Some pens and such

I rarely take the opportunity to post some of my stuff, but since I have a few photos of my work close at hand, here they are for your C&C. Feel free to offer suggestions on how to make things better, either the pens themselves or the photography.

This one was given to a dear friend. It's a Euro in black Ti... not positive on the blank, but I believe it came out of the Maple box. The background is one of many chunks of Manzanita Burl I have lying around.
Attachment 253682

This one was also given to a good friend. Another Euro in gold... it's Maple, but the blank turned out so white I initially thought it was a dark piece of Holly.
Attachment 253683

I still have this one (and may just keep it for my own use). It's a Triton rollerball with a Yellow Box burl blank. The background is a couple of silver shot cups (I spent quite a while polishing the tarnish off of them before use).
Attachment 253684

This one recently sold. Yet another Euro in gold (they're so easy to make!), with a Maple blank. I stabilized the snot out of this one with thin CA throughout the turning, so I think the yellow color comes from internal burning... I like the outcome, so I may try that method again rather than throwing it in the vacuum stabilization pot. The case is Maple with a Rosewood centerband. The client's wife is a fan of Celtic stuff, so I engraved a Celtic knot in either end and a triskel on all three faces (both in black)... the script "Everlasting Love" is done in gold underneath each triskel.
Attachment 253685

I hope you guys like :) As I said, C&C welcome.


EDIT: I realize the black background tends to lose the edges of the pen... it was a quick photoshoot, so I used what was set up at the time. It looks like I did a poor job at sizing the ends, but I promise it's just the black background reflecting off of the gold kit.

The first two are rather plain looking. The triton looks pretty good. The last euro has that "double bubble" fat look that is so unappealing. It lacks a continuity of shape.

Dan,
what camera are you using?
pens look good and the photos look great.

Dan, I particularly like on the Triton how you reduce the diameter to less than the endcap rim, and then flare it back out to meet the mating surface of the endcap rim. I've done many pens where I leave the wood fatter than the fixtures and reduce it to size at the ends, but I've not yet reduced a blank to within the diameter and flared it back out such as this. Subtle, but very powerful to me. I will (borrow) that technique.
Beautiful woods, beautiful pens, and by the way, impressive photo composition as well. Kudos to you Sir.
Cheers!

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Originally Posted by Montgomery Scott

The first two are rather plain looking. The triton looks pretty good. The last euro has that "double bubble" fat look that is so unappealing. It lacks a continuity of shape.

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I like the Euro style of pen... rounded top, medium thickness centerband, etc. I prefer a simple shape to the ones that have wild fluctuations to show off the figure of the wood... coves, beads, etc. just don't do it for me. The last Euro's shape was by request of the client... personally, it's a shape I use often, but when the client saw it on one pen, he requested that exact shape be used on the next one I did for him. Overall, they're not as exciting of a pen as, say, the more blingy Triton, but still a fave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thomas prusak

Dan,
what camera are you using?
pens look good and the photos look great.

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A Canon T2i with the stock 18-55mm lens. My photog skills have improved in part because this camera allows me to do so much more than a point and shoot. Once I got some decent lighting for my tent, the images improved dramatically. I started with a 60W Daylight (6500K) fluorescent (in those silver reflector cans from Home Depot) on either side, but my images were coming out a bit too blurry (the edges of the pens lost definition). I noticed the camera was adjusting to 3200 ISO, way too low for my taste. So I upgraded the two lights to 100W units and put a third 60W on the top. Suddenly I could shoot at 100-200 ISO all day long, and the images crisped right up. The first pic was taken with the original lights, the last three were with the upgraded lighting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeremy Hamaker

Dan, I particularly like on the Triton how you reduce the diameter to less than the endcap rim, and then flare it back out to meet the mating surface of the endcap rim. I've done many pens where I leave the wood fatter than the fixtures and reduce it to size at the ends, but I've not yet reduced a blank to within the diameter and flared it back out such as this. Subtle, but very powerful to me. I will (borrow) that technique.
Beautiful woods, beautiful pens, and by the way, impressive photo composition as well. Kudos to you Sir.
Cheers!

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Borrow away :) Every piece I make begins a frantic search for something to put in the background that accents the colors but doesn't take away from the item itself. It's not easy, especially if you don't want to use the same background over and over. Here's one I took that uses the last pen before I had the box completed:
Attachment 253689
It was a little wicker basket my wife uses to hold sugar packets. The color was a good match, and I already used the yellow-brown candle motif in an earlier shot, so the basket it was! I may need to choose different colors of blanks just so I can select from different background materials ;)

For the ends, my general technique is to caliper to the exact size necessary for the kit on hand. Once I've sanded to 320, the 8-10 coats of CA build it up to just over the size of the kit. The subsequent MicroMesh sanding for the CA doesn't remove much thickness at that point, but it allows me to round the built-up edge and make for a very smooth-feeling transition. In the interest of full disclosure, the post side of the Triton is actually proud of the metal just a touch... I did that one on purpose (I caliper everything, not relying on bushings), but the flare would have been there regardless of the end being too large or not.

Wonderful job on all of them Dan. I don't do alot of pens...but I'm with you on not trusting bushings for final sizing. I like how you changed up your backgrounds as well to suit the pen...great idea and keeps things from getting boring.

The pens are very nice and the photography is excellent, a lot better that I can do. I have some euro pen kits that I bought years ago. I just didn't want to try the tenons on them. Maybe when the weather turns a little warmer I'll get those kits out and give them a try, 'cause I like the looks of yours.
Thanks for posting.
Tim.

I really like the first one. Cool blank.

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Originally Posted by Tim Leiter

I have some euro pen kits that I bought years ago. I just didn't want to try the tenons on them.

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I have quite a few kits with the tenons, and to be honest, I'll gladly choose those over the newer non-tenon versions any day. To turn that part, I just use my parting tool (it's one of the 1/16" wide tools from Sorby) with a caliper in my other hand to keep checking with. It makes it easy to turn the tenon square, and I don't even have to measure the length anymore... I know a parting tool width and a half is all that's necessary for a perfect size. I leave it a mil or so proud of the caliper'ed measurement of the centerband, which makes for a nice press fit and no looseness.

Dan not only do I like the pens, I also like how you took the photos with the other items in them. Nice job.

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Originally Posted by Timothy Mann

Dan not only do I like the pens, I also like how you took the photos with the other items in them. Nice job.

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Thanks, Timothy :) I know most of the current pro quality shots use something ultra-simple to hold up the finished pen like a clear acrylic stand, a small Corian lump, or even just a raw pen blank... I've always felt something was missing from those. They just feel too uninviting to me, so I try to add a little warmth, a little familiarity, by putting in recognizable objects. I keep my eyes open now whenever I'm out and about for things that might make a good background element.

Glad to see you turning, Dan.

I have been asked for some more details on what I shoot with and settings, so here's a rough breakdown. For those using point-and-shoots, the more settings mentioned below you can modify, the better off you are... typically this is just EV for a lot of P-and-S cameras. For those with DSLRs who have not stretched their legs yet, this should help get you a bit closer to nice shots.

As mentioned earlier, the camera itself is a Canon T2i, purchased August(?) 2010. It is lightly used and the sensor has never been cleaned, but I have yet to notice any dust bunnies in my images. Shooting is done in a photo tent purchased from eBay for around $40. Several colored fabric backgrounds were included in red, blue, black, and white.

The tent came with a couple of small halogen lights and a tripod (well, it's a camera stand, not so much an actual tripod, but it's workable), though I have never used the included lights in favor of Daylight Fluorescents. I used a 100W on either side of the tent and a 60W along the top, though I could certainly go brighter on all and it would only help the picture. This typically allows the camera to select 100ISO for almost every shot. The bulbs are used in these clippable reflector canisters from Lowes and aimed to be within 1" of the tent's top / side surfaces:
Attachment 254325
I use the "Manual Exposure" mode on the camera, which allows me to set several critical parameters while still allowing the camera to automatically select other parameters as it sees fit (I will be slowly changing over to almost full manual control as the camera does not always get it right). I selected "Faithful" for the Picture Style as it really does give a faithful representation of the colors in front of me. The bulbs I use are listed at 6500k (true daylight is around 5500k)... the camera only allows 1000k jumps, and I have found 6000k to be significantly more faithful in color than at 7000k.

Depending upon the specific object, I have found settings of 0EV to -1EV (it jumps by 1/3rds) to give me the best contrast and brightness with the above mentioned lights. One of the features I do not currently have enabled (but will be enabling from here on out) is AEB bracketing... until now, I had been taking an image at 0EV, then three more pics at progressively lower EV values (dropping by 1/3rd each time). I will try different settings, but I will likely go with a +/-1EV bracket setting centered at 0EV, and then let some HDR processing software find me some serious definition and contrast using those shots. If I wanted to stick with non-processed shots, I could have also gone with a bracketed shot +/- 1/3rd EV centered at -1/3rd EV and nailed a good shot in almost every burst, but I think I'll get more detail in the shadows from an HDR shot.

My glass is the stock 18-55mm kit lens that came with the body... it received very high reviews for a kit lens, and so far I don't have any complaints, either. At some point I will likely start playing with depth of field so the pen is in focus and the background objects are a bit blurred (moreso than they are now), but for now I'm okay with what's coming out.

The camera usually sits on the "tripod" provided with the tent. I have a high-end tripod, but since most of my work takes place on the floor (I'm constantly assembling / disassembling the setup due to space concerns), the <1'-high piece that comes with the tent is useful. I also have a remote so pressing the shutter doesn't jiggle the camera, but so far I have not used it... not only is there image stabilization in the lens (good up to four ISO levels), the camera's choice of 100ISO for most shots means it will also select a very fast shutter speed (thereby reducing blur even further).

There are a few other parameters I will eventually drag under manual control, but for the most part these few settings alone make a difference of night and day in quality of the final image. I do very little post-processing of my images (other than cropping), sometimes none at all.

Enjoy!