Deer Slayer

[mikerault]

Not exactly what Hawkeye would have used, but if he would have had the chance...

started with a full military mauser, circa 1938, put it in a new stock, reblued as needed, added a wrap-around scope mount, a Nikon 3x9 with BDC and bipod (just for sighting-in, will replace it with a strap for hunting.)

[folville]

That's a beautiful action; I'm sure it has and will continue to serve you well! For purposes of the photo I would probably have taken off the scope caps and attempted slightly more "dramatic" lighting, and watch your horizon!

[mikerault]

This any better? I'm looking for a warm look, natural light.

[tomcat360]

Is the deer frequently out of focus? Hehe couldn't resist, it is a Canon forum! Pretty rifle, the second looks more natural and warm, but the carpet is distracting me.

[Wader55901]

Can you tell us how you lit this shot?

[mikerault]

Like I said, natural light (as defined as a overhead incandescent lights (2-40 watt) about 10 feet above and just in front, a regular lamp (60 watt) with the shade tilted toward the rifle on an end table to the left about 4 feet from the rifle and the fire behind it. I used a setting of f8.0 to try to improve the depth of field and no flash. The camera was on a tripod but no cable remote switch was used, I could get better focus using a cable release and I may try that tonight. I used a Canon 20D with a 17x85mm Canon IS/USM lens. 30mm and 1 second exposure time.

[Big Hands]

Well, since the EXIF info is (apparently) not present, I will have to make some assumptions.

I'm certainly no expert, but here are my observations:

1) I understand you're looking for 'warmth', but it looks to me like you may have the white balance set to AWB or something other than the incandescent setting, hence the greenish/yellowish cast rather than what I would sense as a warm cast. I would try some different white balance settings. Maybe even

2a) Something about shooting from so far above the subject is just not working for me. I would try some different angles and focal lengths to get a more pleasing perspective.

2b) Even if you feel you like shooting from above, since you are shooting with a somewhat wider angle, I would use the 'transform-skew' tool to plumb the vertical lines of the fireplace frame. You will have to shoot fairly loose to be able to do this, but I think you can make the shot more about the subject (the rifle) by doing so.

3) I would also try a few using a larger aperture to render the fireplace (and it's contents) out of focus, thus placing the emphasis and observer's attention clearly on the subject. But you'll have to be careful because the field of focus will have quite a curve to it so you may have to use that small aperture to have the center of the rifle and both ends all in focus. To get around this, you may have to try moving the rifle further away from the fireplace which could complicate things even further.

You have the "Image Editing OK" button switched on, so I took the liberty of playing with one of your shots a bit to illustrate some of my points. I don't know if you shot this loose enough to be able to do this (use 'transform/skew' to correct the keystone effect), but I think it's more pleasing to have the angles corrected. I would also like to see the flames of the fireplace all there rather than cutting of the top of them. The rifle doesn't have to be in the center, it could be lower in the frame and still command attention as the subject.

At any rate, your subject is not living, so it will pose for you as long as you want it to and will stay in any position you can get it into so it's all up to your instincts and imagination as to how you can get a shot you really like.

The concept is there, it just up to you to make the composition, settings and post processing actions work for you. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I think it needs more work to turn this idea from a snapshot into a photograph, but I think it can be done. I'm also interested to see where you take it from here, so keep 'em coming.

Regards,
Jeff

[tomd]

Is there any way to turn the eye piece on the scope so that the sticker is not visible in the picture?

[stathunter]

When I read the title I thought it was going to be the Ithaca shotgun "DeerSlayer" model. Second your white balance is off.......easy fix but it is. Also--- don't leave the gun in front of the fire place too long.....not a good thing. Now go out and shoot something.......with your camera.

[alexf9496]

Which Mauser action did you use? Nice project.

[mikerault]

This is an original large ring M98, still has the Swastica and Eagle stamps on the barrel and action. Future work might be to drift off the rear sight base and trim and recrown the barrel to eliminate the blade site, but I would need to use a professional gunsmith to do that work.

I'll try resetting the WB tonight and play more with the ap settings and do some more shots.

Mike

[alexf9496]

Shoot some closeups of the proofs and stamps. Did you have it rechambered or is it still 8mm?

[mikerault]

Still 8mm. Afraid I would have to dissasemble it (the scopemount is a wrap-around with a barrel clamp) to shoot the marks...

[mikerault]

There was a M98 on the receiver, one Whemacht Eagle (no number) on the receiver and 2 on the barrel, the barrel has a 17 stamed on it and the side of the receiver has what looks like a 2 or a Z in a circle. The trigger housing on the part after the magazine has a qnw stamed on it. The bolt is blued with a parkerized guide rail. The bolt has all matching serials of 117 with a turned down (not wide arc) handle.

[mikerault]

Ok, reset to 3200K which should correspond to incandescent, other than that should be same lighting as before. I set the tripod lower, set horizon to the top of the fireplace and manually focused on the rifle. I also re-attached the bipod to a more stable configuration. I then took a series of shots from f4.5 up to f22 using a cable remote. Here are the results

26mm f22 8 sec exposure 400 iso



26mm f11 2 sec exposure 400 iso



26mm f8 1 sec exposure 400 iso



26mm f4.5 3/10 sec exposure 400 iso



Mike