Tachyon Wallpaper!

Joined
Oct 2, 1998
Messages
5,461
Clcik here and select your resolution

For newbies :)

First go to your desktop and "rightclick" your mouse. A menu will come up and then select "properties". Under properties select "settings" and see what your screen resolution is set at. Then click on the link above and select the image that matches your resolution. When the image is loaded on your screen "right click" it and select "set as wallpaper" or "set as background" depending on your browser.

Enjoy and more to come :)
 
Hey Mike, what colors are the handles on this thing? I've seen some pictures that make them look almost black, and others that make them look a silver/light grey. I remember reading that it was a trick of the light, but I'm not sure which color they really are. So, which is it?
 
black-bak-1-600.jpg

The above is the closest to the actual color in bright natural light. I kept the other pics because I liked the background and under different lighting your knife will appear darker.
 
When I first saw the Tachyon proto, I thought "Yeah, it looks cool, but without hearing a review, I don't want to shell out the cash." Then when I heard there wasn't going to be a polished option I thought "Well, I think the SW blade on the LCC is hideous and I don't like black blades, so I probably won't get one." Then forumites started posting pictures and reviews and I thought "Man, that SW blade doesn't look too bad and this thing must really fly."

I've owned a good few BM Balis, and some Taylors, Parkers, etc so I have experience.... I was being hessitant to shell out the big bucks for the Tachyon, but with all these pictures, I think I'm gonna have to do it. I just wish I could handle one first.

There goes more $$ from my x-mas fund.
 
The problem of color is common with some digital cameras. Color is a complex subject. It's a matter of perception. It's not entirely scientific. If two different digital cameras are used to take the exact same picture under the exact same light from the same tripod position, just seconds apart, the resulting images can, and often do, have different color. This is made even more complicated by the fact that the algorithms used in many digital cameras are optimized for sun light since most folks take their snapshots outside. Many digital cameras actually recalculate their color solution, their colorant, for every picture trying to select what they think are the best colors. You can see this in Mike's pictures. The ones with the black backgrounds are great since they have a strong black and a strong white (a reflection on the blade somewhere) and the camera can use those to set a good colorant. In the picture on the map, though, there isn't a good chunk of solid black, so the camera decides to make the handles black. Different brands of digital cameras have different algorithms. So, some will do better than others in a given type of picture. Others will do better in other types of pictures. Keep in mind that most digital cameras are sold for taking snap shots of the kids playing in the yard with the dog. They're not optimized for knife photography. Some of the more professionally-oriented digital cameras allow some control over the colorant. But, it's a subject well beyond the understanding of the average consumer, so most cameras try to automate it as much as possible. When it works, it's great; point and shoot, no worries. When it doesn't work, we get to see what Tachyon would look like with black handles.
 
By the way, old-fashioned film cameras have similar problems. The colorant of a film camera is set by the type of film used. If you take the exact same picture using the exact same camera from the exact same position, but use two types of film, the colors will be different.

Just the other day, I was in a local camera store and overheard a woman complaining to the sales clerk about the enlargements she'd had them make for her. It seemed that the sky wasn't as blue in the enlargements as it was in her original print and the people's faces looked a little jaundice, yellow. I know exactly what happened. The colorant used to print the enlargement was not the same as the colorant used for the original print. Specifically, yellow and blue are opposites. When I looked at the two pictures, I thought that the enlargement was better. I thought that everything was blue cast in the original and that the people's faces looked natural in the enlargement when you looked at it separate from the original print. The original print was probably made by a machine that selected the colorant automatically much as digital cameras do. The enlargement was made by a technician who gave it a bit more personal attention.

But, the lady liked that blue, blue sky, so the enlargements were sent back. Color is a matter of perception.
 
Chuck,

When I worked at Ritz camera we had that problem all the time. Our regular prints used Kodak paper and the enlargements used AGFA which was terrible at reproducing a very good blue. Also as a print is enlarged the colors will tend to soften.

In digital photography you have to "fool" the camera. Spark and I worked on this issue for months til we fianlly nailed it. Now you see most of the pics I take are on dark or even black backgrounds to force the camera to chose the proper exposure. I won't have this problem much longer as I plan on get a new 5.47 D1X Megapixel camera with SLR features. Eat your heart out Spark :D

I will shoot some pics on a medium format camera soon as well as some 35MM shots. Stay tuned :D

BTW nearly all of Chucks shots are closer to the natural light color. Excellent pics Chuck!
 
Thanks for the Wallpaper link Mike....

I wish I had time to get a "grip" on more of the camera stuff..:( You guys really get some great photos.

I'm trying to figure out what to get for a digital now, because I know I'm never going to turn into a "real photographer". Any suggestions on a nice digital in the $400-$500 range would be appreciated. I'm not sure it's possible to get a great one for that amount.., but I don't really want to spend 2K for one of the really slick ones. Thanks!





"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
I work for a professional photo lab, and we specialize in school pictures, with our busiest period being from August until the middle of December. We're mostly optical (film), but we have a few studios that are going digital. I've seen firsthand what everyone was talking about. In my situation, though, you can have up to three or four teams of photographers trying to shoot an entire school in one day, depending on the size of the school. No matter how hard they try, some of they seem to be doing one thing wrong: taking as many pictures as they can before school lets out, or whatever.
There are some instances where the studios will want their prints to have a certain tint, density(darkness), etc. This makes things fun. No two cameras will shoot the same, and no camera will shoot the same with film that's not all from the same batch and lot no. It's fun, but I still tend to think that some photographers learned their job from Slappy, the alcoholic clown with a Poloroid instant camera and a bad case of myopia. :D:D:D
 
My $0.02.

In this case, it's more the subject matter, as Titanium is a very porous material and all those little microscopic pores on the surface does a horrendous job of not reflecting light. Making the shooting of titanium slabs, as they come from MT, a chore if not properly lit. If the lighting is in the wrong position, you'll easily see the black handles, and not the natural grey tones. You'll get the same results from the Nikon 1D with it's highly evolved metering system, as you would from my Mayima's mediums, or my Canon's, no matter how accurately you set the metering with the 18% grey test paper.
 
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