The guys are returning to talking about Watch Photography! It’s been a long time since the topic has come up on air and needless to say the guys have a lot more to say on the subject. From gear, the photography rat race, and the general weirdness of choosing to focus on only photographing watches, this week’s show is a good one.
This week’s episode was only made possible by Alexander James Watches. AJ is a watch modder based in Chicago Illinois whose looking to create a really cool 40mm diver with some very unique dial choices for well under $400. My personal favorite is the snowflake/frost textured dial with the black bezel, which you guys have to see. Check out AJ’s Kickstarter Campaign below!
NDR001 KickStarter
Random Rob Videos on AJ Watches: Video 1 | Video 2
The Alexander James Watches Main Site
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Show Notes:
Kaz’s Setup
Mike’s Setup
Other Links:
- Laco Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven
- @watchesoff
- @Chadwright
- @Ikemadethis
- @ea8
- @goldenhourtime
- @detroitwatchguy
Nice episode, as always, but a bit disappointed to hear commercials now in your podcast. I thought you would never accept sponsors to keep your independence.
Hey, Matt:
Really happy you enjoyed this week’s show. I just wanted to address the notion of having episodes supported by sponsoring impacting our independence. We always let everyone know that we don’t charge for reviews because THAT does impact our independence (which creates an unrealistic journalistic environment, which isn’t fair to you). However with that said, a sponsored episode is not a review. The idea of a sponsored shout out is the opportunity to share with our audience cool things we think are happening in the horology community. Plus, they are another way that Mike and I can keep TBWS afloat and support our future.
The reality is that we turn away about 99% of the sponsored requests that we receive because a lot of the stuff out there just isn’t worthy of your time. But every now and then something does come across our way that is a good fit, and this was one of those cases. I understand it’s a deviation from what’s normal, but it’s not a decision we came to lightly.
I hope the above info is helpful but if you have any additional questions or anything please totally let me know what’s up. Mike and I are just trying to navigate all these different elements to keep TBWS afloat and to ensure that everyone benefits.
Thanks,
-Kaz
The most interesting in the entire discussion is an offhand remark near the end of the show about tripods letting you use one hand to wave back and forth a piece of paper. That is what photographing watches is all about: controlling light, avoiding reflections, lighting up part of the watch or background,… I would have loved to hear more about that and less about the gear. Still a fun episode, though!
Totally – after the show Mike and I were saying we wanted to talk about those aspects more. Something to look forward to for Watch Photography Part 3! Or possible a Patreon episode.
Hi Kaz, thank you for having taken the time to explain the concept behind the sponsored episodes. Fair enough. Anyway the TBWS podcast is always the best way for me to start the week.
That Fujinon 35mm is not an f1.2 lens but f2.
In watch terms that’s the equivalent of claiming a Seiko 5 has an 8 day power reserve.
Yea after we recorded I realized I misspoke – my apologies.
With all the advances in mobile phone cameras (including shooting RAW), gimbals, portable lights, etc it would be interesting to get your views in Part #3 if that could replace all the traditional photography gear.