Show off your little gemstones

[VapidLapid]

a purple spinel .94 ct


a blue spinel .75 ct


a blue spinel .86 ct

 

[blithesome71]

Mine, a tiny .98ct EC gem Amazonite (Vietnam)

 

[VapidLapid]

Two tiny spinel, one an uncut macle .40 ct, the other smaller



a tiny rainbow moonstone about 3mm x 4 mm

 

[VapidLapid]

a .43 carat color change garnet with a charming romantic couple on beach on the shores of the Hudson River now occupied by a nuclear power plant

 

[GemFever]

Awww, it is so cute how the garnet is looking toward the water in the last pic. Lovely

Really enjoying all these stones and photography! I need to dust off my camera myself.

 

[minousbijoux]

You have to watch those color change garnets every second! Was it responsible for the development of the nuclear power plant, or was it the couple?

I love your blue spinel. No, I mean it. It is only the second pure, saturated, blue spinel I have seen. The first being Jewel Freak's amazing avatar blue spinel (oh, forget I mentioned it here, since its <gasp!> well over the 1 carat mark.

I have a lot of littlies, but they're not calling me to take their picture tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[minousbijoux]

Thanks.
When I walk the dogs I'm always looking for a little plants and flowers to steal from my neighbors' yards.
Certain shapes, patterns, colors, textures, and sizes of plant life feel right with certain FCDs.
The plant hunt is not easy since the FCDs are so tiny.
I often spot flowers that would be perfect for a 20 ct FCD.

The hardest FCD to fit into a composition is that little Red.
Besides being only 10 points it doesn't like letting a lot of reflective light out; it's not included but the color's just so rich.
I have a neighbor with lots of white rose blooms; maybe a little white rose bud would work.
She's really proud of her garden so I'll have to steal them late at night.

Kenny, here's the thing. Your photos are beyond nice. They're better than good; they really are works of art. How much you want to bet that the prize winning, loves-her-roses-lady would be honored to have her roses star in some of your artwork. Please consider showing her some of your photos and asking her if she is willing to let some of her roses follow their calling to the red carpet...

I actually truly mean it Kenny. I think its time you create a way for folks like us to purchase limited edition prints of your gem photos. Can you imagine going to gem shows and selling them?! For connoisseurs like us, I bet you'd sell out on the first day.

 

[kenny]

mb you are too kind.

I'd love to generate some revenue from my photogrpahy because believe it or not my situation has changed since getting cancer and I can really use additional revenue.
I am too young to be doing so but I'm draining my 401K now.
I am considering selling some assets that I really don't want to sell.

You should see these macro pics, full screen on a large monitor at full resolution in RAW uncompressed format.
It is like your first time seeing an IMAX film.
There is no comparison, to the 4 inch low-resolution compressed images we are stuck with here on PS.

The main thing is I have going for me is gear that can magnify many times more than the gear most other people have.
We are all bombarded with zillions of images daily, BUT rarely experience detail you can almost reach out and touch in a dandelion seed puff.
Everyone has a macro lens but you can get gear that goes way way beyond that.
Then there's a slew of techniques to squeezing the maximum sharpness out of the fancy gear.

If I were to get into this for money I'd lose my civilian status, would become a PS trade member, and you know how much I love being a smartie pants.

 

[kenny]

Hey, since we all know each other so well now do you mind if I show you my butts?
Here is my FCD collection up side down.
You are looking at the pavilions.

It's actually interesting the two with the best light performance look the darkest up side down - the white round (a 22 point D IF super ideal cut, and the 26 point Fancy Intense Green round, which has astonishing light performance for an FCD, even for a white diamond.
Oddly you can't really judge the light performance of the others based on how they look up side down.
That large pear on the left has fantastic light performance but it looks like it has windowing when seen up side down.
What looks like windowing is actually the result of how I have lit them, facets are simply reflecting overhead light.

Also FCDs are cut to mazimize the color face up, so it is really cruel to display them up side down. - but I think it's interesting and educational.

This pic is a couple months old.
IIRC there is light coming from both underneath the stones and above them.

 

[cm366]

Minous, I have to agree - Kenny, you have lovely stones and great taste! If you're concerned about losing your 'civilian' status and the opportunity to share your wit (which I appreciate!), what about kicking off a blog with images available and a Paypal tip jar for voluntary honorariums? I know a couple of photographers who do so and still consider themselves amateurs...?

Meanwhile, my little reddish-pink and blue guys are late to the party!

 

[minousbijoux]

Well I'd love to help you any way I could, because I really believe on a few levels your photos would work:

1) they, artistically speaking, are well organized and laid out. In other words, your composition is excellent.

2) they are colorful - who isn't looking for a certain color piece of art "to go with..." from time to time?

3) they take something that many people love - diamonds - and present them in a whole new way. Its almost a trompe l'oeuil that what looks like a giant stone sitting next to a pile of melons, say, is really a very tiny fellow sitting next to a bunch of pollen spores?

4) you sell them matted and framed at high end galleries and art or gem fairs only.

That puts you in the trade of photography or high end art, doesn't it? Is a photographer famous for their cat photos automatically in the cat trade?

I just know you could be the next Thomas Kincaid of diamond art - I know that right there will be the deciding factor for you, right hun?

 

[minousbijoux]

What is truly interesting about your butts is how different they look colorwise. I wouldn't say that any look windowed, because you can see the facets and can easily imagine that if reversed, those facets would be catching all sorts of light. But just look at the hue of your heart and your green - the color looks so different than right side up. Wow.

 

[kenny]

Thank you so much.
You have my mind going now.

It does have the feeling of something meant to be.

 

[GemFever]

Kenny, I'm so sorry to hear about your cancer. I hope you beat it quickly and make a complete recovery.

I also am amazed at your photos. I've actually been thinking about gemstone photography for a while... my thoughts are tied in with the fact that people often keep their best pieces in storage at the bank, without easy access to them most of the time. Also, you can't wear all your favorite pieces all the time, but sometimes you still want to show them off . I think this is where a professional and talented gemstone/jewelry photographer would come in. He/she would make beautiful photographs that could either be framed, or put into an album for leisurely enjoyment (and a reminder of all the stuff hidden away in the safety deposit box). I guess this would have to be a traveling photographer, if we were talking about the jewels of PSers. And it would have to be someone you really trust, I guess.

Conclusion: I think about jewelry too much. And your photographs are amazing

 

[VapidLapid]

Selling photographic art is a tough business. Perhaps you could be the next in house photographer for Pala, &/or do product shots for high end jewelers. Think of all the stones you could play with that way!

 

[kenny]

My butts have been viewed 7 times.

OH NO!!

 

[minousbijoux]

Have you ever talked with Jeffrey Hunt? He is really easy to talk to, full of enthusiasm and love for art and stones. He is just a really nice guy who happens to take amazing shots of gemstones. His are very different than yours. His can be quite moody. Yours are much easier to approach, partly because of the vivid colors. Anyway, I bet he'd love to talk with you - he seems to be constantly trying new things and initiating new ventures. As you probably know, he's one of the founders of the Green Gem Foundation.

Okay, I'll give up and go to bed. But tomorrow morning, I expect to see you selling in the top galleries around.

 

[TravelingGal]

Tanzigirl, that is a lovely way to use all those stones!

Kenny, you really should start something. I love your photos (and your art). Your photos are delicious and always make me smile. I'd buy prints in frames and put them up in my office (I love photography and love gems, what a mix!) I'd hate to bring it a "commercial" level, but I'd love even a calendar, or thank you cards saying "you're a gem!"

But it's art...and really just wonderful.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Thanks! Yeah, it was pretty random. I had all of these stones after trading in the gold and it was a case of "now what." I love what Courtney did for setting them. I had no idea how I'd ever use all those stones together with different colors, shapes, and sizes without it looking a complete mess. I do like how it turned out.

 

[Enerchi]

Kenny

Would you consider starting a "Kenny's FCD Photography" thread??? I love each and every shot you post on your gorgeous stones!!! You are so creative and we all enjoy looking at bling and creative ideas! I would love to see all the pics you've taken! I'm sure there are tons more you are filtering out - but if you had your own thread ----- we'd go nuts on it!!!

Please think about it - you are a very talented man behind a camera!

 

[sapphirering]

kenny, your dandelion photos are gorgeous. Any more you can share? One way you can try selling your photos is to approach boutiques and storefronts to see if they are interested in hanging your photographs for sale. Starting a blog is a great idea to market yourself, too.

I have long thought about photographing my jewelry with clippings of potato vines intertwining through the pieces but with two kids... you know. But your photos have totally inspired me. Off to find my table tripod- I'm sure it's somewhere in storage along with old infant clothes and toys.

 

[kenny]

I would love to see all the pics you've taken! I'm sure there are tons more you are filtering out,

Thanks all.

Nobody wants to show their rejects.
They are rejects.
But for fun I'll show this one and explain why I rejected it.



Here's that natural 10-point Red diamond I paid a zillion bucks for.
Such a gem deserves all of a photographer's kindness, skill, and respect.

The main problem with this pic is it doesn't say RED.
Too much orange was picked up from the flower, since I placed the diamond too deeply into the flower.
A pic of the earth's rarest diamond color should at least say red; actually it should sing Red with the grace, emotion and conviction of Maria Callas, that opera diva.

The depth of focus (aka depth of field) is too shallow.
I was probably at f4 when I should have been at f11 or f8.
Or I was not focused deeply enough into the diamond (below the table).
I don't like the blobby shapes and patterns that the diamond happened to pick up from its environment.
Moving things around may have helped.
While some of the pics I'm pleased with can take hours, a rare one just happens on the first try.

The right side of the diamond just blends into the flower.

Also the combination of the particular shades and saturation levels of these three colors (blue, orange and red) doesn't feel flattering to me.
The diamond's the star so that blue should be more quiet, the orange too (actually the orange was a stupid choice).

Who wants to see a pic of the world's most beautiful woman caught coughing?
Stupid me.

 

[jstarfireb]

Small gemstones are my specialty! I can't afford anything with decent color in a larger stone and still be able to have the broad collection I'm proud of. Here are a few...

Two ~0.85ct mint garnets:


~0.9ct grape purple spinel


Top 2 stones are under 1ct (can't remember if the largest stone is). Tourmalines and magenta sapphire:


Blue/purple color-shift spinel:


Two <1ct tsavorites:


~0.8ct tsavorite:


Green zoisite, Wollo opal, and tanzanite, all <1ct:


Garnet, spinel, alexandrite, moonstone, demantoid, and blue tourmaline:


4mm benitoite:

 

[GemFever]

Jstarfireb: nice collection! I love the pendant... and the spinel and the garnets.. eh, I like them all!

 

[Starzin]

Thanks everyone for some inspirational pics of "littlies" ! Loving what some of you have done with them.

Kenny what about starting with something like Zazzle? http://www.zazzle.com/art Check the Art posters > photo prints section. Disclaimer: I know nothing about setting up a store here! I agree that your photography skills with diamonds are brilliant, thanks again for the dandelion seed pics

 

[bluebirrrd]

VL, what a fun color change garnet!

Zazzle is a very creative place. I've not spent a ton of time there, but I've made one or two projects and loved them. I remember thinking how cool it was that people could create their own storefronts, though I don't know at all how that works.

jstarfireb, I think I've seen your pair of mint garnets before. Are you ever tempted to use them in earrings?

 

[T L]

Very nice thread and lovely pieces. I just bought a half carat tsavorite from Tan that I cannot get a decent photo of for the life of me, but here it is anyways.

I love small stones and I like to collect them in order to eventually make a larger multi-stone piece, and they're great for stackers too, or if you just love small stones for jewelry in general.

 

[colorluvr]

I hope you'll forgive me the tiny fudge over 1ct, but she's got some size issues right now (lost 47% of her body ) and would love to be shown off for the beauty she became... showing that size isn't everything!

This started out as a 2.10ct unheated (Thai certed) green sapphire. It was a shallow stone and had a large window, so I sent it off to Jerry Newman to be recut. Because of how shallow it was, Jerry told me the only way to salvage the stone was to completely recut is, so she's a 1.11ct stone now (6.6 x 5.6 x 3.9mm) but what a sparkle fest! The first photo was taken out doors sitting in a glass dish. The second photo makes it look more blue than it is IRL.

I have no idea how to set it, perhaps a stacker some day. Jerry recut a peachy/pink color shifter spinel for me in the same pattern that turned out just a hair larger, so maybe they would both make nice stackers.

 

[colorluvr]

I also have this sunset quartz that was sold by Scott (AmericanThai). It's .78ct - 7.25 x 5.18 x 3.66mm and I have an itty bitty Alexandrite (certed by AIGS as moderate color change) that is .0375ct.

 

[jstarfireb]

jstarfireb, I think I've seen your pair of mint garnets before. Are you ever tempted to use them in earrings?

No, they're slightly different in color, clarity size, and cutting. The older one is from Gemrite and is slightly more yellowish and has eye-visible inclusions; the newer one is from Barry and is slightly more bluish and eye-clean. I'm actually considering selling the older one (in the yellow gold ring) because I don't wear it much now that I have the newer one in rose gold.