Meepzorp's coin website

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

Something strange happened after I swapped out my photos. If you remember, in the past, I could see my website updates when I was in Mozilla Firefox, but not when I was in Google Chrome. Joe explained it as "clearing the cache".

Now, the exact opposite happened. I can see my website updates (new photos) when I am in Google Chrome, but not when I am in Mozilla Firefox. When I am in Mozilla Firefox, I am still seeing my old photos. I got worried because I couldn't see my new photos.

This is strange. I don't know why I keep having this problem.

Meepzorp

[Meepzorp]

Hi Meepzorp,

I am aware of the problem of the camera or phone casting a deep shadow on the coin, if it's positioned directly above it. This is especially so at night.

I also tried taking coin photographs with the camera slightly tilted (maybe about 45 degrees) but the results aren't good. My photos were always slightly out of focus.

What I can suggest is to take photographs using daylight, such as near a window. Do not attempt to take the photo with sunlight shining directly on the coin though, that usually results in overexposure. The ambient natural light will make it possible to take photos even with the camera directly over the coin. If the picture taken using natural light is sharp, that will mean your previous blurry photos are due to the tilt of the coin or camera, or both.

The big downside to using natural light is that coins taken over different days will look different. This is due to factors like cloud cover etc.

Hi trav,

You are correct in every way, Thank you for your input.

You are correct about sunlight. The blurry photos were taken at night. I re-shot them today in sunlight. They came out much better.

You are also correct that, using natural sunlight, photos taken on different days will look different.

Meepzorp

[Andrew McCabe]

Hi folks,

Something strange happened after I swapped out my photos. If you remember, in the past, I could see my website updates when I was in Mozilla Firefox, but not when I was in Google Chrome. Joe explained it as "clearing the cache".

Now, the exact opposite happened. I can see my website updates (new photos) when I am in Google Chrome, but not when I am in Mozilla Firefox. When I am in Mozilla Firefox, I am still seeing my old photos. I got worried because I couldn't see my new photos.

This is strange. I don't know why I keep having this problem.

Meepzorp

Try Edge. It's the new browser optimised for Windows 10 which you have.

[Jay GT4]

They are blurry because you don't understand depth of field.  The whole photo is blurry because your phone doesn't know where to focus.  There should be a clear distinction between subject and background and the best way to do that for the last time is with a gray background and raising the coin up.

[cmcdon0923]

Most of the images look better than previous attempts, but I just have to say again......please consider getting rid of the textured background and going to a less busy one.

It obscures the edge, and takes away from the image of the coin.

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

I just added 2 more pages. Two photos are a little blurry, but they aren't bad. I may swap them out with better photos.

As I mentioned above, because of Nick's upcoming book, I am jumping to Campania. I am skipping over Bruttium and Calabria. I will come back and do them at a later date.

For now, I am only doing Campania cities that issued MFB coins.

For Campania cities that didn't issue MFB coins, I am skipping over them for now. I will come back and do them at a later date.

The same is true for my Campania, Neapolis AR MFB coins. Since Nick's book will only deal with AE MFB coins, I am only doing them for now. I will do my Neapolis AR MFB coins at a later date, probably when I am done with my Bruttium and Calabria coins.

Meepzorp

[Akropolis]

Your next challenge, in time, is to learn to adjust images to lighten them (appropriately) and remove inaccurate colors. For example, I took the liberty of adjusting your barely visible (on my monitor) Cales, Campania didrachm obverse to lighten it and remove a yellow tint, that I would think is not there on a didrachm. I could be wrong. I hope you don't take offense. If so, I will delete it. I used Photoshop 7. See below.
PeteB

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

I swapped out the 2 blurry Cales photos. I replaced them with clearer photos.

Meepzorp

[Meepzorp]

Hi Akro,

That Cales didrachm is very dark in hand. Believe it or not, my photo accurately represents the coin.

Your photo is too light. The coin doesn't look like that in hand. You can keep that photo in this thread for comparison purposes. Feel free to photoshop and adjust my photos.

I don't understand how it is "barely visible" on your monitor. It looks perfectly fine on my monitor. And I am using my new computer now. It is a completely different computer from the one I was using a few days ago. And my coin photos look perfectly fine (and realistic, compared to in hand) on both of my monitors. If anything, my website photos look lighter than the coins in hand, and that is true for both of my computers.

I really don't understand how some members are seeing my coins as too dark on their monitors. Is there a setting you can adjust?

Meepzorp

[Andrew McCabe]

Hi Akro,

That Cales didrachm is very dark in hand. Believe it or not, my photo accurately represents the coin.

Your photo is too light. The coin doesn't look like that in hand. You can keep that photo in this thread for comparison purposes. Feel free to photoshop and adjust my photos.

I don't understand how it is "barely visible" on your monitor. It looks perfectly fine on my monitor. And I am using my new computer now. It is a completely different computer from the one I was using a few days ago. And my coin photos look perfectly fine (and realistic, compared to in hand) on both of my monitors. If anything, my website photos look lighter than the coins in hand, and that is true for both of my computers.

I really don't understand how some members are seeing my coins as too dark on their monitors. Is there a setting you can adjust?

Meepzorp

There's been a significant improvement in the photos since the initial posts of two weeks ago. Now they all look fine to me. Including the Cales didrachm.

Nevertheless it's usually best to err on having photos of darker coins be lighter than the coin is in hand. Peter's picture certainly looks better. Many people will have their monitor brightness turned down, for valid reasons eg power management, or may have poorer quality screens. Some modern browsers have reading modes that substitute cream for white background to improve text legibility, but may darken images. Your website has masses of white background that may trigger such settings. So there are a host of reasons why your viewers may see darker images. But a slightly too light photo can still be seen by everyone, even if it doesn't perfectly reflect an actual dark coin. Visitors may not think to, or want to, or be able to, adjust their monitor to cater for a specific website containing dark images. A publisher should generally endeavor to cater for as many visitors as possible even at some sacrifice of absolute truth in image reproduction, and this thread on Forum is a good way to get feedback. As mentioned for perhaps the 50th time on this thread, some gentle and easy post-photo processing is usually how user-friendly photos of difficult-to-see coins are realized, often by increasing the contrast between colours and lightness in ways that make coins look absolutely better (better sometimes than as seen in hand!)

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

I added 2 more pages to my website today. These are the first 2 parts of my AE Campania, Neapolis coins. Of course, all of these are MFB coins.

Meepzorp

[Meepzorp]

"using some of my coin photos in his upcoming AE MFB book."
You or he will have to remove the background pattern. I suggest you search this Forum on how to achieve a plain white background directly....i.e., without the chore of Photoshopping them.
PeteB

I can take care of that on photoshop.

Hi Nick,

As you are probably aware, I started posting my AE Campania MFB coins. Today, I posted the first 2 parts of my AE Neapolis MFB coins. Please feel free to use any of my photos in your upcoming MFB book.

Meepzorp

[Jay GT4]

Meep, the pictures are better but I fear using your phone is letting you down.  While the pictures are somewhat in focus they are not sharp.  Does the iPhone have an f stop feature to give you more depth of field? Are you using the macro feature on the phone?

 I don't know as my phone is a Samsung and I use a Sony Nex5 as a camera with a macro lens.

[Jschulze]

On an iPhone there is only autofocus and no native macro, although there may be apps and there are lenses you can buy. The iPhone 4 actually has a good camera. However, it works poorly without good light and the distance appears to be too close for autofocus. Try more light, coming from an angle and  a further distance that produces a clear image. Then crop that further-away image into a close-up. (I would also advise, as others have, to remove the textured background. The camera is probably autofocusing on much of the background, leaving the poorly lit coin out of focus.)

Josh

PS: I say this as someone who takes a lot of coin photos with my own iPhone. These cameras can work very well but only when you toy around enough to know what works and what does not.

*Edit: Please take this as constructive input. I congratulate you on making it this far, as many of us (including me) have yet to do as much as you have!

[Molinari]

"using some of my coin photos in his upcoming AE MFB book."
You or he will have to remove the background pattern. I suggest you search this Forum on how to achieve a plain white background directly....i.e., without the chore of Photoshopping them.
PeteB

I can take care of that on photoshop.

Hi Nick,

As you are probably aware, I started posting my AE Campania MFB coins. Today, I posted the first 2 parts of my AE Neapolis MFB coins. Please feel free to use any of my photos in your upcoming MFB book.

Meepzorp

There are some that should be useful.  I might track down the auction house photos where available.  These look good, but it will save me editing work and I'm on a short timeline (baby coming in three weeks!).

PS: I think it is an astragalus behind Apollo on Sambon 639.

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

Today, I added 4 more pages to my website.

Meepzorp

[Meepzorp]

I think it is an astragalus behind Apollo on Sambon 639.

Hi Nick,

I suspected that too, but I wasn't sure. You confirmed my suspicion.

Meepzorp

[Jay GT4]

Lighting is now much better but see my previous post along with Josh's to resolve the out of focus photos.  It may be as simple as moving the camera back a few inches and then cropping as Josh recommended.

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

Today, I added another page (Bruttium, Bretti) to my website.

Meepzorp

[Jay GT4]

Lighting is excellent now.  Photos are still out of focus.  Please try the suggestions before you go much further.  If you dont want to try the other suggestions then at least move the phone away from the coin a few inches and then crop it after.  It will be sharper.

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

Today, I added 4 more pages (Bruttium, Croton-Petelia) to my website.

Meepzorp

[Meepzorp]

Photos are still out of focus.  Please try the suggestions before you go much further.  If you don't want to try the other suggestions then at least move the phone away from the coin a few inches and then crop it after.  It will be sharper.

Hi Jay,

I don't think that moving the iPhone away from the coin will make the images any sharper. After all this time, I think I know the proper distance. It is not too close.

If anything, the iPhone may be too far away. If you noticed, my smaller coins tend to be the ones that are more out of focus than the larger ones. The reason for this is that they must be magnified more. The larger coins receive less magnification upon cropping.

What I have been doing for the past 2 days is that, instead of centering the coin in the iPhone's viewing window 100% of the time, sometimes I am taking the photos with the coins off-center (closer to the edges/corners of the viewing window). Sometimes, this results in sharper images. But sometimes, it doesn't improve anything.

By the way, I also experimented several times with the coin flat and the iPhone (horizontal) directly over the coin. Several members, including Joe, suggested this method. Not only did this block lout the light sources from above (which are my primary light sources), but this also resulted in horrendous photos. This method caused the most blurriest images yet. I think the iPhone got confused in these situations. Another problem using this method is that I couldn't see the coin in the iPhone's viewing window. The glare (reflecting off the iPhone's glass) from the 2 light sources above (two 23 watt CFL bulbs) was so bad that I couldn't see anything. I couldn't even see the yellow box (the iPhone's auto-focus) because the glare was so bad. I was basically "flying blind". I had to snap the photos with zero visual input to my human eyes.

When I snap the photos with the iPhone at an angle, I can see the coin in the viewing window. This yet another reason why I am using a grey towel instead of a flat grey background. The towel allows me to tilt the coin at an angle (both X axis and Y axis). Not only does this allow me to actually see the con in the iPhone's viewing window, but I can optimize the angle of the light being reflected off the coin. My primary light sources are not adjustable. I am afraid to put play-dough or clay or any other foreign substance under the coin.

Note: My Bruttium, Croton AR stater (Herakles reclining) was probably struck with worn dies. The photo isn't blurry. It is a clear photo of a blurry coin. The surfaces of that coin have that "runny" look to them. That's how it looks in hand.

Meepzorp

[Jay GT4]

Sorry Meep, I don't think you understand how depth of field works.  The pictures are not in focus.  I won't go over it again.  If you think the pictures are good then that is all that matters.  All the devices are visible.  I just know if I was going through all this I'd spend some time (several hours or even days) working out the proper distance of the light source, camera and subject.  All the best, I don't envy your task....it's a lot of work. 

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

Today, I added 2 more pages (Bruttium, Rhegium) to my website.

Meepzorp

[Meepzorp]

Sorry Meep, I don't think you understand how depth of field works.  The pictures are not in focus.  I won't go over it again.  If you think the pictures are good then that is all that matters.  All the devices are visible.  I just know if I was going through all this I'd spend some time (several hours or even days) working out the proper distance of the light source, camera and subject.  All the best, I don't envy your task....it's a lot of work. 

Hi Jay,

I appreciate your (and everyone else's) suggestions.

As you stated, it is a lot of work. That's why I didn't respond to your post until now. When I read your post last night, I was awake about 18 hours. I was exhausted. This is the case every night.

Every batch of coins I do (approximately 10 coins) takes me about 4 hours. That includes setting up my lights, taking the photos, cropping, re-naming, storing them on the hard drive, storing them on the flash drive, writing the code in html kit, uploading the photos and files, deleting the photos from the iPhone, deleting the photos from the hard drive, etc., etc. This usually yields 2 website pages. I try to do 1 batch a day. if I am lucky, I can do 2 a day. This works out to about 20-30 minutes per coin. Of course, this is in addition to the 30-45 minutes per coin it takes me to write up my hand-written tags. So, yes, it is a monumental effort.

This is in addition to my health problems. I have a chronic illness. It is Winter, and I don't feel well. I am having Lyme flare-ups just about every day. This causes difficulty breathing, lightheadedness, etc. This happens every Winter.

On top of all of that, my family members keep bugging me to help them with different, various things.

It's amazing that I can anything accomplished at all.

In fact, if you noticed, I haven't been in (or posting in) other Forum threads. I've been neglecting them. I'm devoting 100% of my free time to this project.

That being said, my plan was to go back at some point (when I am done with my Bruttium coins, or when I am done with my Magna Graecia box #1, or whenever) and re-shoot my blurry photos and swap them out. Actually, I wanted to do it today, but I gotta help my family again. Maybe tonight.....?

By the way, I think that about 2/3 or 3/4 of my photos are "good enough". If you remember, coming into this project, I stated that I wasn't looking to take high end auction house quality photos. I just want them to be "good enough".

Meepzorp