mike g Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) So, I opted for the over-yellowed 1680 (instead of the Noobmariner) and the Ultimate 45mm PO from Andrew. I really love the look of the thick acrylic crystal on the 60's-70's watches. This was the best I could do for the time being. Please ignore my $45 craigslist LV with GREEN dial. Great date mag though... Here is some of my photographic handywork for you guys: Just so you guys can get a different view of it. Although the hour markers are VERY yellow, the case looks brand new, the pearl isn't close- I really like it. I've decided to look past its' shortcomings and instead focus on the fact that I like the way it looks on my wrist. [isn't that what matters?] It leaves me wanting a MBW with a SUPER-THICK flat tropic. A man can dream- can't he ;-) Enjoy: Here's my ghetto version lightbox if you wil: I used2x 20-watt MR16 halogen lamps (used in track lighting, etc.) on either side. 2x Pieces of Tissue paper from a christmas sweater box ;-) 2x white pieces of standard printer paper as the BKGD 1x Ikea 'GRONO' lamp (frosted) as my roving fill light Nikon D70s Nikkor 18-70mm Crap Tripod White balanced on the paper [in preset mode] Post-Processing in LightroomAll the lights are on a singe dimmer switch (from Ikea) I used a pricetag from the GAP to shade the light to create different looks- as well as moving the frosted IKEA light around. I leaned the whole contraption against my iMac: Edited February 22, 2007 by mike g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Great stuff! Thanks for the technical breakdown, it leads me to one question ... Post-Processing in Lightroom Not Aperture? Do you rate lightroom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16a2 Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Fantastic pictures!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike g Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 @ PUG: I found the Beta Version of Lightroom on Adobe's website. I fell in love with it instantly- save for some hiccups with the software. I believe it's available now for $199 as a special. I've played with Aperture, but haven't gotten a good feel for it yet- It might be a better match for my computer as well. Lightroom works very well with RAW; I only shoot in RAW- unless it's an ebay photo or something. As you can tell, I'm big on post-processing and tweaking the curves and what not. Lightroom is much faster and better than photoshop for color correction and photo management. I use iPhoto to import and organize my photos- and lightroom to tweak the color. The cool thing with lightroom is the custom presets you can build; once I color correct a given photo, I can save the settings and apply them to any other photo I want. Furthermore, If I want to apply the same settings to a different photo at a later date, the preset is in my row of buttons. My "secret" recipe for color correction isn't rocket science so I'll try to create some screen shots to post here. I know everyone doesn't have a camera that can shoot RAW- so some of the color stuff can't be easily done. For the most part, I just tweak GAMMA, CONTRAST, BRIGHTNESS, EXPOSURE (RAW Only), WB Point (RAW Only), R/G/B channels and Curves. I'll also post some before and after pics...eventually. As far as cameras go, I use a Nikon D70s with the 18-70mm "kit lens." I DON'T have a macro lens anymore, so I have to make do with what I have. [i do have a Kodak V570 w/ decent macro] The camera/lense isn't the most important factor in a good photo. I've learned that LIGHT plays a bigger role than anything. The beach shots of my EXP II were taken during "the magic hour" basically Dawn and dusk. The atmosphere filters sunlight in an almost magical way ala "Vanilla Sky" It's the best time to take any picture- heck you could make a canal street rep look good ;-) I'll try to come up with some visual aids to illustrate my points a little better. In the mean time, please enjoy my photos and ask questions. -Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 As far as cameras go, I use a Nikon D70s with the 18-70mm "kit lens." I DON'T have a macro lens anymore, so I have to make do with what I have. [i do have a Kodak V570 w/ decent macro] The camera/lense isn't the most important factor in a good photo. I don't even have an SLR, so I agree with you there. I use highest JPEG settings on the camera and then import straight into iPhoto. From there, I do the basics and export at 640px wide or I launch photoshop from iPhoto and hit it with Noise Ninja and then start working. I don't shoot raw because I don't see the point with what I'm doing. I played with the free beta of Lightroom, and enjoyed it, but for some reason it didn't grab me. I think it's because I don't have all the tools I use in photoshop to feel comfortable. Thanks for the write-up, it's always interesting to see how it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike g Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 I've got some photosets on flickr for all to check out. Click em! Watches On Flickr My Other Photography. Enjoy... -Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dak244 Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 I've got some photosets on flickr for all to check out. Click em! Watches On Flickr My Other Photography. Enjoy... -Mike Wow, a lot of cool shots in there Mike. My fave has got to be the PO "birthing" from the orange though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbchubb Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Mike, thanks for sharing your great pix and also for giving an insight into your workflow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Amazing photowork, mike... :wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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