Dieter3 Posted February 14, 2011 Posted February 14, 2011 Far from perfect, but not damaged, some ribbon soiling is all:
Dieter3 Posted February 14, 2011 Author Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks Tim, you are too kind - I'm really not happy with my pics. at all! It's a combo of a not-so-great indoor camera, more so ME and my photo-incompetence , and the horrible lighting in our house, especially during winter! It literally takes me upwards of 30-40 pics. before I find one that is actually reasonably focused and bright enough! (Thank God for digital cameras....)
Tim B Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 Hi Dieter! Actually, I think your PIC's are pretty nice as they appear sharp, have correct coloration, and show the items at nice angles to give depth in the photos. I understand the desire for better PIC's, I am not happy with mine at all either. I use an old Sony Mavica (3.2 megapixels) on a tripod and have a secondary hand-held spot for highlighting. However, the Japanese items are tricky getting accurate PIC's due to glare coming off the lacquer boxes and sometimes these awards are so minty, they shine too much. I really need to reshoot all my Japanese items at this point. Anyway, you're doing a great job IMO and thanks for showing your collection pieces! Tim
Dieter3 Posted February 16, 2011 Author Posted February 16, 2011 Thanks!! It really can be tough - I pretty have had to shoot at angles for the reasons you mention - glare off the lacquer boxes (wood is pretty easy though!) and I just can't get anything but a dim picture otherwise. 90% of the pics are done in macro mode, so I'm really close up and the pics. are too dim if they are taken from right above - but my camera seems to prefer macro. Again, probably just me having no clue as to how to really use a camera! When using macro, I don't use a flash. I can get fair pics. using flash and non-macro, but the pictures yellow out a lot and the flash on my camera is horrible unless at across-the-room distances, likes to halo things. It's a great outdoor camera though. Canon IXY800, I think it's 6MP. I appreciate the compliments, but I sure wish other people would show some stuff, I'm gettin' lonely....!! (and runnin' out of good stuff!) :lol:
kapten_windu Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 very nice, the box is in excellent condition.. the picture is also free from blur (your camera and your skill is super..)
drclaw Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 What a lovely piece Dieter! Thanks for posting it. The richness of the greens just leap out from the screen. Certainly reinforces my interest in Japanese orders. All the best, Gavin
lilbit Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 Hi can one date the second medal? 7th class order, but the reverse is not green ... weird any ideas how to date them in general? P.S. Hi Dieter, called my friend ... he didn't stop at the dealer shop so far, too busy ... but he remembers that I asked him
lilbit Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 to which of the above this box belongs? one for two medals
Dieter3 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Posted February 22, 2011 No worries on the shop!! Standing by!! On your medals and cases - the second one, without the enamel reverse, belongs to that case. It is a post-war medal. If I understand correctly, there are also medals with un-enameled reverse and unpolished that are apparently late-war era pieces. Need somebody else to confirm this though. I've only seen one of these for sale that I can recall, and I don't remember what kind of case it was in. :sleep:
Tim B Posted March 18, 2011 Posted March 18, 2011 (edited) Hi Dieter, Was playing around with some of my old PIC's today after getting inspired by your recent shots. I tried to reshoot one of my Rising Sun but, I still have that glare problem and will have to readust my angles to get the box Kanji and not make my PIC's appear all washed out. I might have to get away from the black background for these as well, though I do like the overall look. Tim Edited March 18, 2011 by Tim B
Tim B Posted March 18, 2011 Posted March 18, 2011 I'm still using my old Mavica and the 3.2 megapixel has some limitations but, not too bad IMO. What are you using for a camera? Tim
Tim B Posted March 18, 2011 Posted March 18, 2011 Here's a closer shot and its starting to get grainy. I do have another camera that I normally don't use on this stuff but it has more megapixels and can get a sharper image. Thoughts? Tim
Brian Wolfe Posted March 18, 2011 Posted March 18, 2011 Beautiful specimens my friends. We all seem to be having the same problem and that is a desire for better photos. I have not posted many photos for quite some time as my wife and I keep talking and talking about getting a better camera. This is not happening very quickly so I may give up and start to post more soon. As to the photos you two have posted, there is really nothing wrong with them. As well, is there anything especially wrong with most of mine but we do all have the same goals. Clearer photos! Let's please keep each other, and the rest of the members, updated on any improvements we come up with as I think most members are experiencing the same frustrations. Thanks for posting your photos. Regards Brian
Dieter3 Posted March 18, 2011 Author Posted March 18, 2011 Tim, very nice, I love it!!! Pics are not at all bad, very representative. Glare is the bane of us all, isn't it!!?? The only way I seem to be able to eliminate it is either from an angle, or with a flash from an angle that can deflect the flash away. It is very challenging (for me at least!!) to get really nice pics!!! The camera is a big part of it of course, but I just don't really know about photo-fundamentals, so I'm working against myself!!!
Tim B Posted March 18, 2011 Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks guys, If I have time this weekend, I think I'll try my other camera and perhaps some different lighting. I really like using the black background and will try to stick with that for now. Perhaps I can get just enough glare to separate the case from the background and still leave all the details. Tim
Tim B Posted March 21, 2011 Posted March 21, 2011 Well, I'm not sure it was much of an improvement but I ended up taking 10 PIC's, scrubbed three immediately, and photoshopped the remaining seven. Each had nice points but I think this one was the best for lighting, angles, and detailing. Still, took a long time to clean things up. Enjoy! Tim
Dieter3 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Posted March 23, 2011 Sweeeet. Makes me want to focus on higher orders!! What conditions are you using to photograph exactly? Have you tried macro settings at all?
Tim B Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 Hi Dieter, I am using the macro function but, the case is fairly large and the 4th Class is a little larger length-wise as well, so in order to get it all in, you have to back off a bit with the camera to object distance. That's when I start to lose depth of field and thus focus and the crisp detailing that you get when you can get right on top of something. Then trying to get the lighting just right to highlight everything you want to show without washing details out or getting a grainy image... Anyway, this is about the best I can get with my current setup. All comes down to angles and light positioning. Here's another shot and I love the reflection in the red "meatball" as it adds depth, but you can see where I lose in another area. I'll get it more perfected eventually. Tim
Tim B Posted April 3, 2011 Posted April 3, 2011 Hi Dieter, I don't want to trip all over your thread anymore here but will start a new thread on two 4th Class awards I have. It kind of shows why I stopped collecting Japanese ODM's for awhile. Tim
Dieter3 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Posted December 28, 2011 A new addition to my very small Rising Sun family, post-war 7th Class. It's got a small bubble in the enamel, a few very light marks on the reverse, and some tarnishing to the hook/catch, but otherwise it's in pretty nice condition, really clean ribbon and an immaculate case.
Dieter3 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Here's a wonderful 4th Class Meiji 11 (1878!) document, I'm sure a lot of you saw this one, but for those that may not have - this sold for around 93,000 yen/ $1100.00 U.S. - NICE. Wish it was mine!! The pics are from the auction, not the greatest as far as size goes, but here it is: Edited February 25, 2012 by Dieter3
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