Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 20th April 2010, 11:55 PM

Hienz, I do not consider this to be a useless thread, on the contrary, I consider it to be quite valuable, because it has allowed us to come to terms with a recurring problem.

That problem is the presentation of images of keris that will permit a fair comment to be made in respect of the keris.

The problem with the images that you posted is not so much in the actual photography, but in the processing of the image data after you took the photograph. Regrettably much of what we see in a digital photograph depends upon what we do with the image data that the camera has collected.

What you need to do is to crop, re-size and rotate your image before you post it.

To do this you need some sort of software.

I use Photoshop, which is pretty much like using a 12 gauge shotgun to kill a mouse, but there are a number of free photo processing programs that can be downloaded from the web.

Perhaps somebody with more knowledge in this subject than I have can make some recommendations?

Sirek

Thanks for your new image. Yes, that's good, we can now see pretty much what this keris looks like.

However, as I have already noted:- it is an image of a keris, not a keris.

Because of this any remarks that are made are always subject to the caution that an opinion can be altered if the actual keris were to be examined.

For me, there are several slightly confusing elements in your keris. Some of these elements point to a Madura origin, some point to a Central Javanese origin, some could be interpreted as East Javanese, but not Madura --- Madura is a part of East Jawa.

Based upon what I can see, I would only be prepared to say that this keris is probably Javanese --- which doesn't really tell you any more than you knew before we started.

EDIT re software

Hienz, you may care to have a look at this page:-

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pix...eephotoedw.htm

20th April 2010, 11:55 PM	#15
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Hienz, I do not consider this to be a useless thread, on the contrary, I consider it to be quite valuable, because it has allowed us to come to terms with a recurring problem. That problem is the presentation of images of keris that will permit a fair comment to be made in respect of the keris. The problem with the images that you posted is not so much in the actual photography, but in the processing of the image data after you took the photograph. Regrettably much of what we see in a digital photograph depends upon what we do with the image data that the camera has collected. What you need to do is to crop, re-size and rotate your image before you post it. To do this you need some sort of software. I use Photoshop, which is pretty much like using a 12 gauge shotgun to kill a mouse, but there are a number of free photo processing programs that can be downloaded from the web. Perhaps somebody with more knowledge in this subject than I have can make some recommendations? Sirek Thanks for your new image. Yes, that's good, we can now see pretty much what this keris looks like. However, as I have already noted:- it is an image of a keris, not a keris. Because of this any remarks that are made are always subject to the caution that an opinion can be altered if the actual keris were to be examined. For me, there are several slightly confusing elements in your keris. Some of these elements point to a Madura origin, some point to a Central Javanese origin, some could be interpreted as East Javanese, but not Madura --- Madura is a part of East Jawa. Based upon what I can see, I would only be prepared to say that this keris is probably Javanese --- which doesn't really tell you any more than you knew before we started. EDIT re software Hienz, you may care to have a look at this page:- http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pix...eephotoedw.htm Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 21st April 2010 at 12:08 AM.