I thought I'd see what you thought of my new lighting and the progress I'm making with my photography. Any comments on either the coin or the photography are appreciated. What is significant about this particular obverse? Just a little copper trivia.
These are pictures of the top outside berry on the right which is where I focus on the subtle pre break differences in the four reverses. On the NC-5, the berry is to the left of center of a longer stem. On the NC-6, the berry is to the right of center of a shorter stem. On the S-190, the berry is directly above the center of a longer stem. On the S-191, the berry is above a broken stem which connects to the inside pair of leaves across from the berry. There is a hint of a stem entirely left of to the top of the berry.
I think you're doing great. Yes, it's all about the lighting - by far the single most important factor. Experiment with your white balance. If your camera allows you to change that and monkey around, do so. With digital, experimenting is free !
Consider adding a second light and vary the amount of light from each source. It seems you used only one light for the OP photo, lighting from 12 o'clock. A second light, even if it adds very little light, will give a better balance to the exposure. One varies the amount of light by getting closer or farther and tilting towards or away from the subject. Also consider a different background. Perhaps a black velvet jeweler's pad - available cheap on e-bay. Even black construction paper.
Marshall, Any chance of getting larger images of those berries? I've known that the berry and stem was diagnostic but I've never been able to find good pictures of the berry. Those are great but very small.
Unfortunately, the pictures I use as a reference are from the Pre Long Beach Sale when they sold the Dan Holmes collection. These are available online, at least for now. The approximate 50K pictures do not permit much enlargement.
