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Post by pghram on Aug 1, 2017 11:29:50 GMT -5
A few more. Blood Stone Crazy Lace. It has a nice crystalline edge, but the colors are bla. Dino. I practically ground it away trying to get rid of the fracture. It doesn't go through to the back, but the cab is less than 1.5 mm thick, so I gave up and sealed it w/ CA. Graveyard Point Plume Water Line Agate (I think). The fracture appeared while shaping. Should I cut that part away or should I leave it? Thanks for looking. Any suggestions of better photos or better cabs would be appreciated. Thanks. Peace, Rich
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Post by fantastic5 on Aug 1, 2017 11:52:28 GMT -5
Great set pghram! I really like the waterline, I think if you cut out the fracture it will look too squatty. I've never used a light tent, so I'm sure others with more expertise will chime in, but I would like to see both halves of the cab equally lit.
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Post by rockjunquie on Aug 1, 2017 13:51:24 GMT -5
They look great! I like the crazy lace best.
Did you already fill the crack in the bone? Do you heat the stone before you apply the CA? If I see something and have to use glue, I do it at the 600 wheel. I stop, put it under a hot bulb and add thin CA. Then I take it back to the 600 and finish.
Did you use a program for the black background? I kinda like it and I kinda don't. I guess, I prefer white or gray. No particular reason.
Light tents don't usually accommodate front lighting very well. If I need to, I will use a reflector to get some light up front. I generally use the white instead of the silver. Do you use a tripod? I have a tall one. My tent sits on top of a tall dresser. With the stone laying flat in the tent, I can raise the tripod and get a good shot of the cab laying down. Not the most glamorous, but quick and easy and I don't have to break my back with a lot of bending. (I have big back problems.) Plus, the face of the cab gets more light. I also bump up the exposure a little bit in the camera. Then all I need to do is adjust levels in PS Elements- if I even need to. You do set the white balance, right? I'm assuming yes.
I think your pictures look good, though. I suppose there is some room for improvement, but I think at this point you just need to make some refinements. Plus, it helps to get a system down so you be can be quick about it.
If that waterline were mine, I think I would trash it. I hate when a big crack opens like that- it may not be worth your trouble to go back and rework it. You won't have much of a cab left.
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Post by deb193redux on Aug 1, 2017 23:16:31 GMT -5
the waterline is best. still deep white on the others. cab shoulders are hard. I try F11 and lower lighting and lengthen exposure - does not always work
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Aug 2, 2017 10:56:28 GMT -5
Great cabs. On the waterline crack... it's in a bad place and you lose the pattern if you cut it away. I keep the ones like that for the $1/rock jar rather than fiddling with them too much...
As for the photography, you're sooooo close, and I'm not sure what else to suggest, but maybe a little more adjustments to make them "snap" more? I know dern well those Bloodstones take a fantastic polish but they aren't showing to best advantage. I have trouble showing the color/polish on Bloodstone as well so I'm hoping someone will speak up with suggestions to help both of us.
You have the red showing well against the dark green. Sometimes I don't even get that far in my photos. Somebody tell me how you'd fix this in Photoshop & win my gratitude forever....
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Post by pghram on Aug 2, 2017 16:56:16 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I definitely need a better process. For these, I had everything on the floor, all the lights off and shades pulled. No tripod, laying on the floor with the camera.
It's surprising that they turned out at all.
Peace, Rich
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Post by pghram on Aug 2, 2017 17:10:51 GMT -5
They look great! I like the crazy lace best. Did you already fill the crack in the bone? Do you heat the stone before you apply the CA? If I see something and have to use glue, I do it at the 600 wheel. I stop, put it under a hot bulb and add thin CA. Then I take it back to the 600 and finish. Did you use a program for the black background? I kinda like it and I kinda don't. I guess, I prefer white or gray. No particular reason. Light tents don't usually accommodate front lighting very well. If I need to, I will use a reflector to get some light up front. I generally use the white instead of the silver. Do you use a tripod? I have a tall one. My tent sits on top of a tall dresser. With the stone laying flat in the tent, I can raise the tripod and get a good shot of the cab laying down. Not the most glamorous, but quick and easy and I don't have to break my back with a lot of bending. (I have big back problems.) Plus, the face of the cab gets more light. I also bump up the exposure a little bit in the camera. Then all I need to do is adjust levels in PS Elements- if I even need to. You do set the white balance, right? I'm assuming yes. I think your pictures look good, though. I suppose there is some room for improvement, but I think at this point you just need to make some refinements. Plus, it helps to get a system down so you be can be quick about it. If that waterline were mine, I think I would trash it. I hate when a big crack opens like that- it may not be worth your trouble to go back and rework it. You won't have much of a cab left. I filled the crack after the 325 and before the 600. I set it on a sunny window to dry. For the black background, the shadows were adjusted after the fact to completely darken the background. I used manual exposure to try to get the best exposure for the cab. Yes, I set the white balance. I used to have a grey background, but it didn't make the move. I have one, but I'm not entirely happy with it. Peace, Rich
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Post by pghram on Aug 2, 2017 17:12:48 GMT -5
the waterline is best. still deep white on the others. cab shoulders are hard. I try F11 and lower lighting and lengthen exposure - does not always work Since I was hand-holding the camera, I used 1/60 at f8. I'll definitely try f11 with the longer exposure. Thanks. Peace, Rich
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Aug 2, 2017 17:39:44 GMT -5
I think you will get what you want with the use of a tripod and the slower lens setting. I hate to take the time for the tripod set-ups, but the process often pays off with the better quality of photo. Personally, I like what you did with a hand-held camera!
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