Swiss 1906/24 Waffenfabrik Bern - Photo Study
 

Here's a photo study of this new to me Swiss 1906/24 Luger Pistol. It was one of the 1906 pattern Lugers manufactured by Waffenfabrik Bern in Switzerland.

It's toward the middle of those manufactured in 1923.

I'm impressed by the precision of manufacture of this Luger...

Marc

Very nice, Marc. They shoot good too!

FNy

Beautiful Luger!! You gotta love those grips.
Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful weapon!!

Very nice indeed. Not bad photography either.

Marc et al, I currently have most Swiss cross marked o6/24 parts instock, including a new unused 7.65x120 barrel, set of orig grips and several brown plastic bottomed mags, if needed. TH

Beautiful piece, and gorgeous photos!

Marc,
A joy to behold! Thanks for presenting a great gun and display.

Thank you for the feedback on this.

They are extraordinary. I acquired this through a forum member, to whom I'm quite grateful.

I would like a 1900 and also a later 1929/24... Will keep my eye out for one.

Marc

I forgot to mention that there is no such thing as a 1906/24 Swiss. The "24" designation was an error started by Fred Datig based on incorrect information provided to him by a Swiss source that he thought to be authoritive. The production of the 1906 Waffenfabrik Bern actually began in 1918. You pointed out this discrepancy when you indicated that the gun was produced around the middle of 1923! :)

Congratulations again, gorgeous gun and beautiful photos, one day I'll find the time to photograph all my Lugers and add them to my "album"; but there is no way my photo will look so beautiful.

Sergio,

Thanks for the compliment. I enjoy photography as well as our beautifully engineered and executed pistols.

While I'm using a good camera and lens for these photos (I have a Nikon D2X and use a 85mm Nikor Micro lens) you can get very good results with a very low budget.

Start with a purpose built digital camera rather than a cellphone camera.

The key to this is controlling light and keeping the camera steady.

The light needs to be soft diffused light. The free version of this is outdoors in shaded sunlight. Flat even soft lighting tends to bring out the finish of a firearm without creating lots of reflections.

I use flat diffused florescent lights indoors. You can use inexpensive clip on lights with reflectors and something over them (like a white sheet) to diffuse the light.

A tripod that can steady the camera while you compose the picture is essential. If you use the self timer to take the photo, it will eliminate the camera shake of pressing a shutter button.

To get sharp focus, use an aperture priority setting if your camera has one. Set the aperture for a high "F" stop like F16 or F32 and a long exposure time. Auto-focus cameras can be hit or miss, especially when taking closeup pictures. A SLR helps, but is not necessary if you're patient.

I built a little stand out of plastic CPVC pipe that supports a background cardboard sheet. If you build it so that the cardboard curves down behind the object, it will blend. I use gray or black for many photos, but white and other colors can be used.

Here's a plan for a photo light box:

http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent

This is the one I used.

The light exposure of the camera may need to be overridden (generally - F Stops). This is because the meters are calibrated to average 18% light reflectance as the proper exposure. Our firearms are either darker than that (if blued) or brighter (if stainless steel). If you slightly under expose, you can make corrections later in a computer image editing program like GIMP or PhotoShop.


Marc

Marc,
Thanks for your suggestions, one of these afternoons if my doughter will let me have some spare time I'll start to do the "photographic service" to all my beauties ... (Lugers of course), then I'll let you know, or you'll be able to see the result in my "Album"

Sergio