All About Pocket Knives

TripleF wrote:

Sasquach wrote:That Landenberger is a fine lookin' knife! I've been filling out my fixed blade collection lately but I still have mostly folders.

Here's my last attempt from the week end. I played with the lighting, focus, and background a little bit.

Charlie.....good stufff pal.
Now try....opening the knife full. Place tip in lower left of screen, end of handle in upper right, and get down on the blade tip and shoot from knife tip to butt. In other words get just above horizontal when you shoot.

Or shoot just the blade. Same angle.

Scott, here is my first attempt using your advice. I wanted to go out in the grove and take some shots with natural light outdoors but it's raining pretty hard here right now so I had to settle for indoor lighting.

I lost the focus on the blade tip but over all I think it turned out pretty good.

A camera will always give you better options. Especially if you familiarize yourself with the settings.
Some macros are better than others. Manufactures don't use macro as a big selling point. Too bad.

I have not mastered the camera angle but hope to work on that this summer. Meanwhile, I rely on my Epson Perfection 4990. I find it difficult to get the brightness up where I want it sometimes, and I can't get it to display bright metal properly, but much of the time it suits my needs.

Sasquach wrote:I did the images below with a flatbed scanner back before I got a camera. It works but it's not the best way to do it, IMHO.

....Charlie, that's a lot better than I can do with my argus!!...btw, that's a great quote!!..... .....

bestgear wrote:Has anybody ever used a flatbed scanner to capture images of knives? I read a thread in BF that talked about it but the postings were somewhat dated. I'm curious what I should look for if I was interested in going that route. I'm more concerned about a crisp, sharp and detailed image than I am of artistic impression.

Any thoughts? Tom

Tom I tried the flatbed scanner on a couple of knives and did not get very good results. A small thin knife comes out so-so but as you can see the larger the knife the less focus you get.

I experimented a little when I was using a scanner to get knife pics. This one was done with a black cloth over the knife before putting the cover down. I look back at these pics and I'm glad I broke down and got a digital camera!

And this one was not done with a scanner!

Was able to get out in the grove this morning with the dogs and shot one of my EDCs. I'm going to try to do more knife photography with natural light outdoors. I think this one turned out pretty good!

[/quote]I lost the focus on the blade tip but over all I think it turned out pretty good.[/quote]

I don't know what camera that you are using but do a little research on "Depth of Field". You need to either close your aperture to 14/16 or back up a little bit to get both ends in focus.

I likey Charlie!! Knice work!

Nice photos fellas

Just my 2 cents about scanners - I think they work depending on your scanner and resolution - personally I don't like a scanner as I can't get the focus and all - even backgrounds etc I want... give me a camera - I like to play with all the settings and get focus and exposures I like under different conditions... just me...

In the end whatever works for you - we love knife photos and I like to see detail and different aspects - some of which you will not get with a scanner - for some folks it is real easy to put the knife in the scanner - take a few quick scans and post the pic - if it works for you use it ... just don't work well for me...

(BTW - I know a guy who takes all his fly photos with a scanner - he created a frame that holds the lid of scanner off of knife and he lays a flat sheet of background paper on bottom for background... works for him - photos not bad - but it throws off the dimensions in my opinion and makes the fly look very flat in dimension... anyway...)....

...stag on forest floor...

Love it Mike!

Awesome shot Mike ... great background with that stag - - and nice knife too

Great photo Mike!

Here's the other EDC I shot while in the grove this past week end. I had the trapper on my belt and the white owl in my pocket. Next time I get out there I'll take some fixed blades and see if I can get some good shots.

Since you're in practice mode Charlie I thought I'd toss out this....

I was staring at this beautiful pic u just posted and couldn't stop my head from tilting like a confused dog..... Then it dawned on me, for some reason, even though it's similar to many other pics, there's not enough KNIFE and too much surrounding.....it's hard to notice actually, and so is the knife....and that's what threw me.

Change the position of the knife, maybe open just the main blade, close the pen, lay against the pine branches and get up tight and personal.....

Maybe it's just me

Hey Scott, that's what I'm here for....the suggestions, criticisms, and ideas. The weather is getting nice so me and the K-9 muscle missiles will be heading out for longer walks in the grove leading down to the creek and I'll be trying some different stuff.

Good shooting Charlie! All this stuff is nothing but practice like many things we do ...

TripleF - you are spot on from all I have learned as well (and think I noted it above) - up close and personal - fill the frame with the knife the best you can - its not just you buddy as you noted ... maybe its me

2014 #47 Amber Viper

Top notch photos I-Man ... beautifully framed and nice background!! and nice knife of course !!

Great photos Ivoryman!

Here's an EDC I shot this morning while walkin' the dogs in the grove. I'm workin' on gettin' better at this!

Interesting photos with the botanical backgrounds, Ivoryman and Charlie.

Moki Glory LB Quince wood.

Knice pics fellas!!

I like that Moki, Ivoryman. Good photos too!

I'll try to do some more experimenting this weekend. I plan to take the dogs and my Fenwick ultra light rod for a walk.

Benchmade Infidel