1936 Krieghoff

StarOfTheWest · 01-11-2008, 07:51 PM

90%+ finish, (I tend to rate conservatively).
Matched mag.
Serial 7169

This is getting into the realm of "guns that are hard to photograph because they are way too shiny".
Krieghoff polished their guns to a mirror brightness, and every little fingerprint tends to show if you have oiled them recently.

This is a pretty one.
Fired very little.
Almost can see the "thumb print" hardening at the rear of the upper frame, but that is pretty hard to get a pic of.

Covered in droop wing E/2's.

Heinz · 01-12-2008, 09:39 AM

Anna, good pictures. Some hints.

I assume you are using a tripod. If not buy a cheap one.

That looks like a great hand woven carpet but you might try something a little less busy. I usually use a green file folder; Joop uses blue poster board.

Try indirect lighting by bouncing the light off a white wall or ceiling or light reflector of some sort. Unless you have professional grade stuff this will usually require the tripod for sufficent time for the exposure.

I use a "light box" made out of cardboard and painted flat white. This is the first published photo of the wunderwaffen

not pretty but it works.

PLease do not take this as a criticism of your great presentations. Keep posting them even if you do not change a thing. I use a Nikon Cool Pix camera which is a pretty simple tool and get good results with these techniques

Edward Tinker · 01-12-2008, 10:16 AM

I chose blue background for mine, however, after seeing the results from Ron Smith and Bill foehl, I am leaning towards a light tan, the burlap / color that Ron usues is very photogenic for the lugers.

I find red makes the bluing color seem "wrong" and yet my mom, my wife and a good friend liked how the lugers looked in the book with red backgrounds...

Also, for every 10 pictures I take, i get about 1 or 2 good ones

ed

StarOfTheWest · 01-12-2008, 10:23 AM

Thanks Heinz, for some great ideas.
I really know *nothing* about photography, and I am afraid it shows.

I borrow a digital camera from my house assistant, and then have to ask him to upload the pics to our website and give me a web addy for them.
From there, I can download to my computer, then upload to the site here.
Takes a while, one at a time, but I am getting the hang of it, I think.

The Simson, I took the pics out on our front porch, on a white background, but the contrast was way too much for the camera, and I do not like dragging the guns outside, even one at a time, for passersby to glimpse.

I next tried getting getting the pics on a daybed in a 1920s sunroom with very bright indirect light.
I used a navy blue towel and a dark denim pillow as background.
The pics came out better for contrast and such, but the towel had lint on it, and this bothered me, as I hated showing close ups of lint.

I changed the background to a woven large pillow sham, (the red one), to keep the dark color, but not show any lint, and I agree, the pattern is a bit much.

I will try to adapt some of your good advice, but it is unlikely that I can build such a nice dedicated spot at this time.
Your pics are fabulous though, so I will try to do what I can to improve mine.
I will try to find another background, and the amount of bright indirect light seems to vary with the time of day in the sunroom.

Tripods vex me, so I have been trying to do this freehand.
Sometimes it takes a few tries to get one clear and sharp that didn't move.

I am aware that the quality of the pics is all the board has to go on to enjoy these guns with me, and that they are not doing the pieces justice at the moment.

Thanks again, for your excellent suggestions and the pic of the Wunderwaffen box.

LugerVern · 01-12-2008, 11:47 AM

Oh, these guys complain about everything, your pictures are great! Keep posting we love your guns.

They do have some good ideas though so you should pay attention to them

Natural light is best but can be hard to come by if you work all day or the weather does not cooperate. Avoid direct light from spot lights; it causes glare and many emit blue light, use the reflective technique that Heinz suggested. Just so you know it is the blue light that cause softness, that is why shooting glasses are amber and why sea birds secrete an amber colored oil around their eyes to help them see through fog and nail their pray.
Amber blocks blue light.

Nice gun! Can we have another picture of the HK toggle marking looking straight down?
Yours is very clear and I would like to see

Thanks

Vern

StarOfTheWest · 01-12-2008, 12:38 PM

I will try to reshoot that toggle top today for you, Vern.

We will try some of the suggestions, and I hope they come out better.
I am stuck with the sunporch for light for the moment, as I don't even own a spotlight.
But I will change the background again, and see if it helps.

Gonna give the tripod another try too, as handling these old babies always makes me want to drink German beer and sing Lili Marlene and Wacht am Rhein to them, which doesn't really help in holding the camera still either.

laoshi75 · 01-13-2008, 09:46 AM

hello Anna,

is this item a part of your own collection ?
your collection seems to be astonishing, outstanding, exceptionnal...
congratulations !
you should put your photo as your avatar...

best regards from France.

christian

StarOfTheWest · 01-13-2008, 10:32 AM

Thank you Laoshi.
Yes, these are all my guns now.
They were collected by my family in the late sixties and early seventies, and I inherited them all in November 2007.
I grew up with these guns, and am delighted to preserve and care for them.
They have never been detail photographed before, and I am sorry my camera skills are minimal.
It must indeed attract skepticism for so many wonderful Lugers to suddenly appear "out of no where", so to speak.
But the collection has spent the last 40 years in a vault, and that is why many of them have been unseen before by the community.
None are for sale, I simply wish to show them to folks who can appreciate them.
As for the avatar picture, I prefer to retain my anonymity for security reasons.

Thanks again for your kind post.

laoshi75 · 01-13-2008, 10:38 AM

your camera skills are maximal.. and we are all so anvious about your collection..
I understand your meaning about anonymity because this collection...even if I placed my own photo on this forum ( Nevertheless I am a french secret agent, my name is 008..but call me "James").

01-11-2008, 07:51 PM	#1
StarOfTheWest User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: East Texas, CSA Posts: 208 Thanks: 81 Thanked 15 Times in 12 Posts	1936 Krieghoff 90%+ finish, (I tend to rate conservatively). Matched mag. Serial 7169 This is getting into the realm of "guns that are hard to photograph because they are way too shiny". Krieghoff polished their guns to a mirror brightness, and every little fingerprint tends to show if you have oiled them recently. This is a pretty one. Fired very little. Almost can see the "thumb print" hardening at the rear of the upper frame, but that is pretty hard to get a pic of. Covered in droop wing E/2's. __________________ Sorry, I take that back. I have no problem with the horse you rode in on.

01-12-2008, 10:16 AM	#3
Edward Tinker Super Moderator Eternal Lifer LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: North of Spokane, WA Posts: 15,933 Thanks: 2,032 Thanked 4,530 Times in 2,092 Posts	I chose blue background for mine, however, after seeing the results from Ron Smith and Bill foehl, I am leaning towards a light tan, the burlap / color that Ron usues is very photogenic for the lugers. I find red makes the bluing color seem "wrong" and yet my mom, my wife and a good friend liked how the lugers looked in the book with red backgrounds... Also, for every 10 pictures I take, i get about 1 or 2 good ones ed __________________ Edward Tinker ************ Co-Author of Police Lugers - Co-Author of Simson Lugers Author of Veteran Bring Backs Vol I, Vol II, Vol III and Vol IV

01-12-2008, 10:23 AM	#4
StarOfTheWest User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: East Texas, CSA Posts: 208 Thanks: 81 Thanked 15 Times in 12 Posts	Thanks Heinz, for some great ideas. I really know nothing about photography, and I am afraid it shows. I borrow a digital camera from my house assistant, and then have to ask him to upload the pics to our website and give me a web addy for them. From there, I can download to my computer, then upload to the site here. Takes a while, one at a time, but I am getting the hang of it, I think. The Simson, I took the pics out on our front porch, on a white background, but the contrast was way too much for the camera, and I do not like dragging the guns outside, even one at a time, for passersby to glimpse. I next tried getting getting the pics on a daybed in a 1920s sunroom with very bright indirect light. I used a navy blue towel and a dark denim pillow as background. The pics came out better for contrast and such, but the towel had lint on it, and this bothered me, as I hated showing close ups of lint. I changed the background to a woven large pillow sham, (the red one), to keep the dark color, but not show any lint, and I agree, the pattern is a bit much. I will try to adapt some of your good advice, but it is unlikely that I can build such a nice dedicated spot at this time. Your pics are fabulous though, so I will try to do what I can to improve mine. I will try to find another background, and the amount of bright indirect light seems to vary with the time of day in the sunroom. Tripods vex me, so I have been trying to do this freehand. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get one clear and sharp that didn't move. I am aware that the quality of the pics is all the board has to go on to enjoy these guns with me, and that they are not doing the pieces justice at the moment. Thanks again, for your excellent suggestions and the pic of the Wunderwaffen box. __________________ Sorry, I take that back. I have no problem with the horse you rode in on.

01-12-2008, 12:38 PM	#6
StarOfTheWest User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: East Texas, CSA Posts: 208 Thanks: 81 Thanked 15 Times in 12 Posts	I will try to reshoot that toggle top today for you, Vern. We will try some of the suggestions, and I hope they come out better. I am stuck with the sunporch for light for the moment, as I don't even own a spotlight. But I will change the background again, and see if it helps. Gonna give the tripod another try too, as handling these old babies always makes me want to drink German beer and sing Lili Marlene and Wacht am Rhein to them, which doesn't really help in holding the camera still either. __________________ Sorry, I take that back. I have no problem with the horse you rode in on.

01-13-2008, 09:46 AM	#7
laoshi75 User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Thailand/France Posts: 490 Thanks: 288 Thanked 96 Times in 41 Posts	!!!!! hello Anna, is this item a part of your own collection ? your collection seems to be astonishing, outstanding, exceptionnal... congratulations ! you should put your photo as your avatar... best regards from France. christian

01-12-2008, 09:39 AM	#2
Heinz User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Greenville SC Posts: 1,004 Thanks: 377 Thanked 410 Times in 180 Posts	Anna, good pictures. Some hints. I assume you are using a tripod. If not buy a cheap one. That looks like a great hand woven carpet but you might try something a little less busy. I usually use a green file folder; Joop uses blue poster board. Try indirect lighting by bouncing the light off a white wall or ceiling or light reflector of some sort. Unless you have professional grade stuff this will usually require the tripod for sufficent time for the exposure. I use a "light box" made out of cardboard and painted flat white. This is the first published photo of the wunderwaffen not pretty but it works. PLease do not take this as a criticism of your great presentations. Keep posting them even if you do not change a thing. I use a Nikon Cool Pix camera which is a pretty simple tool and get good results with these techniques

01-12-2008, 11:47 AM	#5
LugerVern User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 563 Thanks: 1 Thanked 34 Times in 27 Posts	Oh, these guys complain about everything, your pictures are great! Keep posting we love your guns. They do have some good ideas though so you should pay attention to them Natural light is best but can be hard to come by if you work all day or the weather does not cooperate. Avoid direct light from spot lights; it causes glare and many emit blue light, use the reflective technique that Heinz suggested. Just so you know it is the blue light that cause softness, that is why shooting glasses are amber and why sea birds secrete an amber colored oil around their eyes to help them see through fog and nail their pray. Amber blocks blue light. Nice gun! Can we have another picture of the HK toggle marking looking straight down? Yours is very clear and I would like to see Thanks Vern

01-13-2008, 10:32 AM	#8
StarOfTheWest User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: East Texas, CSA Posts: 208 Thanks: 81 Thanked 15 Times in 12 Posts	Thank you Laoshi. Yes, these are all my guns now. They were collected by my family in the late sixties and early seventies, and I inherited them all in November 2007. I grew up with these guns, and am delighted to preserve and care for them. They have never been detail photographed before, and I am sorry my camera skills are minimal. It must indeed attract skepticism for so many wonderful Lugers to suddenly appear "out of no where", so to speak. But the collection has spent the last 40 years in a vault, and that is why many of them have been unseen before by the community. None are for sale, I simply wish to show them to folks who can appreciate them. As for the avatar picture, I prefer to retain my anonymity for security reasons. Thanks again for your kind post. __________________ Sorry, I take that back. I have no problem with the horse you rode in on.

01-13-2008, 10:38 AM	#9
laoshi75 User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Thailand/France Posts: 490 Thanks: 288 Thanked 96 Times in 41 Posts	your camera skills are maximal.. and we are all so anvious about your collection.. I understand your meaning about anonymity because this collection...even if I placed my own photo on this forum ( Nevertheless I am a french secret agent, my name is 008..but call me "James").