...Come Watson, the game is afoot.

Yes, I am a Sherlock Holmes fan. :-)) First, many, MANY thanks to Dean Heard. If you're wanting to take better photos, read his current journal article and check out the website from the link he provides. The site has helped me out, there were at least 3 tips that has made a difference for me.

As a test, I took my 1857 Half Eagle, and tried some more photos, and the results were amazing (at least to me). I'm going to experiment more, especially on my silver coins and proofs. If things keep going as they are right now, I'll be having new photos to put up soon.

My two biggest concerns were sharpness and luster. I feel I am making huge strides on the sharpness, and small ones on the luster.

I realize that my photos will not be professional, auction catalog quality, but I feel they'll show my coins to good advantage. The reason I say this, I consigned some coins to the current Stack's Event internet auction, and their photos are AWESOME!!! But they (I would assume) probably have the professional equipment that I'm not willing to pay for. I have a Pentax Optimo digital cam that I'm really happy with.

Anyway, I'm posting the obverse of my 1857 Half Eagle that I just took. Please compare it withy the pic in my registry set and see for yourselves. As always, comments and suggestions are really welcome.