Professional Pictures: All the best knives

[Jason Fry]

I am a firm believer that professional pictures are worth the time, money, and effort for a maker's best work. If you want to be published, you'd better pay the photographers for their work. Over the years I've used quite a few different photographers and had quite a few different knives shot. Here's a thread for my pro pics. Just for fun I'll put in some of my earlier ones first. They were among my best work at the time.

2014, my first frame handle and first Coop pic

2015, Oosik and W2 hunter.

2017, the bowie I gave to Greg Abbott, Texas Governor. Texas historical material and W2.

Jan 2020- Wagon wheel wrought over 1084, with wagon wheel fittings and wagon tongue handle

 

[Jason Fry]

I consider this piece my best work to date, from early 2021. Long WIP on this one here: Texas History Bowie

 

[Jason Fry]

Here's a quick lesson...

I finished this knife with a coyote trapping theme in December 2021. Here's the Iphone shot I took at the house. The lighting is good, but the focus isn't quite right and the background is cluttery. Even so, this photo is better than I typically see on instagram from many makers.

Here's the same knife shot by Jim Cooper. Notice that he chose the same basic layout I did, without having seen my pic. Also notice that the focus is perfect and the background neutral, with much better contrast to show the details.

Here's the payoff... the knife is the same in both pics. NOBODY would have published my phone shot. The Coop shot made the cover of Blade Magazine (tiny in the corner, but it was there lol), was used in the Blade Texas program, published in Knife Magazine, and used for an article in the Knives 2023 Annual.

 

[Jason Fry]

In the earlier days of my knifemaking development roughly 2010-2014 when Bladeforums was IT and there was no better place, I was enamored with Don Hanson and his hamon bowies with walrus. It took me a long time to where I felt confident making one. I've had this piece of walrus at least 5 years, maybe 6. The steel in this one is some of Don's W2 2" round bar that I bought on the secondary market through the BF classifieds. Fittings are browned mild with stainless spacers.

 

[Jason Fry]

Just got this photo back from Eric. My knife, engraved by Alice Carter. This one is available now.