Kunisuke Naginata Test Image

[b.hennick]

Talented meaning having a good eye - leading to excellent composition and well balanced light will have little to do with sword photography. In sword photography the photography is quite technical. Lighting, exposure, iso, focusing, post image processing all are problems to solve. In addition to all that the surface is highly reflective.  Light that brings out the hamon doesn't bring out the hada. The mune needs special lighting as does the nakago.

[Gasam]

Heyas,

 

Having recently tried to photograph some nihonto with sad results despite top notch kit, kudos to the photographer!

 

This is inspiring and I will try to learn this art.

 

While people happily let me do their family portraits (I have a small studio, and its not my occupation, just a hobby), and are happy with the results, nihonto photography bested me in ways I had not foreseen, even after reading up on metal photography :-)

 

Congrats once again. Will try to do better next time :-)

 

Quick edit: It could be misunderstood that I mean good pictures come only from the best equipment. This is not true. Better gear brings only more options to you, and to a degree better performance. It does not a better photographer make...

[Jean]

Once for all, taking Nihonto pictures is not a matter of Equipment, it's a question of technic.

[CSM101]

Okay. A little story about Nihonto Photography:

 

In 1999 we had a little meeting here in Munich. Just a dozen people with the Master himself: Fujishiro-san. And somehow I had the guts (or maybe I was just dumb enough)

that I asked him directly: "How do you do that?"

 

And the answer was very short and kind of a Zen mystery: "THAT IS A SECRET!"

And now you know...

 

..where I started.

 

If I had to give an advice, I would give you 2.

 

Number 1: Stop making photos of Japanese swords!

 

Number 2: Start making photos of a polished metallic surface, that almost reacts like a mirror. Because, If you would do it that way, you would think more about the law of reflections.

And how to avoid them.

 

And to Richard´s photo: Take a very close look at the Yasuaki photo. I have never seen such a smooth lightning! Phantastic! Brilliant!

 

Uwe G.

[Alan F]

 

Number 1: Stop making photos of Japanese swords!

 

Number 2: Start making photos of a polished metallic surface, that almost reacts like a mirror. Because, If you would do it that way, you would think more about the law of reflections.

And how to avoid them.

 

 

 

I tried to do it that way, but all I got were a bunch of photos of an ugly guy holding a camera. 

 

Might as well experiment with the sword itself, from the start. One might get lucky and produce a few nice photos. 

 

By the way, Uwe, you have some very nice photos on your website.

 

Alan

 

P.S. It all depends how you want to do it. Emphasize hamon, or emphasize hada (or both). Reflection is a persistent problem when photographing hamon. Have to trade off a bright spot for the full kaleidoscope of the hamon in a short segment. 

 

Three photos, all the same sword: