Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Dachshund carving

  1. #1

    Dachshund carving

    dach auc 4 copy.jpgdach auc 6 copy.jpgdach auc 12 copy.jpgdach auc 9 copy.jpgdach auc 17 copy.jpgdach auc 19 copy.jpg

    Here is the latest. I hate these photos though.

    I have had to use my smartphone camera and while smartphone cameras are very good...I can't really control the light entering the lens and have to wait for particular times of day to get even decent shots. I seem to have lost my old point and shoot which was getting too old anyway.

    Does anybody have an opinion on the Sony dsc-RX10 as a product photo camera. Seems to have a decent macro mode and decent performance close up. Thoughts much appreciated.

    Anyway, hope you guys like this little guy. An organization asked me to do this one as a signed, dated piece that they want to auction off. They run auctions to support their pet placement efforts. I sign and date my pieces anyway. So that was not a big deal.
    Last edited by James Nugnes; 02-23-2017 at 5:34 PM.

  2. #2
    Geez I am was so disappointed in the photos that i forgot to mention that there are two components to this piece. The base is separate from the dog. So the Dog does not have to be mounted to the base.....but can be either mounted to it or displayed separately. The "hot dog" carvings I do really prompt people to grab hold of them on occasion and integrating the base would make that a bit more difficult.

    If you look carefully at either the last or second to last photo I slid the dogs foot out of the spot carved for it so you can see that the base is a separate piece.
    Last edited by James Nugnes; 02-23-2017 at 11:37 PM.

  3. #3
    James, seems to me that this one has a little more of a personality caricature feel compared to the realistic alertness of the last one. Good to be able to do that according to the preference of patron. I enjoy seeing them.

  4. #4
    That is a good pick up on your part Mel. I rarely have a project that is not aimed at a customer's specific pet. While I have plenty of material to use for this breed not having a real project intent or goal sort of left me a little lacking in inspiration. I am usually trying to represent a real pet in a way that is interesting instead of trying to carve one without any understanding for where the piece is going and how it might be displayed. That said, its a bit more realistic in the wood than the photos show. As I mentioned above I have got to do something about these photos. The inability to control the light is killing them. Flash is just popping off the surface of the piece. The eyes are totally misrepresented as the light is reflecting off them like headlights.

    The feet are the part of the piece where I allowed myself to have a little fun with it as they are purposely a little bigger than i would normally carve for a full on realistic piece. The organization did not want to provide me any guidance specific to a particular animal and given the intent I thought something like one of the Dach poses I have that has become a real favorite with customers but with a little twist made sense. They just wanted a black and tan color scheme Dach and that was it for guidance. But I really could not see someone interested in a true realistic piece that was not a representation of their actual pet. Even black and tan Dachshunds are all over the map as far as color pattern and depth of coat. There are short hairs, long hairs and mid-hairs as subsets of this breed. Some black and tans are mostly black and some show a good deal of tan unlike a black and tan Doberman. They are pretty consistent. I would say the chances I could carve a Dach that by happenstance ended up a match to a pet a bidder in a charity auction might really have would be pretty slim. So its not a full on caricature but neither is it a realistic piece as there was in this case no real subject provided.

    I do think I am going to have to deal with this camera thing. I can't even find the camera I was using which maybe will turn out a blessing as it was less then adequate. It is or was if totally gone a 14 year old point and shoot. That said a smartphone camera just will not get it done as you get what you get for the most part. They are great for what they are....but not really appropriate for these sorts of photos. Going to get a good bridge camera before I start pulling what is left of my hair out. Just a matter of which I choose.
    Last edited by James Nugnes; 02-24-2017 at 1:13 AM.

  5. #5
    The technology on the newer phones is beyond the phone I'm currently using as it's quite dated . But as quick examples I took these shots which are at least presentable I think to be able to see some detail and composition.
    Photography is my weak link as am certainly not adept at it so to compensate a quickie photo " booth " and a little lighting seems to go a long way.
    Side by side these are almost indistinguishable from using my Canon 35mm style digital which just gathers dust now .
    Again, I'm not a photographer . But if you'd adjust your angles, use some sort of simple backdrop and light your subject properly your photos would be much better.
    These examples show what using just 2 $5.00 clamp lights and a sheet of .99 cent poster board can produce . Not great but not too bad for a non photographer. Easy to make out what the subject is.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Mark Yundt; 02-24-2017 at 9:43 AM.
    The Woodworking Studio

  6. #6
    Thanks for the input Mark. I think what is driving me to something like a bridge camera is that I found natural light (if you can control it) to be far superior to a reasonably priced light box set up with artificial light and I just don't want to go down the DSLR and lenses road. Now I have to admit that I never tried to spend big money on a light box set up but the one I have is not bad. However there was simply no contest between natural light and artificial light on a budget that is not crazy or at least not crazy for me. My little point and shoot which now appears lost somewhere always took better photos in natural light. When I take the light box set up outdoors to natural light it becomes more of a backdrop than a lighting control mechanism.

    The dif is that even with a really good smartphone camera, you really don't have that much you can control even when compared to my 14 year old point and shoot. My smartphone camera CAN take better photos than that older point and shoot.....without question.That is pretty amazing when you think about it even considering that the camera is 14 years old and the smartphone is barely two years old. My real problem is that there is no question that natural light beats artificial light on a budget for my subject matter. Yet I cannot reach up and dial the sun to where i want it to be and how much I want it to be. The smartphone camera even in "manual" operation really does not leave you with much you can do. Plus while at least in my experience you can change camera settings in a serial manner, the impact of changes is not serial or at least does not appear to be. So for example you can keep changing things like f/stop in a serial manner. But the impact to the shot won't be serial. You can go from good shots to bad shots in one f/stop setting. The smartphone just does not get you there and as good as they are, they are not IMO intended to get you there.

    Plus I feel compelled to offer really tight shots of my carvings as part of the photo mix because it is the best way to show the real detail in the carving and because I think I owe it to my audience and myself for that matter. That is where the smartphone really IMO does let you down. The last thing on the minds of the folks building these smartphones is macro mode or even just beyond macro mode distances for the camera. You don't know how many times i have had a client/customer receive their carving and write to tell me that they had no idea from the photos I sent that I had carved so much detail into their piece.

    Here at this site i almost always just toss up what near field shots I can take as this is a woodworking site and I assume people want to see that level of detail if i can provide it. Here again, IMO the smartphone camera is a fail in that specific regard. So I think I am stuck. The good news is that this generation of bridge cameras seems ridiculous in their capabilities...the good ones much closer to a DSLR than a point and shoot. More good news for me...I don't care a rats behind for video modes or movie modes. Good bridge cameras that also include video are really pricy.

  7. #7
    I was always told that to shoot in natural light would be early/late or best cloudy . Sun just washed them out .
    As far as detail you can get pretty tight seeing the dime, the scrimshaw I did ( thumb as reference) as well as close up of the feather details on this decoy . Doesn't really need to be closer I'd say .
    The only other thing I'll add is not to write off a photo box. That seems to be what most will use simply because you can control all the variables .
    For 5 minutes whenever I want ( not hoping for the sun) and $10.00 I'm not gonna' argue. And I'd hope most can see what I'm showing OK.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Mark Yundt; 02-24-2017 at 11:48 AM.
    The Woodworking Studio

  8. #8
    Well you are surely right about natural light being best without the sun blasting away and in winter here in the North East, the low angle sun morning and afternoon makes it just about as bad as mid-day only in a different way, actually worse. Winter sun here is pretty overwhelming. I missed the optimal part of the day here and I suspect almost nothing would have saved those shots. Optimal part of the day here without some cloud cover is pretty short. The sun was like an angry troll that just would not give an inch no matter how I tried to change the angle-on to the subject or change the entire angle of camera and subject to the sun because.....I missed the optimal part of the day and once missed, there is no rolling back to it. I have to ship the carving pretty soon. So I still tried to take the shots.

  9. #9
    I'm sure they'll do just fine .
    As any photographer will tell you the ideal for outdoor shooting is a cloudy day. No sunshine. Other than that there are 2 " golden hours " to shoot . 1 hr . after sunrise, 1hr. before sunset. In all 3 scenarios ( even overcast) have the sun behind you for the best results.
    The Woodworking Studio

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •