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Cyber Smiths International Logo
Cyber Smiths Int.
Volume 26 - Page 11 of 15 June 2002
ABANA Conference 2002
More sights and photo adjustment
Photos by Spencer Meffert (c) 2002 anvilfire.com
Universal Blacksmith This is an unusual combination tool. For one thing it looks like it might actually be usefull. On the front it has a shear and punch. On the top it has a tire shrinker. I can't tell about the back but it looks to also have a bender and other widgets. Tailgating is a fine art among dealers of blacksmith tools and equipment. Many invest a great deal in trailers, vans and displays then practice the art at small regional meets. But the big conferences are are also the big sales oppurtunities for the tailgaters.

And they provide many wonderous things to see!
Anvil and Vise: This demonstrators setup looks quite handy. The vise has had the bench mount replaced with a shank to fit the hardy hole in the anvil. The bottom of the leg sets into a block that is part of the anvil stand.

I would not want to use this setup every day but the vise is easily removed and set out of the way. A definite idea for the mental scrapbook.

More Sights A big conference is like an industrial three ring circus.
Photos in the anvilfire NEWS
1. Original cropped 2. Gamma and contrast 3. Color balance, lighten

Almost every photo we use is extensively reworked. The example above is typical. We prefer non-flash photos because of glare and intense shadow produced by built-in flash units. So, many of our images are quite dark to start with. And, in the case of the tents at the ABANA conference everything was bathed in a red light. Natural lighting in the shade also tends to have too much blue.

The first step is to select an image. In this case we had approximately 300 images to sort through and are STILL in the process two weeks later. . . This often involves lightening each image just to see if its usable. The next step is to crop the image. A good photographer makes the best use of the frame but doesn't crop too close. The photo editor must make those decisions.

Then the image is lightened enough to work with if necessary. Gamma, light and contrast are adjusted. Then the color balance is adjusted. Most of the under tent images were adjusted to -27% red and -5% blue. After adjusting the color the light and contrast is adjusted again. Then the image is resized to fit the final format and the lighting adjusted a final time. This is necessary because the image often becomes too dense when reduced in size.

Yes, we do this to EVERY image you see on these pages . . . and THEN we have to identify them and come up with captions!!!
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June 2002 Edition
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Copyright © 2002 by Jock Dempsey
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