{"id":52054,"date":"2022-05-11T10:08:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T17:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=52054"},"modified":"2022-05-11T10:08:37","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T17:08:37","slug":"selmer-sax-positions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2022\/selmer-sax-positions\/","title":{"rendered":"Selmer Sax Positions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past couple of weeks I have been doing a lot of photography; photographic edits; and bass sax playing. Since my Mark VI is soon going to be moving to its new home, I decided I should take a really good set of photos of it before it left. I also thought a set of photos of it, together with what will be my new<\/em> alto, would make a perfect pairing in the series of photos that I am calling: Sax Positions.<\/p>\n

\"Selmer<\/a><\/p>\n

Are these 2 photos even of the same horns?<\/h3>\n

A number of years ago we set up a quasi photo studio in our sunroom. We even went to the trouble of making our own studio lights.<\/p>\n

However, more recently the sunroom has become an art studio full of canvases, easels, paints, etc, and the studio lights have been converted to hummingbird feeder heaters for the winter. (Don’t ask. \ud83d\ude09  )<\/p>\n

This means that on those rare occasions when I do want to photograph any saxophones, it is a major undertaking to clean up some space to do so. And lighting? Forget about it. I am at the whim of the massive 7′ X 8′ windows, and always time my photos when the lighting is perfect? \ud83d\ude06 <\/p>\n

Even on a perfectly overcast day, minute changes in lighting change not only the brightness, but also the colour of the instruments I am photographing. Look no further than the altos in the above photo. <\/p>\n

Lighting is everything<\/h3>\n

Why am I going on about this? Because they are Selmers, and with Selmers, finish is 50% +\/- the value of a horn.<\/p>\n

Since these saxes are not for sale online, and the buyer for my Mark VI has known this alto as long as I have had it, it’s really not an issue. However, if I was going to sell these instruments online somehow, and would-be buyers only had the photos to go on, the photos could really potentially change what I see in the sale.  <\/p>\n

I could have fiddled with the various lighting settings in Photoshop and made them look the same, or at least similar to each other. Better yet, I could have reshot the originals to make sure the lighting was consistent on all the photos in the series. However, since I am not publishing a book on the subject, nor am I putting together ad copy, I opted instead to leave the photos as they were. In fact, the photos in their natural state are indicative of exactly what I’m trying to show: lighting is everything.<\/p>\n

What colour are the horns really you ask? Depending on what kind of monitor you are using\u2014yup, monitors play a major role in both colour and lighting\u2014you are likely not seeing exactly the same thing I am. I can tell you however, that the image on the right is the one that most closely resembles the colour tone and hue of both the Mark VI and the Super Action 80 Series I. <\/p>\n

How lighting trickles down to sale price <\/h3>\n

Over the years there have been quite a few Selmers that have popped up on eBay and other online sales sites, which have generated a fair amount of discussion about their finish. These horns always generate questions such as: Is the finish original? Has it been relacquered? Has the lacquer aged naturally? Are we seeing engraving that has been re-cut? Etc. etc. etc. <\/p>\n

Some of the most expensive vintage Selmers are those with the most ostensibly unique, original lacquer finishes. Now I’m not saying that any of those horns were or weren’t what they sellers claimed them to be. I am simply making the point that through either intentional manipulation of lighting, or inadvertent changes in lighting, any sax can be made to look vastly different.<\/p>\n

This makes buying a pricey sax online from anyone other than an established, reputable dealer who uses a professional photographer or professional photographs\u2014such as PM Woodwind<\/a>, Get A Sax<\/a>, or someone else of that ilk\u2014a bit of a dicey proposition. Furthermore, the costs of these photos are in part, why dealers incur higher costs than John_Sax13!%* (not a real person \ud83d\ude09  ) who is selling a similar sax on eBay or Reverb. <\/p>\n

How do you take great sax photos? <\/h3>\n

Saxophones are inanimate objects, and fall into the still life category\u2014unless they are being played, which would be a whole other conversation. And thanks to the Internet, there are no shortage of places you can go to find information about photography.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of places to help you get started: Cambridge in Colour,<\/a> (really good site to help you in all areas of photography), Still Life Photography Guide<\/a>, and Shotkit’s Guide to Product Photos<\/a> (complete with videos) \ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n

If you’re like me and still like paper, years ago when I first got into digital photography I bought some books by Scott Kelby<\/a>. Those books are still my go-to reference manuals for almost everything photography related. Scott is known as THE Photoshop guy for a reason, and I also use his books as my Photoshop reference tools. <\/p>\n

Although none of the above-noted resources discuss how to take sax photos, they do assist you in taking great photos. One part of taking great photos is of course what I’ve said multiple times already: Lighting is everything.<\/p>\n

You can use a cheap camera with great lighting and end up with way better photos than a person with an expensive camera who shot the same image in crap lighting conditions. (OK, there are list of other variables like lenses, camera settings, tripods, shutter release cables, in-camera processing, software, etc. etc. etc, but let’s just leave it here for now. This is a saxophone site after all, not a photo site. \ud83d\ude09 ) <\/p>\n

I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours<\/h3>\n

I have just updated the software that allows you to attach images etc. with your comments. If you’ve got some photos of your horns that you’d like to share that you’re especially proud of\u2014or that were an epic fail\u2014please share them. Fingers crossed I have the settings on the software set correctly. If I don’t, I have no idea what we’re going see. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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