Yep, another weekend of shooting photos of watches in my little studio for use in technical reviews to be published on my other site WATCH TALK FORUMS. I’ve really felt like I was “in the groove” the past few weekends, and have be “hitting on all cylinders” with the photos I’ve been producing. So I thought I’d share some of the better ones here on ThruMyLens.
All the below photos were produced with my 100mm f2.8 USM macro lens mated to my Canon 5D Mark II in RAW format. Post production work done in Photoshop CS 5.1, and OnOne PhotoTools 2.6, and the Oloneo PhotoEngine beta.
First up we have an extreme close up from the dial of the Glashütte Original Seventies Panorama Date. You have to see the larger version (just click on the image to see it full size) to really appreciate it.
These next two photos are of the same watch. This composition was a perfect candidate for a technique I’ve talked about here on ThruMyLens in the past called focus stacking, which is exactly what I did. Notice that every area of the photo is tack-sharp and perfectly in focus – the clasp, the inside of the bracelet, and even the watch movement visible via the sapphire crystal case back – it’s a compilation of about four different exposures, each with a slightly different focus point.
The review of this watch was just published today, in the Official Glashütte Original Forum on WATCH TALK FORUMS which you can read by clicking here.
Next up we have a photo from my upcoming Panerai PAM 372 review. It’s a gorgeous watch, but it’s an absolute nightmare to photograph. The all-polished case combined with the dome-shaped plexiglass crystal is enough to make a preacher cuss. This was a case where doing a tethered photo shoot really came in handy, with both LiveView and instant viewing of exposures right to my laptop. It really helped me capture some specular highlights in the plexiglass to evoke the shape of the crystal, but also helped me avoid trouble spots. I’m pretty happy with the outcome:
Do let me know what you think of the photos in the comments!
Glashütte Original Senator Seventies Panorama Date
John B. Holbrook, II is a freelance writer, photographer, and author of ThruMyLens.org, as well as LuxuryTyme.com and TheSeamasterReferencePage.com.
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“Focus stacking”. Neat! Nice job all ‘way ’round.
Thanks Tom!
Nice photos. The las one have great reflection of the Panerai!!! Great job!!!!!