New Auction Catalogue Photography

The catalogue for Timeline Auctions October sale of Art & Antiquities is out now. It features a number of images contributed by myself. I particular, I worked with a number of glass objects of various descriptions, ages, colours (and contents!)

Each item had to be lit to suit its texture and form, with black card positioned out of shot to remove obtrusive reflections

Islamic Blue Glass Bowl

Georgian Masonic Engraved Goblet

Half-Bottle of Reserve de Laytons Armagnac 1900 Vintage

Don't forget to visit my web site www.lancejacob.co.uk if you have a commercial photographic commission you would like to discuss. I'm fully insured and CRB Checked for your peace of mind

New Web Site Taking Shape

I've spent the day getting my new web site together! With the help of my friend Linda at lcpc.co.uk web design, I'm working on a layout to showcase my photography (more images coming soon!).  I also want to explain a bit more about the business services and computer repair I offer.

Take a look at www.lancejacob.co.uk - you a can tweet me your thoughts!

I will be keeping this blog going under its own domain - lancejacob.blogspot.com so do stop by here for more of my latest news and projects. I've also been using an Android phone heavily over the last few weeks and am thinking of writing up my findings here...

Ancient Artefacts Auction

Timeline Auctions second on-line auction  takes place on 7 July and I've been busy photographing the lots. There has been a fascinating selection! From ancient Egyptian to post-medieval there has been a broad range of items to image.

Minimal re-touching in Photoshop is done to ensure a clean background that does not distract from the lot and that the colours are reproduced as accurately as possible. Obviously, we never 'airbrush'  the item itself!

View the full range of lots here: http://www.timelineauctions.com/auction/16/

Auction Photography Goes On-line

Roman Bronze Ring Group

A first for Timeline Auctions - their inaugural on-line only sale takes place on 11 May 2012. Rather than having a tradition sale room with bids received in the room, by phone or by internet, this sale takes place just on their website with live bids received via the internet and by telephone. And as the lots aren't available to be viewed in person, high quality, scaleable photography on their web site is a must!

 I've been photographing the wide variety of lots for this auction. Whilst some materials are very technically demanding to photography (such as glass!) and some are aesthetically pleasing to image, some of the most rewarding lots to photography is the wide selection of jewelry. With different lighting settings demanded for gold rings, earrings, necklaces and some of the mixed lots requiring their own solution, there is plenty of work to go in to them.

I included below are a few of may favorite images below, not necessarily in terms of their historic or photographic merit but just because I enjoyed working with much interesting pieces! For full details of the item, click the image to view on the Timeline website - you could even leave a bid!!!

Avar Silver Gilt Equal-Armed Brooch with Garnets

White Metal Finger Ring Group

Phoenician Gold-Mounted Glass Figural Earring Pair

Post Medieval Bedouin Ring Collection

Antiquities Auction - March 2012

Timeline Auctions Antiquities Catalogue

After spending a very busy and enjoyable week at Timeline's specialist coins and antiquities auctions in Bloomsbury, it has become clear how important the catalogue photos are to the sale.

Not only do the images appear in print and on-line, they are also projected large on the wall behind the auctioneer during the sale. These three different media really do influence how each looks. A 'high key' shot stands out much better in projection. For example the Ottoman silk tunic (below) looks really good on a white background in projection but fairly flat on-screen.

We spent a lot of time photographing the various precious metal objects to record the detail and get accurate colour reproduction , without having overexposed highlights. Dropping in a black background really shows off the colour of each item, especially on screen and I'm sure that this has a least a small influence on the prices of many of the gold items reaching their upper estimates!

Finally, I'm delighted to have my image of this rather fine Roman oil lamp featured on the cover of the Antiquities catalogue, especially as it sold! See http://www.timelineauctions.com/lot/carthaginian-oil-lamp/6815/

Ottoman Tunic

Being Sociable

New Roof Garden web page

 I've been working with garden design business Lime Orchard to update their web site.

One of the main updates has been to showcase a stunning new roof garden that they have designed and built in London. As well as the photography and brief summary of the project, we have tied in a recent article by the Guardian, warning of the dangers of tackling a complex roof garden without the specialist advice required! The page  is also optimised to tie-in with new marketing campaigns

Although a failed computer PSU in my office has slowed progress (they pick their moments when to fail!), we are also rolling out an app that allows visitors to share and bookmark individual web pages using social media. Lime Orchard has already got a good presence  on Facebook and Twitter but the app ties the web site in to this more closely.

App shares the page via social media

Have a look at http://www.limeorchard.co.uk/Roof_Gardens.htm for more information.

Commercial Photography Project

I've been shooting some samples for a web design company that is working on a new retail site. The site needs photos of fruit!

This first image is the kind of thing most web designers want - a clean, crisp (juicy?!) image on a blank white background so that they can fit it to the overall layout.



But as the shoot went on the creative juices (sorry!) started to flow. Although generally these types of shots aren't commercially saleable I will be adding them to my portfolio because I enjoy them. Maybe they will inspire you...

Big apple!

de-saturated apple

Antiquities Auction - Sale Catalogue Completed

Timeline Auctions Catalogue March 2012

Specialist Antiquities Auction House - Timeline have just published their sale catalogue for their March 2012 sale.

I've worked with them to photography their wide variety of fascinating lots following their 'house style' guide. Larger items, such as the Indian and Islamic vessels shown (below) have been photographed on a graduated canvas with a fairly standard lighting setup to display the items in three dimensions. However, smaller items such as the jewellery and rings are shot under a unique lighting rig, so that that the delicate detail and colours are accurately reproduced.

photos by Lance Jacob

The nature of the lots (over 1000 including the specialist coin catalogue), with their fascinating history has made this a really exciting photographic commission. Some of my favorite lots include a fossil dinosaur egg (click here), the swords and armour (click here)  and the lapis jackal amulet (click here)

For more information on Timeline Auction's sale, held in London on 14-17 March 2012 visit their web site
http://www.timelineauctions.com/auction/14/

Computer repair of the week

When a client brought me a laptop last week that would no longer connect to the internet, I suspected another case of 'dead router syndrome'. Having had a case of this myself recently it would have fitted nicely - Windows could no longer see the network over wireless and the Ethernet connection had dropped from solid, to patchy, to nothing over a few days.

On bringing the laptop back to base, it was clear that the router was blameless as my two 'known good' connections had none of it. It also failed to install any new hardware I put its way, including a 3G dongle. Reinstalling /patching the network adaptor drivers made the situation worse with drivers failing to install.

Puzzled and with the client keen to get their machine back, I went for the 'cop out option' of re-installing Windows. I hate doing this as it always feels that eats up the client's time in getting their system back the way they like it. However, in this case as the machine was used solely as an Internet terminal and almost box-fresh in its set-up it was not too much of a problem.

Result - a happy client with a machine that went straight back on the 'net as soon as Windows installed and I'd even managed to remove some freeware that had been causing issues!

Give me a call if you have a Windows PC giving you problems

Win Tickets for RHS Chelsea Flower Show with Lime Orchard

I've been working with Garden Design specialists Lime Orchard to produce a web page supporting their prize draw to win tickets for RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

The brief was to direct visitors generated through local media advertising to the web page to allow entry on-line. The entries are then collated on a back-office database to allow them to be contacted later to let them know they were successful or not!

Visit www.limeorchard.co.uk/chelsea2012 to have a look or enter yourself!

The photo top-left is one of mine also! I've had the privilege to work on a number of show gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show over the years and this picture is from 'The Marshalls Garden That Kids Really Want' that won a Silver Medal in 2008

Planning for 2012 with Lime Orchard

Had a really productive couple of days with the team at Lime Orchard Garden Design. We've been doing all the 'boring' stuff in business - assisting the bookkeepers with the VAT, PAYE and CIS, planning the cashflow and most importantly, updating the business plan for the coming 12 months!

To quote  www.startupdonut.co.uk, "planning without action is futile, while action without planning is fatal"

Photographic Commission for Auction House

I have completed my first two-week photo commission for specialist auction house Timeline. They specialise in antiquities and ancient coins which I've been photographing for their website and forethcoming catalogue. Some really diveres lots - from 70million year old dinosaur eggs to Egyptian Shabis to a metal baby feeder that's probably 300+ years old!

I quite enjoyed getting the detail out of this Chinese gilt-bronze Tang dragon vase:

More information can be found at http://www.timelineauctions.com/lot/gilt-bronze-tang-style-dragon-vase/6481/

My Services

Admin Support 
I have a wealth of experience in setting up, managing and documenting business procedures, both on-line and off-line. Maybe you need assistance in running an event or covering staff absence for a fixed period. 

Contact me to discuss how I can help.

ICT Support

Specialising in setting up cost effective, no-nonsense computer based systems using the best in open-source and cloud-based software which are ideal for small businesses. Maybe you would like help getting your web presence up to date? Perhaps you would like to learn more about Social Networking, I can help.

I start by spending some time getting to know your business and its needs before making tailored recommendation.

   

Photography

I can provide a number of cost-effective photographic solutions for your business, including:

• product illustrations for brochures and web
• event and award photography 
• formal and informal portraits