Coin Photography

Discussion in 'Silver' started by Szag, Jul 12, 2011.

  1. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    Anyone got a gemstone 2012 Dragon I can photograph? Promise to keep it safe! :)
     
  2. cdnmetalmetalhead

    cdnmetalmetalhead New Member

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    Some great photos here.

    Photography was my other hobby. funny thing is, I sold about 4k of equpment for.. you guessed it, the yellow and white stuff!
     
  3. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    Irony.

    Still. The basic SLR's are quite adept now. And cheap.
     
  4. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    [​IMG]

    My gold proof Dragon.
    Ok. I totally admit the colouring was an accident. But the effect was quite pretty. Like it's on fire.
     
  5. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    [​IMG]

    Same shot. Different lighting. Amazing difference.
     
  6. pixiie

    pixiie New Member

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    Tamron 90m or Nikon 105 is the best IMO for a Nikon. i am a Nikon girl and have had a run with the Nikon 105 the non VR from my photography tutor and it is amazing. Just trying to find the time to buy the lens between buying some precious is hard!

    However, I am also keen on working some shots and playing with the light so to speak when the rest of my PAMPs come :)
     
  7. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    Bring it on! I'd love to see it. Also I'd love to hear about how you get the shot taken. I've been using a light tent, a Nikon D300 with a 50mm Nikor lens and an extension tube.
     
  8. pixiie

    pixiie New Member

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    Szag one thing to remember is the extension tubes may move you down a stop - I haven't tried them myself but I have some of those "close-up" filters you can buy for about $80 and that's what i purchased first when i wanted to have a go at macro.

    Tell you what though, when I finally did a course on macro it changed the way I look at photography and I fell in love. I'll show you an example of an edited shot I did from my course:

    http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr...078443&Signature=id4eYmmZGTUQmUS5h58QZJFU608=

    Edits were blackened, vignette and amended the color balance of the orange - i think I also did it with a lightroom pre selected filter and just made some adjustments...cos as you know the orange is actually gold LOL
     
  9. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    Ok then. THAT just took it to another level. Awesome shot mate. Inspiring.
     
  10. silverybay

    silverybay New Member

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  11. silverybay

    silverybay New Member

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  12. Philski

    Philski Member

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    fantastic photos everyone. And very inspiring. thank you
    My camera (my wifes) is a Harvey Norman generic job, so i need to step up, i think,,
     
  13. 940palmtx

    940palmtx New Member

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    Just wanted to say y'alls photos are amazing and I love looking at all the stunning details of different coins.
     
  14. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    Yeah they're great. I quite like the English dragon. Very interesting. I wonder if there are any other dragons from other countries? Anyone?
     
  15. BlackDot

    BlackDot New Member

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    I recommend this article on coin photography: http://www.sigma-2.com/camerajim/cjgcoins.htm

    I was especially impressed by the axial lighting technique, and this is what I used to make my photos. Here's an example result:

    [​IMG]
    Source: my website

    Now, this was shot with a compact camera (Lumix LX5). It has a wide-angle lens which is fantastic for landsapes, but was rather problematic for shooting macro from far enough to avoid reflections. The setup was constructed from a chair, old lamp, piece of glass taken from a shelve, sheet of paper, stack of books, black t-shirt and old tripod :) So you don't really need expensive pro cameras and equipment to do decent photos.

    Additionally, the photo above was shot with 3 different exposures and combined using HDR software. This greatly improves contrast and brings up fine details.

    And lighting is extremely important, I found that 40W white halogen bulb worked best for me, but it broke and I had to use normal bulb.

    BTW, this is my first post here, so I'll use this opportunity to say hi: "Hi everyone" :)
     
  16. Szag

    Szag Member Silver Stacker

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    Hi Blackdot. Welcome and excellent photo.

    Work always gets in the way of hobbies but I'll be sure to check out that link tonight. Didn't even consider HDR.
     
  17. Wiowi

    Wiowi Member Silver Stacker

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    That is an absolutely glorious shot BalckDot! Stunning. Welcome to SS.
     
  18. Lunartic

    Lunartic Member Silver Stacker

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    My hat comes off to you good sir.. BlackDot
     
  19. BlackDot

    BlackDot New Member

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    Thanks, glad you like it.

    Interestingly enough, I could not get a good shot of Vienna Philharmonic with this setup. And this technique for example reveals how imperfect the surface of Silver Britannias is. I guess some coins are more photogenic than others, and I like the ones from Perth Mint the most.
     
  20. silverybay

    silverybay New Member

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