Back in November, I was in really good photo-taking mood. This means part of one table was cleared off, my photo lights were up, and I was in a calm and patient state of mind. Photographing chrome tools is a real pain in the butt, and so I have to be in a good mood to do it.
I photographed a bunch of tools that were planned for a “Mechanics Tools” week-long theme. If you hadn’t seen those reviews yet, look through the list and see if something interests you:
Bit Holders vs. Bit Sockets
Facom Angled Socket Wrench Review
SK Bit Sockets Review
Wera Zyklop T-Handle Review
Proto Locking Extension Review
SK Thumbwheel Ratchet Review
SK Socket Set Review
Gearwrench Ratcheting Wrench Socket Adapters Review
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Not that my photos are spectacular, but even photos that might look somewhat bland and mediocre take time, and that is even more true for chromed and reflective tools. I’d like to explore more creative options with my tool photos, but most of the time it’s more important for photos to show something clearly.
Today’s review of PB Swiss Tools stubby hex drivers is one of a couple of other tools I photographed back in November but hadn’t written up yet. There’s one more I wanted to finish up for today, but that’s not happening.
Shown here is one of my Facom “Fast Action” combination wrenches. I have two of these in metric sizes, and they’re… different. I don’t love ’em, and I don’t hate ’em. I won’t buy more (mainly because I don’t use metric wrenches as much as inch sizes), and I won’t give mine up.
Anyway, I was working on the review and realized that I really like one of my photos.
Part of why I really like this photo is because it was really difficult to take. All my metric fasteners are in storage, since I rarely need to pull metric hardware for impromptu projects, but I had everything setup for photos. So I put together a quick demo using a hex wrench.
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Yes, that’s a PB Swiss Tools stubby hex driver.
This was a bugger of a photo to take, as one hand had to hold two tools in this exact position, and my other hand held a camera that’s way too heavy.
I could, and should, have planned out a better way to take the photo, but it was late at night and as mentioned I have to be in a good mood to photograph chromed tools. If I waited until I could dig out a suitable vise and grab some metric hardware just for photo staging purposes, then the review would have been pushed back even further.
I’ve been meaning to review these wrenches for a couple of years now. Years. That’s true for a lot of my personal and regularly used tools, but on the bright side it means I have no shortage of tools to review and talk about.
So yea, I hope you enjoy the photo! I like how the satin finish makes the wrench look sparkly.
Sparkly? Sorry, I couldn’t think of a manlier word. At least I didn’t say “shimmery.”
And yes, this post ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated. In the time it took to write this post out I might have been able to finish up the Facom wrench review.
But you know what? It’s after 6pm on Friday, my son is teething and cranky, I’m exhausted, my hands are dry, cracked, and bleeding, my workspace is a complete mess since I decided to start cleaning up and rearranging everything last night. It’ll take me at least through the weekend for my workspace to reach an equilibrium.
There’s nothing more I want to do right now than just share this photo and some random chat with you guys.
I started off just wanting to share the sparkly wrench photo (sorry for using that word again), but it’s nice to just write freely.
One of the reasons I started cleaning and rearranging again is because I want to do more videos, this time with me in front of the camera. I really suck at videos, but practice is the only way to get better, and there are certain discussions that are just easier to initiate with a video rather than a bunch of words. Take this post, for example. It would have been a lot easier to do with a video. Not right now, though, as I still write a lot better than I talk in front of a camera.
Even if you didn’t enjoy the photo, I hope you enjoy your weekend, especially if you made it this far!
SawdustTX
That is a great photo indeed, Well done. As an amateur photog and videog myself (mostly airshows and the local schools fine arts performances) I appreciate how difficult those shots can be. Nice job, great way to wrap up a Friday!
Toolfreak
Would have been an easier photo to take if you had set the camera on something, set the timer, then held each tool with one hand in front of the lens.
Using the timer also helps so macro shots are that much sharper, even with image stabilization.
Stuart
Not really. I have a sturdy tripod, but reflective tools require too many minute adjustments. That wouldn’t have resulted in a sharper image either. With the lens used, and distance the photo was taken, the depth of field is still really, really narrow. Increasing focal ratio wouldn’t have helped too much, as it would have pushed into diffraction range, which affects resolution and sharpness.
Image stacking would have been the only way to have made this image noticeably sharper, and it wouldn’t have been worth the effort. I might try image stacking for creative macro images.
Tyler
Were you using a photo box or just two light sources?
Stuart
It was 1 or 2 light sources, I don’t remember. I typically use 2 lights, sometimes 3. I only used a light box a couple of times, and that was a few years ago – I wasn’t pleased with the results.
MT_Noob
Nice photo, I like the metalic shine….
I recently had to struggle taking a close up photo of a chrome plated padlock. I needed a quick closeup, but it took forever to tweak the light sources and the perfect angle.
If I had more time and more patience, I probably also would have also tried some black reflectors or flags to sweeten it up some more.
It is very rewarding when you spend a lot of time trying to get a good shot, and you pull somehting off that is what you were looking for (or even just close enough).
Thanks for the bonus weekend post. Sorry to hear about the teething… they grow fast don’t they.
Stuart
Yup. Here’s what a slight shift in tool angle results in:
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Facom-Fast-Action-Wrench-Step-3.jpg%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Maybe once in a while I’ll strive to take a magazine-cover-worthy tool shot, but like you said it takes forever to get things tweaked just right.
Steve DGerolamo
The 40R’s are being replaced with the 467R….improved fast action open end. See http://www.facom.com/uk/products-solutions/467R-Description.html . These have been in production for awhile but the older 40r’s are still available (even though they’re not shown in the F13 catalog).
SD