CSM101

Hi Steve, the photo is almost perfect and I could not do very much. I hope the experts here can tell you more about it. Enjoy it Uwe G.

Hi Hoanh and Matt, this one will take a while, but I hope, it will help you and others in the end. First the camera: very good! Nikon, Canon or Sony are the three big ones and with one of them you are on the right side. I have a Sony Alpha 500. And because Sony bought Minolta, I have all the old Minolta objectives and I use, whatever I need. Mostly a Minolta 28-85. But I have an 50/1.7 too. And that´s very good too. And for all the others here: NEVER EVER use the cameras in your iphone and mobile! First of all, you have to understand the technical aspect. A DSLR can only make a low dynamic range photo. The human eye has a dynamic range up to 1.5 Mio when you look on a sunny day into a cellar. A DSLR has a dynamic range from about 2.000, and a very good one maybe a dynamic range up to 5.000. That´s, why High Dynamic Range was invited. Photographers wanted to see in the photo what they saw in reality. And now, we start the lesson. It doesn´t matter, how good your camera is! You have to develop a digital photo. First of all: I think, that you only work with JPEG. But this is wrong. You should try RAW. Your camera has all the RAW-data. And with a RAW-converter you can easily make all the details visible. You can use the converter that came with the camera or Camera Raw. And this is in Photoshop CS *. Or Lightroom. You can use brightness, clarity, saturation, contrast and most important: dynamic! When you think, you have a bad photo, then you should read and try what Scott Kelby has written in "The magnificent 7" Very good and easy to learn. Next point: you have to improve your skills. Especally with Photoshop. If you only have Elements, then you will never get what you want. You need layers, masks, curves and filters. And this is only in the Big Brother. But it costs a fortune. When your photo has an yellow tone (or blue, red or green), there is white balance. And suddenly you have the correct colours. Later you can use curves for the details. Try it. The outcome will be magnificent. And now something complete different... SWORDS! Nowadays there are only two photographers, who make a decent photo from a blade. Ron Bingham and Fujishiro-san. I know, what Ron Bingham does and I don´t like it, because it is a very easy way. And I know, what Fujishiro-san does and I really, really like it. And I cannot repeat it, because he makes it the analog-way! But to give some figures: for a very good photo he makes between 800 and 1.000 shots. The distance should be 40 cm. At least the photo should be sharp in the details. When you are too close, the photo is out of focus. Normal daylight is more than enough. I always see photos, where only a short part is visible and then comes only white, because of flashlights, bulbs and other things. The Japanese sword dealers use a scanner for instance. In the members area you can find a very, very good article how to use a scanner. But a scanner has it´s limits. And then the sword. If you have a boring blade so will be the photos. The Masao I enjoyed. And I took about 500 shots. 480 of them very plain s**t. Sorry about that, but if you could see them, you would say the same. 20 were outstanding. And I could work with them. See above. But two months ago I had an Yamato Daijo Fujiwara Masanori at home. And after 30 shots I skipped, because the blade as a whole is boring. Or not very delightfull. And without interesting details. Okay, I knew a dealer, who added some details in the blades he sold. Such as kinsuji, chikei, an interesting hada and so on...But I hope this is not, what you want. For a better understanding you should post a photo here and then I can give you the details and what to do. Greetings Uwe G.

Hi, we discusted it already: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10640 Hope, the link will work. Otherwise look for "Help us improve our photos". Greetings Uwe G.

Hi, I can only make the explanation with the tang. The reason comes later. What really makes me wonder are the edges of the holes. For a better explanation I added a photo from a blade same age (Sue-Koto). They are too sharp in certain areas (red and green arrow). And that only happens, when you drill a hole. The holes are very roundish. And they don´t look hammered. And if the blade is Sue-Koto, then at least one hole should look like as one in the tang from the real Ujifusa. In the yellow area the rust doesn´t look right either. The tang is ubu and untouched. No machiokuri. I know, that this blade is not gendai. No doubt about it. But it isn´t Sue-Koto either. Then once again, the description. A polisher saw the blade and it is not a big deal to polish the blade. And what else did he say? Could he confirm, that this is a blade from Wakasa no Kami Ujifusa, first generation? Instead of that, you get infos from Harry Afu. It is not guarantied, that the sword is from him. Juyo status: just guessing. And then I made a little bit C.S.I. Wladiwostok with the photos from the blade. The seller uses a Fujifilm FinePix S2800HD and Photoshop Elements 10. I start with white balance, brightness and colour correction. Maybe one or two filters. And after that I can see hidden details, that are in the photo but no one is busy enough to make them visible. But here I can do whatever I want, there are no hidden details. And this is not because of the old polish. Fuji-photos always tended to be more green. And I have seen at least 1.500 photos taken by a Fujifilm FinePix S2800HD. And you never see the blade as a whole. The seller lives in Hawaii. And here I start to imagine Beach Bunnies, Magnum with Higgins with my Ferrari and a LOT of sun. But all the photos are too dark. No exception. Please, go out and make a photo in the sun with your camera and tell me then, if the picture is too dark. And 5 photos of the blade are out of focus. But the Kiss of Death is the return policy. Assume you buy the blade and you find out, that this blade is not Wakasa no Kami Ujifusa, first generation. You can not return the blade, because it is not guarantied, that this is Wakasa nop Kami Ujifusa, first generation. It is inscribed Ujifusa and the blade needs a polish. Nothing else. I know, that you as a private seller can add this no-return-policy to an article you want to sell. But only as a private person. The seller has more than 3.200 feedbacks. Are you a private person then? But as I always claim: you are all adults, you can go alone to the toilet (at least I hope so). And so you can make your own decisions. Maybe I am unfair... Okay: I am unfair. But so is the seller. There are infos missing, that should be in the description right from the start. But once again: maybe I am wrong! If you buy the blade and it get´s a decent polish with papers Wakasa no Kami Ujifusa first generation and perhaps even juyo I will apologize deeply. And as part of the reparation I will run naked with a peacock feather in my... whatever... through Vienna. Or Salzburg, if that is better. But I hope that you dont pay at least 12.500 Dollar just to see something disgusting like that. This is just my opinion. You are all adults... Greetings Uwe G.

Hello Klaus, Okay, first I will post the photos and then comes the explanation. Uwe G.

Hi, when I play a little bit with the pics you can see, that all 3 holes in the tang are drilled. The rust doesn´t look right. And for a real Ujifusa I added another pic. I think that a third of the price would be okay. But maybe I am wrong. Greetings Uwe G.

At first sight I thought: gendai! Uwe G.

Hello Steve, sorry to tell you, but even with the best programms I cannot make any details visible. Please, try to get closer. The outcome doesn´t matter. I can work with it. Here is a result from me. Greetings Uwe G.

Hello Ilijah, your pics are not so bad and you know, how to use photoshop. Unfortunately you only have elements and so you cannot use layers. Here is an enhanced version. I can provide you with better pics, but please, don´t use a flashlight. Greetings Uwe G.

Morning Jean, this is, when it comes down to the collectors of the former GDR. They never had a chance! Research? English books? Japanese? Most of them don´t speak english at all. The Hara was not avaiable. Only Icke-Schwalbe. And whom to ask then? And today they still separate from the rest of germany. Uwe G.

Morning! A saint? Not even close! But when it comes to an order from a godan karate, then you know, what is good for your rib cage. And what not! I know a lot of collectors, who only have their gut feeling. And in this special case he is mostly right. I will see the tsuba end of september and the I will make some better pics. Uwe G.

Okay Masakage then. Dear Jean, The problems are: my friend doesn´t speak english. He doesn´t have a computer. And the seller is in the same category. They only make a guess about quality and price. And research is, what I have to do in the end. And I am not a tsuba guy either. But thank you once again Uwe G.

Okay, this should be a Tanaka Masakane. I found another topic with informations. You should think by now, that I am just another lazy bastard who only wants informations. But I am not lazy! First of all the tsuba belongs to a friend and so I don´t have a pic from the backside. I just got one pic emailed. Then I am busy with a collection that seems to be more like the usual Nigerian-Connection-scam. You know the deal: there are 40 Mio. US Dollar on an account and when you give me 200.000 EUR,we can split the sum. And suddenly there is a collection. Perhaps it is for sale, suddenly it is not, bu maybe yes. And I believe that the owner is not the seller and has no idea, that his collection is for sale. No kidding! Thank for the help and light at the end of the tunnel. Uwe G.

Hi, once again I have a tsuba pic with a signature. ??? Mune and kao. Can you help me with informations? Thank you Uwe G.

Hi Malcolm Is this more useful? Greetings Uwe G.

Hi, Henry First: I knew a german dealer who always put a white fluid to the signatures, so he could take better pictures. He was more in militaria and the swords he had it was no harm to them. When I see a guy with 0 or only 1 bit history it always gives me the creeps. Mostly it is the seller himself and he wants to push the price. Perhaps you can outbit him. But be careful. Sometimes short before the auction ends he will reject his biddings. Good luck! Uwe G.

Thank you for your help. Uwe G.

Hello, I have several kozuka´s and a matching blade and I would like to know, what´s written on it. Kozuka4 ist the front Has anybody an idea about the mon? Thank you Uwe G.

The german version: http://books.google.de/books?id=JXerop9 ... 9&dq=sanjo Uwe G.

Hello Ken, Thank you very much. To give you just another idea for display and light I have 2 pics added. The first is from the ´99 Fujishiro-Exhibition in Solingen and the other from 2002 "Selected Fine Japanese Swords" in Solingen, too. Uwe G.

PM sent. Uwe G.

Hello Veli, Do I agree? You will get a definitevely maybe. First of all I don´t bring the light to the blade but the blade to the light. I have a small table and I rotate it until I have that, what I want to see. Whether it is Hamon or Hada. Don´t forget, what the people had in old Japan. Only the sun and candlelight. That was all. And so I say that the sun is more than enough. As you can see in the most pictures when a flashlight is used, you have only a small part of the hamon then. To get a whole picture from a katana then would need 30 stichted single frames. And the outcome is more than questionable. But before you do something like that, try the Fujishiro-Way. Whatever blade he took a picture from, he only had a small part. Something between 10 or 15 cm. But he had all the details. Nie, Utsuri, Hada, you name it. There are two real famous pics. One is Yamadorige (or Sanchomo) and the other one is a tanto by Norishige. Try to aim a picture like that. A small part with all the details. When you have somthing like that, you can go for bigger parts. And someday you will have the whole blade. And by the way, the method of polishing plays no role at all. Greetings Uwe G.

The first reply was more about equipment and the right light. Now we go on with the right technique. The problem is: when you are too close you only see the details in a certain part of the blade and when you are too far away you only see the blade but not the details. Fortunately we are no longer in the BD*-times. So, the magic word to do it right is: PANORAMA The reason is very simple. You can be close and then you can stitch the pictures together. And then you will have all the details and the blade as a whole. I got 4 different computer programs for panorama pictures. The most important point is, that you have to stitch the pictures manually. All programms do it automatically. But the outcome is very different. A katana is suddenly 10 cm long. Trial and error at it´s best. PTGUI is the most advanced and only for professionals. Panorama Studio is good for landscapes. Then, of course Photoshop CS or Elements 8.0 and higher. Photoshop has Photomerge. But hands off. To explain why is too technically. So you just have to believe me. I use Panorama Factory. It´s the best programm, when you want to stitch manually. The rest is very simple then. Cut out the blade, change the background to black and you are on the same level as every Japanese sword dealer. To be honest, you are then still miles away from a Fujishiro-picture or now Ron Bingham. The only thing that helps is practice, practice, practice. And the right idea in a special moment. There is just another picture from the Masao. As you can see I stitched 4 pictures for 29 cm. I think, that`s the only way for a good picture. I wish you Good Luck and I hope it will help you to improve your pictures. Uwe G. * Before digital

Hello, Here are some basic rules for you and I hope it wll help you to improve your pictures. 1. A GOOD PICTURE TAKES TIME! And I don´t mean 10 min. or one hour. I am talking about a week or more. First the light. Normal daylight is more than enough. Don´t use any bulbs or flashlights. The blade will be too bright. You can see perhaps a few inches. But no more. 2. USE A TRIPOD! I recommend a Manfrotto 190XPROB. So you can take the picture right above the blade. Take a look at all those pictures from the Japan sword dealers. There is no angle at all. Or look at this: http://www.ronbingham.com/sword_photography.htm Or you just grab a Meito Zukan. There are pictures so beautiful I just want to cry. 3. MAKE IT BLACK & WHITE. The human eye can only see 32 different shades of grey. So it is easier than a color picture. As an example I have some pictures from a Minamoto Masao Tanto. I hope I could help you. Uwe G.