Post Your Tabletop photography, pack shot and still life
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Blue439
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This splendid piece was given to my wife as a present when she worked in the glass industry. What is inside the glass are beads and filaments of gold, but I have no clue how they got them in there. It is beautiful and interesting to light. It comes with an underside lighting system, but that didn’t look too good in the photo, which is why I forwent it in favor of the usual “gradient lighting” I resort to to avoid reflections, in part or totally.
Nikon Z7, Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ/2.8 G VR macro lens, FTZ adapter. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 24 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus, Method B.
Nikon Z7, Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ/2.8 G VR macro lens, FTZ adapter. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 24 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus, Method B.
Peter7100
Senior Member
Very eye catching!
Blue439
New member
Thank you very much !
A serving kit from the French Second Empire
Most people have heard (at least vaguely) about French Emperor Napoléon, fewer know about his nephew Napoléon III, who restored the Empire between 1852 and 1870. This lovely set of serving pieces dates from that period and has come to me through my mother. It is solid silver with handles made of ivory carved with the family crest.
The bottle-shaped wooden box of Élixir de Bon-Secours contained a small bottle of cough syrup/cureall potion like they were quite fond of at the very beginning of the 20th century.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 35mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 32 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
The main problem when one uses this kind of black, highly reflective material, is the dust. Unavoidable, unless you work in a surgical environment, and my studio certainly isn’t that. I spent an hour cleaning it up in Photoshop and I know tons of specks remain.
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Blue439
New member
I produced this shot to illustrate the theme “Countryside low tech” in 2019 on Flickr. Using a picnic tartan blanket as background and backdrop, I laid out a riding coat, a “shooting stick”, as the Brits call it (a folding seat cane, in normal parlance), a boot jack and my old pair of leather boots from Ireland’s Dubarry, supplemented by a couple of adequately dirty tools, (very) dirty leather garden gloves and a bit of foliage cut from one of the hedges for the nature touch. And one of my Schlitz paintings. I almost only have seascapes by him, this is the one landscape.
The shears are by Japanese maker ARS, best ones I’ve ever had, warmly recommend them.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 35mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting.
The shears are by Japanese maker ARS, best ones I’ve ever had, warmly recommend them.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 35mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting.
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Blue439
New member
This was loads of fun to put together and shoot in a rather dark, dramatic way... Once again for a theme-based group on Flickr (“Murder, they shot” I think was the theme) in 2019.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 35mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. I see I shot at ƒ/16, so it was probably a single exposure.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 35mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. I see I shot at ƒ/16, so it was probably a single exposure.
Peter7100
Senior Member
I think I would decline any invite to your house
Blue439
New member
Niark niark niark [low manic laugh]I think I would decline any invite to your house
Blue439
New member
A less menacing subject today for our tabletop section: A Family of Tripods!
In front, the smallest is the Rollei Mini Traveler M1 tabletop tripod: aluminum, super cute, very well engineered and reliable, a pleasure to use in small corners or on tabletops, even with a heavy lens/camera combination attached.
Next to it, the small Gitzo Traveler Series 0, the smallest tripod in the Gitzo lineup, splendidly light, folds “head over heels” for compactness, and very sturdy even when there is wind. That’s the one I take when the lightest kit is required, such as for airplane travel. The name is a mouthful, though: it is known as GT0545T, and the great little ball head on top of it is GH1382TQD!
Just behind it is my workhorse for outdoor, the Traveler (or is it Mountaineer? I never know) GT2530. This was the first Gitzo I bought, in 2006, and it is as good as new, although it has seen a lot! Here shown with the Novoflex Magic Ball MB-50 ball head I had back in September 2020 when this was taken. It has since then been replaced by a Leofoto panoramic head and a Benro geared head, which I use alternatively, depending on my purpose.
Finally, in the back is the great Gitzo Systematic Series 3 GT3543XLS, which I use for studio work or whenever I need to go very high (it extends beyond 2 meters), with the Number One of geared heads, the Arca-Swiss Cube C1 —made in France like all modern-day Arca-Swiss products, which very few people know... it is not Swiss anymore, and hasn’t been for a long time.
As all the tripods were in the frame, I bolted the camera on a C-stand to take this photo!))
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 5 focus-stacked exposures, set automatically using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus, Method B (depth map).
In front, the smallest is the Rollei Mini Traveler M1 tabletop tripod: aluminum, super cute, very well engineered and reliable, a pleasure to use in small corners or on tabletops, even with a heavy lens/camera combination attached.
Next to it, the small Gitzo Traveler Series 0, the smallest tripod in the Gitzo lineup, splendidly light, folds “head over heels” for compactness, and very sturdy even when there is wind. That’s the one I take when the lightest kit is required, such as for airplane travel. The name is a mouthful, though: it is known as GT0545T, and the great little ball head on top of it is GH1382TQD!
Just behind it is my workhorse for outdoor, the Traveler (or is it Mountaineer? I never know) GT2530. This was the first Gitzo I bought, in 2006, and it is as good as new, although it has seen a lot! Here shown with the Novoflex Magic Ball MB-50 ball head I had back in September 2020 when this was taken. It has since then been replaced by a Leofoto panoramic head and a Benro geared head, which I use alternatively, depending on my purpose.
Finally, in the back is the great Gitzo Systematic Series 3 GT3543XLS, which I use for studio work or whenever I need to go very high (it extends beyond 2 meters), with the Number One of geared heads, the Arca-Swiss Cube C1 —made in France like all modern-day Arca-Swiss products, which very few people know... it is not Swiss anymore, and hasn’t been for a long time.
As all the tripods were in the frame, I bolted the camera on a C-stand to take this photo!
))Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 5 focus-stacked exposures, set automatically using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus, Method B (depth map).
Blue439
New member
A November 2019 crazy still life composition in which I basically put together anything that was lying about at the time, around the “hero” that was my old friend the F4.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting, single exposure.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting, single exposure.
Blue439
New member
McKenzie & Childs Rabbit (2019)
This is one of our amazing and wonderful porcelain “rabbits” designed by McKenzie & Childs in New York City. There are (or rather, there were, as they have stopped making them now) four of them in all, but we only ever managed to get three, all of them adorable... We would have rushed to procure the fourth one, had we known...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 6 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
This is one of our amazing and wonderful porcelain “rabbits” designed by McKenzie & Childs in New York City. There are (or rather, there were, as they have stopped making them now) four of them in all, but we only ever managed to get three, all of them adorable... We would have rushed to procure the fourth one, had we known...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 6 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
Blue439
New member
Well, you guys may be not convinced, but I just love those rabbits, so I had to upload a second one! There. 
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 18 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 18 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
Blue439
New member
Winter may be coming, we are ready!
An autumnal still life i composed in September 2020 : Burberry cashmere scarf (I’ve had this for maybe 40 years now...!), “Tarmac” shoes by Aigle (they’re my “winter deck shoes”, and they feel like slippers!) and assorted seasonal props...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 8 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
An autumnal still life i composed in September 2020 : Burberry cashmere scarf (I’ve had this for maybe 40 years now...!), “Tarmac” shoes by Aigle (they’re my “winter deck shoes”, and they feel like slippers!) and assorted seasonal props...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 8 focus-stacked exposures, using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
Blue439
New member
A head of garlic, slightly past its prime...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens, extension tube. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of an unrecorded number of focus-stacked exposures. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens, extension tube. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of an unrecorded number of focus-stacked exposures. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
Blue439
New member
A new motherboard
In the Fall of 2020, I had to assemble a new PC, as my old one was still running Windows 7 or 8 and presented all sorts of problems to upgrade. Since I began to custom-assemble my PCs 20 years ago or so, I have always used Asus motherboards and not one of them ever failed me, so this time, I selected this WS-Z390 Pro model and it’s been working just fine since then.
A super wide-angle lens may seem like a strange choice to do tabletop photography. The reason I chose the 19mm Nikkor lens for this shot was that I wanted to make use of its tilting capabilities to try and have the entire subject in sharp focus, without having to stack focus.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting, single exposure.
In the Fall of 2020, I had to assemble a new PC, as my old one was still running Windows 7 or 8 and presented all sorts of problems to upgrade. Since I began to custom-assemble my PCs 20 years ago or so, I have always used Asus motherboards and not one of them ever failed me, so this time, I selected this WS-Z390 Pro model and it’s been working just fine since then.
A super wide-angle lens may seem like a strange choice to do tabletop photography. The reason I chose the 19mm Nikkor lens for this shot was that I wanted to make use of its tilting capabilities to try and have the entire subject in sharp focus, without having to stack focus.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting, single exposure.
Blue439
New member
A bottle of beer... Classic lighting exercise: dark bottle on very dark background and backdrop (the latter very slightly reflective at the base), however lit to show at the same time the contours, the label and the product inside... It was not at all just out of the fridge, as one might think; the nice cold-looking effect is produced by a mixture of water and glycerin...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting, single exposure.
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 85mm, ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting, single exposure.
Blue439
New member
Textures
I took this shot in June 2020 for a theme-based macro group on Flickr. The theme was “Textures”, and even though the frame was very tight, I managed to squeeze in burlap (the background), silk (the pocket square), metal and wood (the driver), and yet more wood on the right (a case that contained bottles of my favorite wine, Saint-Joseph, I recommend you try it!).
Nikon D850, Micro-Nikkor 60mm, ƒ/2.8 G macro lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 5 focus-stacked exposures, set automatically using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
I took this shot in June 2020 for a theme-based macro group on Flickr. The theme was “Textures”, and even though the frame was very tight, I managed to squeeze in burlap (the background), silk (the pocket square), metal and wood (the driver), and yet more wood on the right (a case that contained bottles of my favorite wine, Saint-Joseph, I recommend you try it!).
Nikon D850, Micro-Nikkor 60mm, ƒ/2.8 G macro lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 5 focus-stacked exposures, set automatically using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
Blue439
New member
Le rouge et le noir
“Red and black”, that was the Stendhal–inspired theme in October 2020 in my Flickr theme group. Not feeling overly literary at that point, I tried to make ordinary daily tools look a bit sexy and appealing...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 11 focus-stacked exposures, set automatically using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.
“Red and black”, that was the Stendhal–inspired theme in October 2020 in my Flickr theme group. Not feeling overly literary at that point, I tried to make ordinary daily tools look a bit sexy and appealing...
Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 50mm ƒ/1.8 S lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Artificial lighting. Composite shot made up of 11 focus-stacked exposures, set automatically using the built-in function on the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus.