Knife Photography

[Quick Steel]

Nicely done;etch is clear.

[Ivoryman]

Great Ram curl there Terry,
Excellent bone on the Queen Dinadan.

[TripleF]

Rookie.....love the baby pine cones prop!!

Mel......beauty!

I like how the lighting enhanced this shot....

[gsmith7158]

Spring time in Georgia, New Castle and knives. Just doesn't get better than this

[Dinadan]

Scott - the lighting and the perspective on that leatherman make for an interesting photo!

Greg - nice! three of my favorite things, guns, ale, and knives!

[Dinadan]

I was in the garage sharpening a couple of EDCs this rainy afternoon. These photos are my effort to capture some varying textures.

[TripleF]

Thanks Mel!

Knice shots fellas!!

[LongBlade]

Some nice shots there Scott, Greg and Mel... Scott I really like the way you photographed that leatherman - sometimes the angle gives the knife or tool in this case that extra special perspective that attracts my eye...

If you guys don't mind my opinion (and that is not even worth a cup of coffee ) I find backgrounds a tricky thing... you want to add some nice perspective and at the same time highlight the focus of the object (knife or whatever)... I also find that trying to shoot the main object in full screen gives it more attention and detail... (in truth and only as an example - I have done alot of fancy fly fishing photography in the past particularly of special flies - some of which I have had published along with may articles... one thing I was always told for these mags was use a neutral background (blue in particular but also tan etc) - well after years of seeing all flies on those neutral backgrounds it became extremely boring to view and because of this I always asked to have the option if the article was published to use my backgrounds of choice - while in fact they were neutral to an extent they also had a much softer look using shades of light and color which was finally accomplished using a solid velour background over which I placed a transparent fabric like chiffon (I think that what it was called ??) of different colors)... more recently I have been shooting a few flies using similar backgrounds to what I have used for knives... anyway if anybody is interested I can post just a few of these so you can see what I mean... you actually may find the flies of interest anyway - they are salmon flies from patterns of the 1800s using antique hooks and materials (tinsel, gut, even some feathers) from the same time period... BTW - collecting those old hooks (even fly fishing and tying tools among other things) is my other hoarding & collecting split personality, and far outweighs the amount of knives I own but been doing the fly thing for 4 decades longer

[terryl308]

Mr. Longblade, I for one would love to see the flies and the background material. I too have the fly fishing bug, I lived on the banks of the Snake river in NW Wy for about 10 years and had a friend with a Hyde Drift boat, what fun, turned them all loose. Used a Sage 5wt rod to catch the Yellowstone Cutthroat trout. Thanks, Terry

[LongBlade]

Thanks Terry!! As a fly fisherman you may especially like these

Here are a few I pulled up to try and show the subdued background which is more subdued than a solid background - using natural light bulbs... (and as a side note - all these flies are on hooks from the 1800s made in Redditch England which played the same role as Sheffield in terms of knife making... interestingly the hook companies grew from the needle industry in Redditch and as another side note - the hand held vice shown holding the fly was from the late 1800s - they were jeweler's pin vices but used by all for fly tying)..

Here are a few fly photos using similar backgrounds that I have used for the knives:

This was a vignette for a cover shot - abit busy but here I was not trying to get attention to just one fly (and this was not the final photo - can't find it at the moment ).. but the point is if I wanted folks to just focus on the center fly the photo would be too busy..

Knife photography adds another dimension to photography because of blade reflection - to that end I have been playing with outdoor indirect light more recently as in a few posts up from here and see my post on the Shepleigh-Empire knife - I quite like the early and better yet the later day indirect light...

Hope this helps abit - and though I am pretty much self taught in photography I spent a long time playing with conditions to get good photos... now in the digital age where we don't pay for film or developing I can shoot sometimes 50-100 photos or more under different conditions, light angles etc to get the photo I really like... and of course be glad to answer any questions about the flies - even if by pm so as not to derail this thread...

Cheers
Lee

[FRJ]

Lee, absolutely gorgeous and artistic fly tying.

[LongBlade]

Thanks Joe ... though considered artistic these were flies tied by me but tied back in the 1800s as noted in books published between the 1840s and late 1800s and used to fish... blind eye hooks and silk gut eyes... one would be surprised at the tools as well.. scissors generally taken from a sewing kit (I have a pair of Joseph Rodgers scissors and stamped as such) and some tiers used lancets as cutting edge tools for tying...

Anyway the point of these photos was to just show backgrounds and photos of smaller objects (flies or knives or whatever)... I hope this is not derailing this thread but indeed it is related to macro or closeup photography for knives as well... will be glad to move any other info regarding fly fishing to General Off Topic Discussions for members only in forum down below.. please let me know...

Thanks
Lee

[Mason]

Thanks Terry!! As a fly fisherman you may especially like these

Here are a few I pulled up to try and show the subdued background which is more subdued than a solid background - using natural light bulbs... (and as a side note - all these flies are on hooks from the 1800s made in Redditch England which played the same role as Sheffield in terms of knife making... interestingly the hook companies grew from the needle industry in Redditch and as another side note - the hand held vice shown holding the fly was from the late 1800s - they were jeweler's pin vices but used by all for fly tying)..

McCloud DSCN2393B PS.jpg

Ephemera #8 DSCN2837A PS.jpg

Beacon DSCN5751A PS.jpg

The Ghost DSCN0412A PS.jpg

Here are a few fly photos using similar backgrounds that I have used for the knives:

Hill Fly DSCN7924A PS .jpg

This was a vignette for a cover shot - abit busy but here I was not trying to get attention to just one fly (and this was not the final photo - can't find it at the moment ).. but the point is if I wanted folks to just focus on the center fly the photo would be too busy..

Beacon Vignette DSCN6016A Use Cropped 700 copy.jpg

Knife photography adds another dimension to photography because of blade reflection - to that end I have been playing with outdoor indirect light more recently as in a few posts up from here and see my post on the Shepleigh-Empire knife - I quite like the early and better yet the later day indirect light...

Hope this helps abit - and though I am pretty much self taught in photography I spent a long time playing with conditions to get good photos... now in the digital age where we don't pay for film or developing I can shoot sometimes 50-100 photos or more under different conditions, light angles etc to get the photo I really like... and of course be glad to answer any questions about the flies - even if by pm so as not to derail this thread...

Cheers
Lee

Beautiful flies and beautiful photography!!!

[LongBlade]

Thank you Mason ... much appreciated!

[Rookie]

Rookie.....love the baby pine cones prop!!

Thanks, took about 20 minutes of wandering around the yard to get enough pine cones for that shot


LongBlade, I know nothing about flys or fly fishing. But your photography of them is outstanding, very well done!

[XxTestedxX]

Cattle knife

[Dinadan]

Lee - Very nice post. Those photos of the flies are very artistic. These are they flies you made based on old fly tying books? They just look too good to be a century old, though I think you are saying that the hooks are old.

When I was a kid I recall father making flies. That is all I remember, him with a little vice and paraphernalia, and when I shot colorful birds with my BB gun he wanted some of the feathers for flies. That was way back in the last millennium. Funny, but seeing you photos stirred up memories that I have not accessed in a decades. I never felt the fly tying desire myself, though I used to like fishing for bluegills with a popping bug.

[Sasquach]

Gotta love an Ol' Yeller Case.

[LongBlade]

Thanks Rookie and Mel ....

Mel - yes the flies were patterns that were published in books from the 1800s. I tie them on hooks from the same time period but in fact the silk gut and metal tinsel used is also from the late 1800s/early 1900s... sometimes the feathers as well are very old... here it is no different than the current ivory story for knives - many exotic birds are now considered off limits and possession of "some" - not all - of the feathers is illegal unless you have provenance that they were from a taxidermy mount. In fact did anyone know that even picking up a song bird feather found on the ground in the woods is illegal? Anyway - I also collect old flies and usually those in good condition which I display at shows are confused for my flies also on display.... For those antique flies not in good condition we sometimes "dissect" them to determine old tying techniques - actually quite interesting)... sometimes folks ask me at shows if I tied them or are they original... that is what I shoot for in the end... I also sell these flies framed - in handmade frames from the wood of the Adirondacks in NY state from my brother-n-law... of course I also tie many fishing flies but these old flies make the connection to the historical past for me (like knives ... but my primary stomping grounds for fly fishing is the saltwater for stripers, bluefish etc etc... something I started in the 1980s before it became a very popular venue...

Anyway - glad to bring back some memories for you Mel - fishing is a great outdoor sport in this country and has been for many years - I have met or taken very few young ones who don't enjoy fishing - for bluegills or whatever ... even in Lyle's post on Knife Lore about the Lick Creek farmer's jack Lyle spoke of fishing the creek with his family... fishing is part of our American heritage for many... how many photos have you seen with kids catching their first fish with huge grins on their faces - many and to me that is priceless!

Folks bring me feathers as well very often ... however in many cases for the flies I generally tie I need the matching feathers from each side of the bird to have a symmetrical pair... anybody bird hunt out there?? Particularly ducks?? I can always use duck feathers ... or turkey... I am only asking for those legal species we are able to use..

Sorry to go on - I can get carried away with this stuff - like I can with knives these days - though I am not yet anywhere near as versed in knives... but am trying and learning !!

Nice Yeller Peanut and photo XxtestedxX

[Sasquach]

Those flies are beautiful Longblade! My Grandfather was a fly fisherman, me not so much. Every time I've tried to use a fly rig I ended up hog tying myself. So I stick with my spinning rigs.

Here's another attempt at knife photography.......I don't know if I'm getting any better at this or not! I keep trying though.

[LongBlade]

Thanks Charlie

Nice shot Charlie - the background highlights the knife blades - if I can suggest something - try to take the photo with the knife filling most of the frame of the photo - the knife should be in full focus and the background may actually be out of focus - but that is ok and draws full attention and detail to the knife... this is all nothing but playing and practice... if your camera allows you to change F-stops - the larger the F-stop the greater the depth of field which allows all to be in focus... of course that also means you may have to shoot at a slower speed and I always use a tripod as I am usually at 1/15 to 1/60 sec... sometimes more or less pending light...

Of course the camera used can be important - I am using an old Nikon that allows me to set exposures, f-stops, shooting speeds etc... I don't have a digital SLR but my Nikon Coolpix 5700 was the last one developed almost 8-10 years ago or more before the advent of digital SLR (my camera has many different adjustments and is the same size as a SLR and though it has a zoom I can not change lenses)... when my current camera goes and hopefully not soon I will be going the SLR route - and than I will have to buy a macro lens (my current Nikon though not a SLR has a macro setting)... a macro feature on any camera is a big help in getting shots of knives or any objects.. all this is just an aside - but if anybody is thinking about a new camera than this is one consideration.

[Sasquach]

Thanks for the advice Longblade. I'll try to incorporate it into my next attempt. I'm using an older digital that has more features than I know how to use. It's a Kodak EasyShare Z650. As I keep trying new and different things I hope to get better photos. It doesn't always work that way though. You should see my file full of "throw-aways". At least with the digital format the cost of film doesn't inhibit my "spray 'n pray" method, I take a large number of shots hoping that one of them will be "the one". So far this thread has been a good place to get knowledgeable pointers. Thanks again.

[terryl308]

Really like your photo's of the flies! Look like Atlantic Salmon flies? I have a digital Nikon SLR but the cheaper end, a D40. It does have a Macro setting although I don't think it works as well as my old Pentax K1000 film camera. Anyway, back to knives, went out and took a few of a knife I had ade a while back, used a shelf out of my gun safe and shot it outside in the subdued sunlight. Tipping the knife a little either shows the grind lines or hides them. Knives and guns are one of the harder things to photograph because of the round and shinny surfaces. Thanks for posting the flies, Terry sorry about the shadow of my wives cloths line pole!

[terryl308]

Longblade, sent you an email about turkey feathers. Terry

[Mason]

Thanks Rookie and Mel ....

Mel - yes the flies were patterns that were published in books from the 1800s. I tie them on hooks from the same time period but in fact the silk gut and metal tinsel used is also from the late 1800s/early 1900s... sometimes the feathers as well are very old... here it is no different than the current ivory story for knives - many exotic birds are now considered off limits and possession of "some" - not all - of the feathers is illegal unless you have provenance that they were from a taxidermy mount. In fact did anyone know that even picking up a song bird feather found on the ground in the woods is illegal? Anyway - I also collect old flies and usually those in good condition which I display at shows are confused for my flies also on display.... For those antique flies not in good condition we sometimes "dissect" them to determine old tying techniques - actually quite interesting)... sometimes folks ask me at shows if I tied them or are they original... that is what I shoot for in the end... I also sell these flies framed - in handmade frames from the wood of the Adirondacks in NY state from my brother-n-law... of course I also tie many fishing flies but these old flies make the connection to the historical past for me (like knives ... but my primary stomping grounds for fly fishing is the saltwater for stripers, bluefish etc etc... something I started in the 1980s before it became a very popular venue...

Anyway - glad to bring back some memories for you Mel - fishing is a great outdoor sport in this country and has been for many years - I have met or taken very few young ones who don't enjoy fishing - for bluegills or whatever ... even in Lyle's post on Knife Lore about the Lick Creek farmer's jack Lyle spoke of fishing the creek with his family... fishing is part of our American heritage for many... how many photos have you seen with kids catching their first fish with huge grins on their faces - many and to me that is priceless!

Folks bring me feathers as well very often ... however in many cases for the flies I generally tie I need the matching feathers from each side of the bird to have a symmetrical pair... anybody bird hunt out there?? Particularly ducks?? I can always use duck feathers ... or turkey... I am only asking for those legal species we are able to use..

Sorry to go on - I can get carried away with this stuff - like I can with knives these days - though I am not yet anywhere near as versed in knives... but am trying and learning !!

Nice Yeller Peanut and photo XxtestedxX

Were you able to find documentation in color for your beautiful flies, or were there descriptions of the colors used? Rare to find paperwork in color from the 19th century.