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My new Guitar taken with Elmarit 60/2.8
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:12 am    Post subject: My new Guitar taken with Elmarit 60/2.8 Reply with quote
I have always wanted to play the guitar, but never had the time or patience to start....

Well the time has finally come to start. My perverse logic was, if i get something really good, it will inspire me to learn. Luckily my brother in-law works for Maton, Australia's premier guitar manufacturer, so i was able to get a hand crafted guitar made to my specification, and with my brother in law pulling some strings and hand choosing the timbers...

The guitar is made from a Native Australian species, Acacia Melanoxylon (Blackwood) He had seen some highly figured billets of timber in the drying room, and put them aside for my guitar Very Happy It has an Ebony fingerboard and bridge and AAA rated Spruce face.

When he took it out of the case for the first time i was blown away by the timber, truly a work of art...

Anyway enough ramble from me here are a couple of pics taken with my Sigma Sd14 and Leica Elmarit 60/2.8

The Headstock



The back, the timber pinstripe is unbelievable craftmanship



I had the "Southern Cross" Inlayed on the fingerboard



Thanks for looking..


PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The guitar looks very good, the images (if you accept a criticism) so and so... the lighting is really bad. Sorry.
Congratulations on the beautiful instrument!


PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lovely guitar, I actually have a small piece of Blackwood here at home that came all the way from Oz, didn't know it looked like that. Very Happy the 2nd shot really shows it off well congrats on a super instrument Very Happy


PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
You are right Orio,

Always looking for criticism, and you guys are the ones i want it from, some of the work shown here is stunning, to many forums simply ohhh and Ahh about average shots. I have a thick skin and want to get better, so thanks.

The photos were taken on my kitchen bench, i wanted to work out a few angles to see what worked.

I took a couple outside with my 180 APO wide open, but i missed the focus by about 1 cm.

Hopefully i'll get some nice shots this weekend, i was just excited and wanted to share...


PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks poolhall,

If your piece of blackwood is unstained, rub it with a damp rag to bring out the grain, it is a beautiful hardwood.

The timber used is very heavily figured, much more so than usual, luckily my brother in law was on the scrounge for me and was able to pick some stunning pieces.

He did tell me that they split two sets of sides when they were bending the body, luckily the 3rd set was successful, the cutaway forces the timber to endure some severe curves.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
That is a work of art. What a beautiful piece




patrickh


PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Patrick,

I have tried to capture it again today, man Guitars are hard to photograph. I'm not happy with any of them, but it has been helpful in regards to thinking about composition.

I am torn in deciding what to capture, the detail in the timber is stunning, but when i focus on that, the image has no interest other than the timber.

If anyone has ideas, please post.


PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
rpo83 wrote:
Thanks Patrick,
I have tried to capture it again today, man Guitars are hard to photograph. I'm not happy with any of them, but it has been helpful in regards to thinking about composition.
I am torn in deciding what to capture, the detail in the timber is stunning, but when i focus on that, the image has no interest other than the timber.
If anyone has ideas, please post.


I never photographed guitars, but here's what I would try to do if I had to photograph them
(it might work it might not! it's just ideas that I have, need to be tested in real)

Like with every subject that I have to photograph, I ask myself, what is the characteristic or feature that makes it peculiar, photographically-wise.
With guitars, I think it's the reflections.
If you think about it, all guitars, electric and acoustic, have this varnish layer on them.
This can be in many situations, a problem.
But one of the tricks I learned about photography in my 20+ years using a camera, is: "try to turn a problem into an opportunity".

So what I would try to do, is to emphasize the context. Since guitars reflect the light, let them be in a place where a nice light may fall on them, and let orient them so that the reflections form a nice shape.
So perhaps I would try to place the guitar near a window, possibily in a environment that fits. Being a folk guitar, I think that a country house, with country furniture, would do the best.
Maybe near a country window, with a country furniture near... maybe on a country porch (where the fact that the light does not come from above but only from the sides shoud help.

If you see too much of reflection, try to control them with a polarizer.

If you don't have a country house at your disposal, try a strong contrast. Try placing the guitar in a super modern, very cold looking contemporary flat. Those with furniture all white, aluminium, black.
in my experience, when you can not set a properly timed environment, a big contrast works better than a "so and so", "close but I wish I could do better" place.

just a few ideas I have, they might all be crap Laughing


PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
What a nice instrument!


PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 1:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Absolutely STUNNING grain and craftsmanship in the instrument,
regardless of the lighting for the shots.

Your blackwood is, in many ways, like tiger maple, which I love.
Absolutely gorgeous wookworking shown here. I commend the
craftsmen who took part in creating the instrument.

I'd love to see shots of the entire guitar, from different angles.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 6:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
#3 have strange colors but #1,#2 are nice and shows details of the beautiful handwork
waiting the next series of this great instrument


PostPosted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here is a shot showing more of the guitar, this time taken with my 180/3.4 APO.

I just missed the focus on the fingerboard, but nailed the fly to the right of the guitar Laughing

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/4013168365_888215851a_b.jpg
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