Lewis B Posted March 17 Report Posted March 17 Trial and error I'm afraid. Every blade is different. Thats the beauty of digital image capture, you can snap away to hearts content. Just remember to have the light source off axis and not reflecting on the blade. Quote
Schneeds Posted March 17 Report Posted March 17 It's a matter of trial and error with respect to the angle and location of light. The position of the lens will also affect this. As others have mentioned, having the direct light source at the edge of the picture frame is a good place to start. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 17 Author Report Posted March 17 38 minutes ago, Lewis B said: Trial and error I'm afraid. Every blade is different. Thats the beauty of digital image capture, you can snap away to hearts content. Just remember to have the light source off axis and not reflecting on the blade. Off-axis as in facing more diagonally to the blade or perpendicularly? Quote
Lewis B Posted March 17 Report Posted March 17 1 hour ago, Zoglet said: Off-axis as in facing more diagonally to the blade or perpendicularly? Directed so that the light isn't reflected off the blade itself. I have found the cheap Ikea LED Jansjo lamps to be great. Think I paid 20 euro for 4 off Ebay. These are widely recommended for anyone doing Macro work. For highligting activity in the hamon a high intensity 250W halogen lamp is my go to. With its dimmer feature I can optimise the light intensity. You can see some of the images I've captured when experimenting with light sources, camera angles etc here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19Lr1Ec-xuqVvj-eZWYtgSKfamVWFUlsO?dmr=1&ec=wgc-drive-globalnav-goto This for example was shot with the halogen lamp approx 18 inches away from the blade and 90deg wrt the camera angle. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 17 Author Report Posted March 17 30 minutes ago, Lewis B said: Directed so that the light isn't reflected off the blade itself. I have found the cheap Ikea LED Jansjo lamps to be great. Think I paid 20 euro for 4 off Ebay. These are widely recommended for anyone doing Macro work. For highligting activity in the hamon a high intensity halogen lamp is my go to. You can see some of the images I've captured when experimenting with light sources, camera angles etc here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19Lr1Ec-xuqVvj-eZWYtgSKfamVWFUlsO?dmr=1&ec=wgc-drive-globalnav-goto This for example was shot with the halogen lamp approx 18 inches away from the blade and 90deg wrt the camera angle. Thank you for the examples. I'll give it a try. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 18 Author Report Posted March 18 I tried hard. I was able to get a dark contour like Kirill suggested with Bizen boshis. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 18 Author Report Posted March 18 I may be inexperienced, but the shape reminds me of this Juyo Fukuoka Ichimonji tachi. Note: Photos are from Eirakudo Quote
jsv Posted March 18 Report Posted March 18 Its not Ichimonji, skip the boshi for a while and concentrate on the rest of the blade. Get a book. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 18 Author Report Posted March 18 Just now, jsv said: Its not Ichimonji, skip the boshi for a while and concentrate on the rest of the blade. Get a book. I'm not claiming one way or the other. They asked for the boshi, so I made a comparison with a photo of a similar boshi. Quote
Franco Posted March 18 Report Posted March 18 Kantei: Time period ? ______ , Tradition? _____ , School ? _____ , Smith ? ______ Quote
Tohagi Posted March 20 Report Posted March 20 With a very carefull guess, I think you still have half a mm of hamon at the tip. I though it completely run out. It is clearly a broken reshaped kissaki but maybe not a fatal flaw. You have a very nice and interesting blade with some issues. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 20 Author Report Posted March 20 5 hours ago, Tohagi said: With a very carefull guess, I think you still have half a mm of hamon at the tip. I though it completely run out. It is clearly a broken reshaped kissaki but maybe not a fatal flaw. You have a very nice and interesting blade with some issues. Thanks for the compliment on the blade. I understand that the blade has some issues (potential suriage and reshaped kissaki, ignoring the mei altogether). However, even within issues is a sword that can still be incredible. I'll try to take even better photographs and continue to report, as, even with issues, the blades are hundreds of years old, so some compromises do have to be made. Thanks for taking the time to read. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 20 Author Report Posted March 20 Well, I took all of your advice, and I whipped out the family camera. Here are some new higher-quality photos (Thanks for all the advice on photo taking)! 5 Quote
Schneeds Posted March 21 Report Posted March 21 That is a massive improvement in photograph quality, well done! Quote
Zoglet Posted March 21 Author Report Posted March 21 Just now, Schneeds said: That is a massive improvement in photograph quality, well done! Thanks. I've been spending my evenings after college practicing! Quote
nulldevice Posted March 21 Report Posted March 21 25 minutes ago, Zoglet said: Thanks. I've been spending my evenings after college practicing! It paid off, those pictures are much better and show off the hamon quite nicely. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 21 Author Report Posted March 21 3 minutes ago, nulldevice said: It paid off, those pictures are much better and show off the hamon quite nicely. Thank you! I'd love to see what can be discovered with these photos about the blade, especially since most things can be seen clearly now (utsuri and boshi are still a bit hard to capture, but tried my best). Quote
Zoglet Posted March 21 Author Report Posted March 21 Any new information that can be given with clear photos would be greatly appreciated. Really, thanks, guys! Quote
Lewis B Posted March 21 Report Posted March 21 Well what I can add based on what I see in the better photos is that you should send it for Shinsa without any additional polishing. Its an unnecessary expense and time suck for the level and purpose you are aiming at ie an attribution and confirmation that its not gimei. Congrats on the new pics. Your skills have improved immeasurably and it just goes to show how impt a good camera and lens plus the lighting is to take meaningful images. Totally changes the presentation and appreciation for the online viewer. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 21 Author Report Posted March 21 2 hours ago, Lewis B said: Well what I can add based on what I see in the better photos is that you should send it for Shinsa without any additional polishing. Its an unnecessary expense and time suck for the level and purpose you are aiming at ie an attribution and confirmation that its not gimei. Congrats on the new pics. Your skills have improved immeasurably and it just goes to show how impt a good camera and lens plus the lighting is to take meaningful images. Totally changes the presentation and appreciation for the online viewer. Thanks! This sword has been and continues to be, a great adventure as more inputs from others come in and more is learned. It gave me the chance to learn to photograph swords, appreciate Koto Bizen work, learn more about particular hamon types and hataraki, determine the forms of kizu on the blade, and (most importantly), learn from the community! I appreciate all the effort and look forward to hearing more from those who stumble upon the new photos. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 21 Author Report Posted March 21 11 minutes ago, Franco said: Never mind. Everything alright? Quote
Franco Posted March 21 Report Posted March 21 Just now, Zoglet said: Everything alright? Rereading entire thread again. Quote
Zoglet Posted March 21 Author Report Posted March 21 8 minutes ago, Franco said: Rereading entire thread again. I'm sorry. I know there's a lot here. Quote
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