Critique Fun with Colored Pencils -- Rainbow Remake Added

[Mike Buckley]

Any tabletop photographer that enjoys focus stacking and has too much time on his hands has to eventually photograph colored pencils, right?

Setup
For the first two photos, a small continuous-light lamp was on the right and a medium one was on the left. For the third photo, the small lamp was again on the right and a white reflector was on the left. The rainbow in the last photo is a lighting effect from Boris FX Optics. The two dark backgrounds are black velvet and the bright tabletop is white foam core.

Focus Stacking
All photos were focus-bracketed at CamRanger step size Small using a Tamron 90mm macro lens and were stacked in Helicon Focus at its default settings. The first photo was made from 15 bracketed images, the second photo from 30 bracketed images, and the last photo from 12 bracketed images.

EDIT: The fourth photo, which is a remake of the photo with the rainbow, has been added to this post. The setup and focus-stacking information pertaining to that photo is the same as the third photo.


Photo #1

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Photo #2

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Photo #3

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Photo #4

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[West]

Very cool

 

[Pa]

Looks like fun. All very sharp and well lighted.

 

[warth man]

Would lining up appropriate pencils to match the rainbow colours have been too obvious?

 

[Butlerkid]

What fun! The last is by far my fav! Different than typical colored pencil photos.

 

[Terri French]

Why does looking at photos of colored pencils make me feel happy? Thanks for the good feelings I got from these today!

 

[Hylander]

All are striking; for me #2 stands out.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to West, Jim, Ron, Karen, Terri and Bill!

Would lining up appropriate pencils to match the rainbow colours have been too obvious?

I actually never considered whether that alignment would have been too obvious. Sadly, I also never considered making that alignment until I added the rainbow to the image and immediately noticed that aligning the colors probably would have been a good idea. I told my wife that if nobody mentioned it in the thread, it probably wasn't important enough to take the time to remake the photo. (It won't be as easy as it probably seems to align the pencil colors with the rainbow colors.) Now that you've brought up the subject, I'm compelled to try to make that happen. I'll get back to the thread later today.

 

[Mike Buckley]

The last is by far my fav!

My favorite too. That's part of the reason I'm okay with trying to remake it.

 

[warth man]

Thank you to West, Jim, Ron, Karen, Terri and Bill!



I actually never considered whether that alignment would have been too obvious. Sadly, I also never considered making that alignment until I added the rainbow to the image and immediately noticed that aligning the colors probably would have been a good idea. I told my wife that if nobody mentioned it in the thread, it probably wasn't important enough to take the time to remake the photo. (It won't be as easy as it probably seems to align the pencil colors with the rainbow colors.) Now that you've brought up the subject, I'm compelled to try to make that happen. I'll get back to the thread later today.

I didn't mean to cause you more work but it looks like a fun project. I liked the pic anyway.

 

[Allan]

Nice setups! Very colorful (duh)

 

[Mike Buckley]

Why does looking at photos of colored pencils make me feel happy?

Look at photos of regular pencils and I'm confident you'll figure it out on your own.

 

[gchappel]

As always, technically superb! Another one to lean on your easel!
I like the classic lines of the first one. Yes, it is probably an exercise in every class of tabletop photography- but that is because done well it looks so good.
If it were mine, I would dial the rainbow coloration back a little - so the tones match the pencils. Easy on a black background. Stick the rainbow on a layer and lower opacity until the tones match- but it isn't mine and I enjoy looking at it however you decide.
Gary

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you also to Gary and Allan!

I would dial the rainbow coloration back a little

I also thought about at least tyring that but not until hours after I made the photo. When I remake the photo, I'll try it.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Would lining up appropriate pencils to match the rainbow colours have been too obvious?

I would dial the rainbow coloration back a little

The remade photo is now displayed as Photo #4 in the first post of the thread and I think both suggestions make the image considerably stronger. Thank you to Ron and Gary!

 

[Bohdan]

Love them all.. Nicely done Mike.

 

[Richard_M]

Great set. I love photos of coloured pencils, not sure why.

 

[gchappel]

#4 is wonderful!
I am amazed the 3d look you have captured. The rainbow is, at least to my eyes, is definitely behind the pencils.
Gary

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Bob and Richard. Also thank you to Gary for your nod about the remake of the photo with the rainbow.

 

[Mike Buckley]

This set of photos is made using focus stacking to display most everything in focus. I created another set of photos of colored pencils using a very small depth of field. They are displayed at https://www.nikoncafe.com/threads/more-fun-with-colored-pencils-in-a-different-style.324999/

NOTE: If you can think of other concepts for making photos of colored pencils, I would appreciate it if you would please share your ideas.