Lapidaryforum.net
Let's Rock => Opal => Topic started by: John Robinson on August 30, 2017, 02:24:55 PM
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I am improving a bit taking pictures of stones. Attached are pictures of the stone I did not want to cut, so I ended up breaking it instead... but still a nice stone IMO as a novice.
I found these glass 'lenses' and I guess they have several uses for protecting stones or making aggregates etc. I experimented with one too small (a 21 by 15 is the biggest that will fit) to see how it looked and would appreciate any comments or advice concerning these lenses.
(Or any other topic for that matter... lol)
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I see several common problems we all have with photos. Full reflection of a light bulb on the cabochon and the pictures look like they were pushed to make the colors pop. Wish I had answers to these problems. I just keep shooting until I see what I feel looks natural. good luck
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Actually I did not push the colors it actually looks like that. However I did use a glare filter. Photographing opals is a real challenge I can see a stone full of color yet none of it shows up on most photos. Since I am not trying to sell my opals here, I usually up the saturation, vivacity and contrast so that others can see what I do. However there is something called the Defog filter in Photoshop express that produces some outlandish images that look like high quality abstract art
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One of the problems with photographing opal is finding a good matte surface to place them on. The amount of light reflected back from the surface in your second image will actually affect the overall exposure of the camera, especially if the camera is doing the work of adjusting for light, etc.
One way to test some of this is to take the image with the opal on a white backdrop, then again on a black backdrop.
I think for one black backdrop that I've used, I went to a local paint store and grabbed one of the color cards for a simple flat black. It will still have some reflectivity to it, but it will cut down on the overall light bounced back at the camera.
Cloth works too, but you'd be amazed at how much lint shows up *after* you've uploaded the picture and look at it at 100% zoom. :D
I want to see more pictures of that uncut piece, that looks really nice. :D
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I somehow have trouble believing those colors are what it looks like! That is a very bright fuchsia color. That being said, it would appear this is a high quality of stone with lots of broad flash fire and, if I understand your post, you plan on capping it with that small crystal cap, thus cutting off half the stone and much of the best fire?! Maybe I'm missing something here, but I would never do that. How thick is the opal? Is it very fragile or thin that it needs to be a doublet? If it needs to be a doublet, personally, I would leave the front natural and back it with optical quartz entirely (if the back is not worth showing, you could back it with opal matrix, basalt or black jade) Or, if you think it needs a quartz cap to make it hardier for rougher usage, I'd cover the whole stone with a larger piece of optical quartz and finish it in roughly the shape it is already in. But perhaps I am misunderstanding your intent or there is some piece of information I am misinterpreting here.
I have a largish opal right now that has great color but is a weird(er) shape and only 1.5mm to 2mm thick in most places. I could make it into a few smallish, thinnish solid opals, but am planning instead to back it with black jade. However, I too have been thinking and thinking about it, so I know it isn't easy to decide what to do.
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Seems that if you're going to be looking for input on your opals the photos will need to display the same qualities people are accustomed to seeing elsewhere online. You've mentioned Ethiopian, so check out some photos here:
https://www.opalauctions.com/auctions/ethiopian-opal/ethiopian-opal-stones/welo-opal-stones/
When your images display similarly to what you see on vendor websites, there will then be a frame of reference within which other knowledgable people will be able to discuss the attributes of your stones with you. Several of them here appear to be willing to share their knowledge and experience.
If it means getting a different camera or whatever, it will benefit you in the long run.
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It really does have that much color, but i can't prove with my camera skills as they are. It seems I have a choice between focus Or full range of color. It is really frustrating I can see the tentire stone lit up with color but the camera shows little to nothing of what I see with my eyes...
As far as the lenses, I know nothing. I was just experimenting and put a standard sized lens on top of the opal to see what it did for the diffraction angles it seem to add rather than detract and the opal seem to be more alive , though I never saw everything all at once like I can without the lens.
Iwill attach two photos but it could take an hour to duplicate the one I have already posted. BTW the stones weighs fourteen and is thin but Icould cut a 21 by15mm oval cab if i have to with a standard size cab. The problem is that Rio Grande does not carry fittings that large so it would seem pointless to cut the stone
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John, is this a Welo opal?
If it truly has that much color in the face, then you do not want to cut that stone to a standard shape. Don't waste a bit of that color if you don't have to. I would either put it to the side to cut later or cut it now and then have a custom setting made for it.
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I agree. Don't cut it down. That would be a shame.
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https://youtu.be/kExJHwwrPJQ
I sincerely hope that link actually works because I have spent the last four hours trying to upload a fifteen second long video of that opal
The opal is an American opal - at least that is the story. The lady I bought from found in a rock collection with a label, precious opal, UTAH (?)
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Sounds like Spencer.
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If that is a solid American Opal, it is valuable and should not be cut down. That could explain the unusual coloring. I have a Apencer Opal ( more flawed) that also has very unusual coloring.
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Now the colors make more sense. You could have a pretty valuable opal there, so I would slow down with that one and really think about it. Get some more experience under your belt before you start grinding on that one. :icon_sunny:
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Yep. Definitely time to put that one aside for a bit. Most (not all) Spencer has really thin color bars. Just enjoy having it for a while.
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Yes, now it does make sense -- the color, the triplet cap, etc. It definitely looks like Spencer, Idaho opal that's been face-ground to a color bar and is ready for either making a doublet (cap only) or a triplet (backed with a black material and capped).
I think the recommendations above to get a little more experience under your belt before going further with the stone are on the mark. If I'm right about what you have I'd recommend capping the whole face with optical quartz and cutting a free-form cabochon, capturing the entire color bar.
What I'd like to see is an image showing how deep the color bar is. Can you take a picture edge-on at 90 degrees from the view you've shown? Hopefully that will show how thick the color bar is and will help determine how you should proceed with cutting.
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The opal is very thin and I already broke it once, that is the reason I am keeping it underglas. By some niracle i have a mirror polish on it so I am done working on it. I plan to set it like I showed in the video and sell it as is...
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi38UXCFfS5wCSfZ3onmO5MHcuiRxdESv
There are videos there of my two other Opals I hope to sell to buy equipment and stuff. I will posting others videos involving opals as art and other "for sale" opals as well
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Regarding the difference between what your eyes see, and what the camera sees:
Your eyes are two cameras, with a few inches between them. The fire in opals can change, sometimes drastically, even within a few degrees change in the viewing angle. Since a camera only represents one eye, you're only getting one angle on the fire, not two. Additionally, if things are out of focus, you're going to pick up a bit more color for similar reasons. Out of focus, the light is going to scatter more, etc.
The new backdrop is perfect. Nice and black with little reflection.
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Yes, the camera and the human eye definitely are different...
BTW - the reason the flash opal is so thin is because I cut the rough in half to get this bottom layer which looks like a good candidate for an aggregate but it has quite a different color pattern
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A nice trick for a good cheep backing that I learned my last time in Lightning Ridge was to take a cheep piece of glass from the door section of a hardware store clean the back side and spray paint it heavily (so no lite shows from the back) with a flat or semigloss spray paint. I prefer to use the semigloss. If the glass is clean and the pics are shot in a darker room with the lite coming from behind the lens you shouldn't have to do any editing around the stone.
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I decided not to cut it, but to make it the featured stone in a mosiac of flash opals that will fill a 30 mm pendant cab. I have flash opals from Australian white, but I am going to try to acquire some Spencer flash opals and use them instead. I have two areas of discoloration in the Spencer that I do have and I am concerned as to how much that affects the value (?) neither go all the way through but I am afraid if I try to use a burr to remove them the stone will crack. It appears to be exceptionally brittle.
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Yes not all Spencer is brittle but allot of what I have cut has been. So I understand your concern making a triplet is probably the safest way to go. Yes solid opals are almost always worth more but a cracked or crazed stone is worth nothing. Protect your investment, you can make a top gem triplet and it will still have good value and more importantly be safe. Flatten the top glue on the quartz make sure you have no bubbles, let it dry and then slowly grind off the back until you can start to see through the color bar then clean it and glue it to a black backing. that thing will be safe and it will look great. I saw a guy once who cushion cut his triplet cap and it gave the stone a very cool appearance like a kaleidoscope effect and it really increased the overall value of the stone.
Just an idea
good luck cutting
Adam