broken plastic. What you see isn’t always what you’ve got.

Better luck next time Fingers! Maybe you'll find one of these if you look in the right place.

[Sasquach]

From our walk this morning. A visitor from Titusville PA.

[QTCut5]

Mahalo Tim, Squach, T-Dog Yes, Charlie, the handle on my scrimshaw Lone Wolf Loveless "City Knife" is Mammoth ivory

From our walk this morning. A visitor from Titusville PA.

Man, that beautiful old wood sure sets off the Winterbottom Bone nicely on your Queen cattle knife


I was experimenting with different lighting on pearl and abalone this morning while preparing for this week's installment of Wharncliffe Wednesday in a few days.

[Fingers]

You nailed the lighting Q.

To my eye, an unusual pattern from Steel Warrior.

[Sasquach]

Mahalo Tim, Squach, T-Dog Yes, Charlie, the handle on my scrimshaw Lone Wolf Loveless "City Knife" is Mammoth ivory

From our walk this morning. A visitor from Titusville PA.

Man, that beautiful old wood sure sets off the Winterbottom Bone nicely on your Queen cattle knife


I was experimenting with different lighting on pearl and abalone this morning while preparing for this week's installment of Wharncliffe Wednesday in a few days.

Thanks Q. It just looked like the place to pose it.

Your "shell" shot turned out great! I did some experimentation a few years ago with light and MOP/Paua using a tactical LED flash light. I set the flash light at its narrowest beam and positioned it at different angles and different intensity settings. As it turs out setting the flashlight at its lowest intensity worked best and wasn't obvious in the room lighting but brought out some fire in the pearl. Below are the three examples I felt good enough about to save. The first pic (the best one IMO) I had the flashlight above pointing down and the second one I had the flashlight aimed from below. The third pic, which didn't turn out as well as I would like, was shot with the LED light from the side. Now that I look at these again I might have to restart that experiment.

[Sasquach]

You nailed the lighting Q.

To my eye, an unusual pattern from Steel Warrior.

Great photo!! That is an interesting pattern, almost like a gunstock. Looks like it would lend itself well to one-handed opening.

[QTCut5]

Mahalo, Fingers That is a cool curvy Steel Warrior LB

Mahalo, Squach Interesting lighting experiments you've done. That's a quite a bit more involved than my experiments which mainly involves moving the subject (knife) to different locations and changing the angle of my camera. Just when it seems like I have the perfect lighting situation, I often notice that I have unwanted reflections in the blade or bolsters

Lighting seems to be the trickiest part of photography for me; it's different with each photo and changes depending on the time of day and location (indoors vs. outside) as well as the angle of my camera. I used to have to take about 8-10 pics before I was satisfied with a photo. I've gotten that number down to about 3 or 4 now but I still feel like I'm constantly having to "invent the wheel" with every photo. I often wonder if it's the same with others Like Sasquach, I am my own worst critic; when I look at other folks' knife pics I mostly tend to see what I like about them, but when I look at my own photos I tend to focus mostly on what I don't like.

I posted these in a different thread dedicated specifically to photographing MOP/Pearl, but I'll post them here as well to illustrate the difference between direct and indirect sunlight (both photos taken outdoors in the morning light in approximately the same location)

[GSPTOPDOG]

From our walk this morning. A visitor from Titusville PA.

Great Winterbottom Bone on your Queen cattle knife! That is a real keeper Sas!

[GSPTOPDOG]

I posted these in a different thread dedicated specifically to photographing MOP/Pearl, but I'll post them here as well to illustrate the difference between direct and indirect sunlight (both photos taken outdoors in the morning light in approximately the same location)

Mahalo, Q

Great example of the contrast with varying degrees of light. I too will also take a direct and indirect sunlight photo of the same knife.