More Merchandise Photography - at least I am Improving....

I am improving - health wise and photography-wise. My allergies are really bothering me this fall and last week I had to start inhalation therapy. A lot of "things" have had to stop until the dust settles - literally as it is time to harvest the corn and there is much dust and chaff in the air.

But I keep clicking away at items to list for the vintage shop (which is starting to snowball). I bet I am taking at least 2oo photographs a week now.

Meanwhile, the blogs are being neglected - me writing on mine and my reading on everyone else's. How is everyone doing?

Curt Gowdy State Forest Medicine Bow National Forest South Eastern Wyoming

Now, this is not a nice thing for me to say or repeat here but - I know what folks say about the attractiveness of Kansas so here goes this commentary on southern Wyoming....
Even people who live in the Teton area of Wyoming "dis" the southern part of the state. I dislike the drive along interstate 80 - many. many trucks, "rough" and not clean rest stops, an area populated with the crews working the gas line and mines - understand me here?

How ever - before one gets into the Red Desert area along I-80 is the mountain country of Medicine Bow National Forest, around Laramie and Cheyenne. This is an area of high plains sweeping up into mountains of pine and high grassland meadows. It is an area of vast vistas, mule and white tail deer, high winds and huge snow fences.

I really like the plains and this is the plains at their best with large mountains that look more like nudged up hills with their grassland meadows.

Between Cheyenne and Laramie is Curt Gowdy State Forest with it's wonderful pink granite rock formations. It is part of Medicine Bow National Forest and I drooled over the rock formations last year on the way to Jackson.

This trip to Jackson started later in the day and it was necessary to spend the night on the road. Not what a gal by herself wants to do along that particular section of I-80, even if she has the Big Dog with her (rottweiler & lab mix). Much to the dog's delight we camped at Curt Gowdy to check out this camping area not too many hours from home base in Kansas.

We had a good night there. Enough campers around to make one feel safe but where we parked we had the whole area to ourselves. Bears there? Oh, probably some black bear somewhere but lots and lots of deer. We did some hiking and I found my knee will not tolerate any angle of a path if the path is not level and that I have a lot of problems going down hill. Going up hill fine but what goes up must come down (maybe I could just roll?).

The rocks were great and the reservoir yielded some great photos for future paintings. Posted here are some edited views.

Wyoming Photos and playing with effects...

North of Rock Springs on route 191.

Winter comes early to the high desert. This is a vast expanse of sage brush desert. Wild horses roam the area but stay far away from the highway. That fencing is for snow - trying to control drifting snow on the highway. The thought of traveling this long section of road in the winter gives me chills.

The bottom photo is the original. I prefer the "old west" flavor the sepia gives to the top photo.

We are better in the Small House but not 100%. I continue to click away at the "stuff" for the online vintage shop and keep finding other shops with admirable photography.

Alan, I think with the reds in the photography I would be better using artificial light with more blue than the yellow natural light has. However, I have yet to figure out who has substantial blue spectrum lighting and truth be told, I am too lazy to haul the "stuff" around to get a better photo of it.

Illness in the Small House,,,

Just a quick note as I have had to leave blogging off to deal with the Etsy business and we are having illness in the house this week.

As long as the Mommy stays healthy we will be O.K.....

This Merchandise Photography gets more interesting each day....

This is called "trying to figure out how to photograph the whole wedding dress on the dress form without getting down on the floor"

Does anyone know a solution to trying to photograph REALLY Bright Red items?

Trying out another way to display the jewelry (as opposed to just laying it on the table).

I will post some photos from Wyoming at some time. Meanwhile, I am playing a hard game of catch-up with the vintage store. I have a lot of fabric to photograph so will work on that this week. That's actually not too hard to do....

Snow in Wyoming, Merchandise Photos...

Looking at the Wind River Range just outside of Pinedale Wyoming.

Liking the photos of the oddities I listed on the vintage shop.
I have some other photos of doll parts and really am quite intrigued with the outcome of them.
IF I should be so fortunate to have the time to be bored, perhaps I'll play with my dollies and set up some interesting shots....

First weekend in October and I get snowed in at Jackson Wyoming. Thank goodness I had the hiking boots and down jacket. Monday morning the low temperature at Yellowstone was 9F (Yellowstone is an hour north of Jackson). The snow starts early in the Rockies - this wasn't anything unusual; it doesn't stay long and my travel was only delayed a day. More photos to post another time.

Designer Labels...

Most of the merchandise photography is done in the art studio (which is a former one-room schoolhouse. spiders, dust and dog hairs) with the exception of the linens which need to spread on a bed or table.
I have been trying not to show the studio and it's mess in other clothing shots but thought "what the heck?" It's an interesting space and the contrast of the fine clothing with the roughness of the interior might be good. Plus having the interest of art work behind the item without being too distracting (and some added publicity for the art).
Late yesterday afternoon's sun was really bright. Closing the white blinds brought the light down to a manageable level. There was a large gesso'd canvas to the side. Even the painting in the background reflected some light. And I was able to borrow an old dress form. What a difference.
Had much fun dressing the small form and I'm pleased with the photos.

Off to the the wide open spaces of Wyoming this week! Think the area I am heading to is due for snow in the higher elevations. It is a "business" trip but I will be camping. Hope to spend a little time in Yellowstone, get some more photos for paintings of the Tetons.

Sometime I will post the triptych painting I did of the mountains just north of Jackson. Will post the photos at the same time. People can see what I do with much of my photography.

Steampunkjunq's Photography

Top photo is a brooch from steampunkjunq.etsy.com

The 2nd photo to the last are items for purchase from steampunkjunq's other etsy shop
steampunkjunk.etsy.com

This is some of the better merchandise photography I have seen on Etsy.
Things to note: the miscellaneous items are very small and highly reflective. Also the selection of color background (or should I say "negative space"?) to compliment the articles.

Great use of lighting, macro and staging....

Merchandise Photography 101

Thanks, Alan, for suggesting I post some of my recently acquired skill (ha).

Some things I have learned so far:

- One can shoot in overhead lighting of not the best quality if one uses a white backdrop.
Especially good for metal and glass, the white reflects light up into the subject.

- For close-ups with Macro in lighting less than bright outdoor light; even with a tripod the photo comes out shaky (no place to attach a cable with this camera). Setting the drive to a 3 photo set will give you at least two to pick from. The glassware above is an example.

- Little subjects need to be placed A Lot Closer than what you judge by your naked eye. The earrings are a good example. I set them up and looked through the camera - too big of a space between the two. When I had them set up for the camera, by naked eye they looked to be nesting together.

- I Really Need to iron the linens before I try to photograph them. Oh boy, do the wrinkles show.

- Look at how other shops photograph their work. What you do like or don't. Always work to improve your presentation.
** Everyone likes to shop in an attractive environment - whether a physical place or on line.**

I will post prime photos from an Etsy shop. From steampunkjunq's shop (oh yes, i have acquired knowledge relating to trends - "steampunk"). The owner of the shop does an amazing job of photography with the small parts of watches and watch accessories. She has actually exhibited her photography and is planning on selling her photography on line.

Actually I am doing a lot of photography....

...it's just not for posting to this blog.

I am learning something new - merchandising photography. I have two Etsy shops - one of art and another one of vintage (lots of vintage in this area...and "vintage" attitudes too).

So I have been extremely busy trying to capture the best way to photograph a table cloth, a pair of earrings, a wooden box and so on....

This is taking an incredible amount of time.

And I have not gotten to where I "stage" items well.

The way some folks photograph their items - wow - using printed(book) pages as props, old porches with old washtubs as props, walls with bamboo birdcages as props, rounded river rock and with plant stems as props.....

You get the idea.

My concern right now, is getting "a bunch" of items listed in the shop. Then I hope I can think the photos through more and stage the merchandise better.

Who knows where this will lead? Maybe Martha S. will call me to photograph her pastel chicken eggs or hand printed ribbons?

I need to find a mannequin and/or a dress form (very skinny size)....

Ciro-Flex Photo Results...

The Grain Elevators and Trees in Logan

Am I pleased? Oh yes. How amazing a 60-year old camera operating on basic principles, still takes good photos. What does not translate to this blog page is the clarity of the bark detail of the trees; the detail in the actual photo is quite good. I am so excited about the idea of taking this camera to my favorite tree characters. Yes, characters - the cottonwoods of the area are great photographic subjects.

My first try with the camera. Lessons learned from the photos as I look them over. This should be an outstanding portraiture camera (and I will make sure to spend more time leveling the tripod). This weekend I will get these posted to the Ciro-Flex group on Flickr - how cool is that?

Does One Need to be Single and Unfettered to be a Photographer?

Multi-branched sunflowers

Indulge me on my musings....

Today was a perfect weather, cloud formation, light condition day. Earlier in the day clouds were cobblestone shapes, colored from soft white to palest gray to a lovely shade of blue-gray. Just a great color. They were predominant on a blue of the purest color.

They enhanced the vista at every turn of the road, making even the ordinary views wonderful by their over head presence. Fall is starting on the High Plains and the red grasses, the wild sunflowers and rust colored milo never looked better today.

This afternoon on the way back home, the clouds had lengthen into long loaves of darker dove gray. The cloud ceiling was so low you felt you could easily drag your fingers through them.
In the lowering light of late afternoon the landscape shone as topaz.

I did not have my camera. Even if I did I could not of stopped and taken photos. We had appointments to keep and I had my son with me. A long drive made longer by road construction, it took us an hour and forty to reach our destination. And the drive is through some of the most photogenic country in this region.

It is hard for me to take a chunk of time (as in three or four) hours to practice my amateur photography. I have a household to maintain, a son that requires extra care, two dogs, too much yard and my studio work.

So does one need to be single and unfettered to be a serious photographer?

1950's Wedding Slides

I had bought an Olympus M10 and a slide viewer on eBay. The fellow had picked up the items at an estate sale. Included in the batch of "stuff" were family slides. The cardboard of the slides say "Agfachrome" or "Kodachrome". I am quite sure by the styling of the bridesmaid dresses this is later than the 40's but not into the 60's. A couple more wedding slides to post and some rather odd ones of a young girl (nothing perverse just very staged).

Out today with the Ciro-Flex. Just a walk around town to get a feel for the camera. I only took one roll of b & w and will send it off this week for processing. See what my mistakes were; if anything came out well enough to post.

The Reinette, The Ciro-Flex

The top two photos were taken more than thirty years ago on slide film, with the Reinette.
Those are of fall foliage in Vermont. They are not re-touched, I just cropped some of the foreground out. It will be looking like this in Vermont, in about a month.

The bottom black and white is of some village in Vermont in the late 1950's. No, I didn't take it - I was probably one or two years at the time. It was taken on a school outing involving a sibling. The reason I posted it is because it is of a collection of 2.5" negatives and....
I received my b & w film for the Ciro-Flex this week. It is a long holiday weekend. I am chaffing to try out the camera. It is also beginning to be fall on the High Plains. The colors the various grasses turn, the late fall flowers, the fields of rust-colored milo and the french blue sky are just fine, fine subjects and heart-lifting beauty.

Sometimes the beauty of the land makes up for the aggravation in dealing with the human population of the mid-west....

When "How" You Tell the Story is as Important as the Words...

Close ups of the massive sunflowers from this year's garden.

Editing - When It Never Stops...

I think at some point a person has to say "Enough!" and admit that no matter how much layering is done the photos are not that out standing.

I have a huge collection of these aging roses. Some have edited very well. Some I keep fooling with to get right and probably never will. Then there are the others who have some merit but I'm not real enthused about - I am not sure if these photos (and a lot of others) are interpreting the point of this whole series "The Aging Garden".

Being female (and middle aged) the subject of fading beauty (no, I was not/am not) is of particular interest. The emphasis on youth and the emphasis on a phase of life that just is not solid is sad. The point of this series is to focus on the remarkable characteristics of aging. It is to say one's character improves as one ages and acquires unique features.

Ordinary Kansas, edited

This is a very simple photo. I like how it edited. Nothing fantastic but I am pleased every time I look at it....

From the Aging Garden

Youth and Beauty - always touted over Age....

Anniversary Give-Away on the Muse in Kansas Blog

The Muse in Kansas blog will be one year old the end of September (2009).
For a celebration I am giving away two original pen & ink drawings - they are posted above.
They are matted and framed simply in black, to a 11 x 14 size (each).
To be a part of the drawing, go to the Muse blog and comment on the September postings.
Then in October I pool contributors names and draw one to receive both pieces of art.
I will have the drawings posted at the side bar as a reminder...

Her Head's in the Clouds...

From Tam's Backyard; Evening Comes

Some editing with the digital tonight.
Applying layers of application much fun.
Wish the prints would come from the printer just as they are edited.