Time

[Loose Canon]

“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town.
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.”

This is how I spent my Time today!

Phase 1 of a project.

100mm f/2.8 L Macro
f/22
1/200th
ISO 100
four lights fired

[Nicks Pics]

You spent your time doing nothing, or making the picture? You should go into commercial photography and get paid for doing this sort of thing if you have nothing else to do

[Loose Canon]

Well, kinda both Nick!

I spent my Time today doing nothing but getting this first phase of a thang happening! Took me best part of the day to get it set up and dialed in. Once that was done it took me 1/200th of a second to polish it off! I’m still waiting for someone or something to show me the way!

I totally blew off my Honey-Do list! (Jeez whatever you do please don’t tell my Wifey-Poo I’m a no-good ne’er-do-well and enforce her case, Nick!)

So yeah, I have plenty more to do!

[IzzieK]

Rest your husbandly soul -- she doesn't read your posts here at CiC, or does she? Anywho...this is a very nice clean shot and the addition of the flicker of light on the rhs is most attractive. And errr...your date is wrong...

[Shadowman]

Nice capture.

[Manfred M]

Stunning shot, Terry. I'm looking forward to the outcome of the next phase(s) of your project.

I know all about that "honey-do" list. Right now I seem to be spending most of my time editing my wife's trip images and doing things around the house. Getting out and shooting and working on my own shots are well down on her list of things I should be doing...

[Loose Canon]

Thank you guys. Been a while since I shot any jewelry-type stuff!

Izzie, I don't know what you are saying! That date is exactly right. Once a year!

[Downrigger]

Hard to image an improvement on this. Very strong, and to me, technically flawless.

[HaseebM]

Clean and neat, why four lights?

[Mike Buckley]

Wonderful photo, Terry! I'm sure everyone appreciates the detail but, for me, the magical and really difficult aspect to accomplish is that the photo displays the shape so well of every single part.

Based on a review of the Seiko website, I would be willing to bet that you converted to monochrome. Even so, a few of their watches would look like this in color. Would I lose the bet?

[Brownbear]

Absolutely stunning! I adore the detail and beautiful highlights, and the shape (thanks Mike) but the magical part for me is the little star on the jewel... f22?

[mknittle]

Super job Terry, excellent detail. But I think the Pink Floyd reference lost some people

[Loose Canon]

Based on a review of the Seiko website, I would be willing to bet that you converted to monochrome. Even so, a few of their watches would look like this in color. Would I lose the bet?

Mike I’m afraid you would lose that bet buddy! This is a full color shot, though I probably should have converted. Usually any time I shoot anything silver colored I usually do. It is hard to see, especially in a low res size reduced file but you can see just a hint of color on the setting knob.

I think the Pink Floyd reference lost some people.

Yeah Mark, I guess that was a bit esoteric, but Jeez! I thought everyone was a Floyd fan!

...why four lights?

Well, because that’s all I had at the moment Haseeb!

Seriously though, I lit every aspect of the watch separately by building the light arrangement from the ground up. I placed each light for a separate aspect of the watch, then fired them all for the final shot. That’s the only way to get the highlights and shadows exactly where I want them and get the details lit properly to show nicely. For a glossy piece, I want to run the gamut from almost fully blown highs to full black shadow and everything in between. I used a flag to get the dark shadows on the steel part of the face.

I had to be careful because it was easy to blow the white face out and lose the vertical striping. The points at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 o’clock are 3 dimensional rather than flat triangles. To show that there had to be shadow on one side of them and highlight on the other. Notice the points at 3 and 9 o’clock don’t have these. Nine is fully highlighted and three is shadowed. They were in direct line with the light. For the others the highlight is on the camera left, shadow camera right side of the points no matter what side of the face they are on. You can guess which side that light was on! I had to get some shadow on the Roman numeral edges and dial faces so they would look more three dimensional. And again getting the highlights and gradients on the glossy steel.

There is just no way you can get all that with say, just one light fired at the watch.

The zones consisted of the bottom band/bottom of the round steel face. The face itself. The top band/round steel face, and the trickiest was the camera right sides of the watch/band where the setting knob and those two ultra tiny buttons are located. I built it one light at a time and shot until I got each zone just the way I wanted it, then fired all the guns at once for the final shot. Re-evaluated and re-adjusted what was necessary, then repeated the process until I got what I thought was what I wanted out of it.

The shot is one frame.

[Dave Humphries]

Seriously though, I lit every aspect of the watch separately by building the light arrangement from the ground up. I placed each light for a separate aspect of the watch, then fired them all for the final shot. That’s the only way to get the highlights and shadows exactly where I want them and get the details lit properly to show nicely. For a glossy piece, I want to run the gamut from almost fully blown highs to full black shadow and everything in between. I used a flag to get the dark shadows on the steel part of the face.

I had to be careful because it was easy to blow the white face out and lose the vertical striping. The points at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 o’clock are 3 dimensional rather than flat triangles. To show that there had to be shadow on one side of them and highlight on the other. Notice the points at 3 and 9 o’clock don’t have these. Nine is fully highlighted and three is shadowed. They were in direct line with the light. For the others the highlight is on the camera left, shadow camera right side of the points no matter what side of the face they are on. You can guess which side that light was on! I had to get some shadow on the Roman numeral edges and dial faces so they would look more three dimensional. And again getting the highlights and gradients on the glossy steel.

There is just no way you can get all that with say, just one light fired at the watch.

The zones consisted of the bottom band/bottom of the round steel face. The face itself. The top band/round steel face, and the trickiest was the camera right sides of the watch/band where the setting knob and those two ultra tiny buttons are located. I built it one light at a time and shot until I got each zone just the way I wanted it, then fired all the guns at once for the final shot. Re-evaluated and re-adjusted what was necessary, then repeated the process until I got what I thought was what I wanted out of it.

The shot is one frame.

I knew it must have been hard work, but Terry, that's dedication!

Great result, worthy of any manufacturer's catalogue.

[Loose Canon]

Thank you Dave!

I am mostly dedicated to avoiding Honey-Dos if I can!

Funny, but sometimes the amount of work it takes to avoid work is harder work than just going ahead and doing the stinking work in the first place!

[IzzieK]

Thank you Dave!

I am mostly dedicated to avoiding Honey-Dos if I can!

Funny, but sometimes the amount of work it takes to avoid work is harder work than just going ahead and doing the stinking work in the first place!

Uh...oh...with the many years of marriage, this just started to dawn on you????!!!???? Men!

[BrianA61]

Just remember, Terry, the sun is the same in a relative way, but your older. Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death.

Yes, I'm one of those esoteric Floyd fans that will never die. BTW, nice, clean, detailed shot.

[mknittle]

Just remember, Terry, the sun is the same in a relative way, but your older. Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death.

Yes, I'm one of those esoteric Floyd fans that will never die. BTW, nice, clean, detailed shot.

Now I am going to have that running through my head all day.(again) I guess its better than Careful with that ax Eugene. Or is it?

[HaseebM]

Mike I’m afraid you would lose that bet buddy! This is a full color shot, though I probably should have converted. Usually any time I shoot anything silver colored I usually do. It is hard to see, especially in a low res size reduced file but you can see just a hint of color on the setting knob.



Yeah Mark, I guess that was a bit esoteric, but Jeez! I thought everyone was a Floyd fan!



Well, because that’s all I had at the moment Haseeb!

Seriously though, I lit every aspect of the watch separately by building the light arrangement from the ground up. I placed each light for a separate aspect of the watch, then fired them all for the final shot. That’s the only way to get the highlights and shadows exactly where I want them and get the details lit properly to show nicely. For a glossy piece, I want to run the gamut from almost fully blown highs to full black shadow and everything in between. I used a flag to get the dark shadows on the steel part of the face.

I had to be careful because it was easy to blow the white face out and lose the vertical striping. The points at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 o’clock are 3 dimensional rather than flat triangles. To show that there had to be shadow on one side of them and highlight on the other. Notice the points at 3 and 9 o’clock don’t have these. Nine is fully highlighted and three is shadowed. They were in direct line with the light. For the others the highlight is on the camera left, shadow camera right side of the points no matter what side of the face they are on. You can guess which side that light was on! I had to get some shadow on the Roman numeral edges and dial faces so they would look more three dimensional. And again getting the highlights and gradients on the glossy steel.

There is just no way you can get all that with say, just one light fired at the watch.

The zones consisted of the bottom band/bottom of the round steel face. The face itself. The top band/round steel face, and the trickiest was the camera right sides of the watch/band where the setting knob and those two ultra tiny buttons are located. I built it one light at a time and shot until I got each zone just the way I wanted it, then fired all the guns at once for the final shot. Re-evaluated and re-adjusted what was necessary, then repeated the process until I got what I thought was what I wanted out of it.

The shot is one frame.

Thanks for taking the time out. I now understand. I wonder though if image stacking would work under such circumstances?

[bnnrcn]

Great image Terry, congratulations