Just a quick note to let you know of some behind-the-scenes changes going on. I’m switching my domain to http://danclarkdesigns.com Currently all email will still go through dan-clark.com, and this blog will still be accessible via both domains. Please update any links you have, however. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or problems. Thanks!

On the bright side, vacation is great, the weather is great, I’m finally getting a bit of a tan, and have some cool pics to share with you when I get back to the city. Till then…

I don’t know why I never made one of these before, but it was definitely worth the $7 and the hour or so that it took. I’ve read this article before, and I’ve read countless times about the importance of using a light tent in macro photography. Now, I don’t consider what I do to be “real” macro work, but I do regularly take close-up pics of the things I’ve made. This, itself, can be the cause of some concern for amateur photographers, but when you add the reflectivity of the materials used in jewelry, it gets even more finicky. After a recent photography session with a pile of jewelry, I found myself on the verge of thrusting my camera through my monitor. All my pictures looked, to be polite, like crap. A few days later, someone, on one of the blogs to the left, linked to that article. I decided to give it a try. As I said, it cost a whopping $7, as I already had a box laying around that was the perfect size. After about an hour, I had my tent ready to go. I re-shot the items from before, and was amazed at how much better they looked.

Previous to using the tent, I was taping a piece of poster board to the wall, and photographing the item on that. Very similar in concept, but the results speak for themselves. For an idea of what I mean, click on my “Products” page above (right under the “Dan-Clark Designs” title) and scroll through the items. The first few items were taken the “old” way. Starting with the Large Cross, however, you can see the difference when using the light tent. The color is much more accurate to real life, the brightness/contrast is much more pleasing, and the photographs themselves required significantly less “touch-up” time before posting.

I also bought a simple tripod. I didn’t have the money to get a “good” one, but as I’ve read elsewhere, a less-expensive tripod is better than no tripod. Also, I started taking my photos using the auto-timer on my camera, so the picture is taken 2 seconds AFTER I press the shutter button. This way, all vibrations that could be caused by my “you’d-think-I-had-Parkinsons-but-I-swear-I-don’t” shaking are eliminated. I could instantly see the improvement in focus.

I still have a lot of items up at The Studios, but as I change them out I’ll also be updating the photographs on this site, so they will all look good.

I always love to get feedback and suggestions on just about anything I do. Do you have any ideas as to how I can make my photographs, my items, or my site look more professional, nicer, better, etc? Please either shoot me an email at dan@dan-clark.com or leave a comment at any time.

Related articles:

• How To: Macro photography of coins
• Quick and Easy Location Macro Setup

8/2/08 update – The shop should be working now. If you have any problems, please PLEASE let me know.

I’m even finding it hard to focus on building up my inventory. I think I’m going to hire a web designer to help get my site looking a little better.

The show that I’ve previously mentioned is going to be at Artascope next month. It’s not so much a “show” in the regular sense. I’m going to be the featured member for that month, and get to have my work in the gallery. But I’m calling it a show anyway, cause it’s still rather exciting for me. And there’s an opening. If you happen to be in or around Portland Maine, the opening is Saturday, May 10, during the Second Saturday Art Stroll. Stop on by, I’d love to see you

Actually, I’ve also started stewarding at the studio as well, so if you’re ever in the area, stop on by. I’m there Saturdays from 2-7pm, and often on Sundays as well.

http://dan-clark.com/shop

I welcome any and all feedback, positive or negative. And I would like to put out a question to all of you. In terms of my site, I’ve been wondering if I should keep my blog on the main domain and the shop separate, or have the shop on the main domain and the blog separate. In other words, there would be one of two scenarios:

1. http://dan-clark.com points to this blog, and http://dan-clark.com/shop points to the shop (this is how it’s currently set up)

2. http://dan-clark.com points to the shop and http://dan-clark.com/blog points to the blog

I realize that there really isn’t that much difference, but I’m trying to get a feel for what people think makes more sense. Please leave a comment, or contact me with your opinion, if you have one.

Stay tuned…