1890 AH Fine Engraving - How did they do this?

[John Havard]

Mark, what a wonderful, wonderful gun. Thanks for sharing.

A photography related question about your macro/micro lens. I too have a bevy of Nikon bodies but no macro lens. What caused you to choose the 60mm lens and what did you use for lighting while photographing this fine old gun?

Did you look under the trigger guard to see if it's signed by Harry Gough, or is it signed out in the open somewhere and I missed the signature?

[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

John,

Stephen Dodd Hughes recommended the Nikkor 60mm Micro for firearms photography. Nuff said?

The 60mm Micro allows a very sharp manual focus and close ups to a few inches. Ideally I would have about a 35mm of a similar design for whole gun shots and maybe a 105mm Micro for super close-ups. The 60mm will do most of that with a lot of adjusting the set up. I own a 18-200mm but it is hard to get a sharp manual focus with it. An old style split screen viewfinder would probably help.

The studio set up is a little complicated. I am still striving to figure it out!

I use a black background/drop kit from eBay, studio softbox lights bounced off walls and ceiling, and many, many adjustments to find the correct light reflecting off the gun. Note: We never see an object, rather we see the light that is reflected off it. Add a tripod, electronic shutter release, and practice, practice, practice. I buy my camera stuff that I can't find on eBay from B&H. Check their used department.

I hope that helps,
Mark