doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Close-up pics of gun parts

Brian asked what I used to take those pics of the Parker Repro watertable and its markings, so I thought I'd start a thread on it and some other pics I took recently.

I've been having fun with my recently acquired second remote flash when taking macro pics and thought I'd post this.

With the repro barrel pics, I used my D300 Nikon, a 60mm Micro Nikkor, the built-in flash, and two SB800 remotely trigger flashes arranged as needed to get the light right. For good detail, I put both remote flashes on the same side of the camera at about a 45* angle or steeper. This casts a shadow on stampings/engravings so they show better in pics. Also, if using a built-in flash, I always make sure the flash doesn't bounce straight back off the subject surfaces to cause glare. An angle of about 15-20* will be plenty to make the glare go away.


These pics of my forend iron from a 410 NID really were the first time I'd used two flashes in addition to my built-in flash. Same camera and lens as above. I was trying to capture some of the damage from a couple stripped holes and also the overall correct assembly. I think the lighting really caught the buggering up from a hammersmith pretty well. I'm in the process of repairing that, but that's another story.






I thought this last one caught some incredible surface detail. I played with the flash/camera angles until I got this.


So here's the basic camera/flash setup. You just play with the flash/camera angles like billiard shots, until you're happy with the results. And with digital photography, you can get the results instantly and change the setup to correct it.

Chuck, I'm surprised that the pictures didn't wash out with the built-in flash. Doesn't the D300 have a commander mode for the auxillary flashes.

I use a D90 and set the commander mode so that only the auxillary flashes go off. They can be usually be set far enough away or close enough to bounce the light.

Here are a few pictures using an old Nikkor 28-85, that can autofocus with the D90 but in Macro (28mm only) you have to manual focus. The lens was approximately 2" from subjects.



Naturally the pictures were cropped. The actual size of the bill is 13/16" long x 5/8" high.

I was using a point and shoot for some time, but got back into SLR shooting with DSLR's. You are able to get much better photos.

These I got with a Fuji FinePix A330 (3.2 Mega Pixels) using a tripod and bedside lamps
when it wasn't using just daylight (they are all cropped):





At the time they showed what I was aiming to show.

One has to do with what one has handy.

JC

David,
On the D300, the commander mode "TTL" fires the built-in flash. Commander Mode "--" also fires it, but at a very low output that has little effect on most photos. It must fire it because the built-in flash is the source for the IR trigger for the remotes. Try taking a picture of yourself in a mirror with the commander mode in "--", you can see the built-in flash fire in the picture. If you want to totally eliminate the built-in effect, you can simply block the built-in flash with your hand or Nikon makes a little flash blocking accessory that lets the flash fire and scatter, which will trigger/communicate with the remotes without getting any direct flash from it.

Jaycee,
Great use of light.

Great photos all.
I have a D40 - I will gave to get the manual out to see if it will power remote flashes and put them on my christmas list. Chuck - great idea with better halves mirror - I will give it a go. I have tried various materials to try and defuse the flash but with no great success. Life was so much easier when we had a flash shoe and a bit of wire - or even a tilt head!!
John

Jaycee's pictures were closer than mine with a Nikon Coolpix. They werent' bad, but even in Macro it was hard to adjust and get the light just right.

Chuck, I have seen that optional flash blocker. I did what you said I put my hand in front of the flash and it was enough to set the slave units off. I might get that piece, because sometimes I use the remote ML-3 and won't be near the camera.
I also read about using the commander mode on the D90, it is the same.

I can't get as close as you guys.

Nice light, Joe.

Nice photos All! I wish I had the ability and equipment to turn out photos as clear as you folks.

JDW, The Idaho State Qtr upset a bunch of folks here in the North part of the state. The Birds of Prey area is a short distance south of Boise. Many folks up here thought something representative of the whole state would have been more appropriate. I drug a couple of them out and I certainly can't see the detail with the naked eye that you show in the photo.