Critique Old Spoons

[Mike Buckley]

Friends suggested that I photograph their old spoons. My guess is that they are handmade.

The moire in the napkin in this small version is not in the original full-size version.

Setup
The tabletop is white fabric. A medium continuous-light lamp underneath the camera and pointing upward lit a white reflector. One end of the reflector rested on the tabletop at the top of the scene and the other end rested on the camera, which positioned the reflector at a 45-degree angle to the tabletop.

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[Palouse]

They certainly do look homemade--lots of character. I like the shadows of the spoons and appreciate how each spoon seems to be lit just right; each metal has its own reflectance.

 

[Bart]

Beautifully executed, Mike!
The lighting and processing enhanced the vintage look.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Bart and Nick!

I like the shadows of the spoons

They were an unintended consequence of my lighting setup, as I was thinking the scene was being lit using only reflected light. The shadows indicate that at least some light coming directly from the lamp was falling on the scene. I liked the shadows so much that I didn't change the setup.

 

[Butlerkid]

Beautiful execution, Mike. Really impressive lighting and processing make the subjects even more interesting!

 

[dossy]

The light and processing enhance the vintage look. These spoons look like old family treasures.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you also to Karen and dossy!

These spoons look like old family treasures.

I'll ask my friends who own the spoons about that. If they provide interesting information, I'll also get back to the thread.

 

[Mike Buckley]

These spoons look like old family treasures.

My friends who own the spoons got back to me about that. They belonged to the guy's mother but he doesn't have any other information about them. An engraved inscription on the reverse of the large spoon indicates CH 12/6.85, but it's not known what it means. My guess is that the letters are probably initials of someone's name and the numbers might be a date. The font is highly stylized, so it's probably a personalized engraving. My friends think the spoons may be made of nickel silver.

 

[Mike Buckley]

My friends asked for a photo of the engraved inscription on the rear of the large spoon, so I'm also posting it here just in case anyone is interested in it.

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[Binnur]

Nice lighting Mike!