Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | City, Street & Architecture | Join Upload & Sell

2 end

1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

In all my years of photographing musicians and instruments, I've never photographed a sax in the studio. Recording studios, sure, but never anywhere where I could control the lighting. And, being shiny metal, well, that just makes it all the more fun. Maybe not. This is my sister's 1979 Yanagisawa Elimona soprano sax that I had to get appraised and then documented photographically. Being 43 years old, it's not perfect, but it's still quite beautiful. As near as I can tell, the Elimona designation meant that it was made for the European market.

Most shots had some degree of focus stacking. Lenses varied from the Rodenstock 105mm Macro to the Contax 120mm Macro to the Canon 90mm t/s-e II and the Canon 50mm t/s-e and all with the GFX 100s.

Not only are these beautiful when taken in as a whole but so many of the details are equally beautiful on their own.

Yanagisawa Elimona

GFX100S Canon TS-E 50mm f/2.8L lens 50mm f/11.0 2s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

GFX100S Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L lens 90mm f/11.0 1/2s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

GFX100S Contax 645 120/4 lens 120mm f/11.0 2s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

GFX100S -- mm f/-- lens f/1.0 2s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

GFX100S -- mm f/-- lens f/1.0 1s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

GFX100S Contax 645 120/4 lens 120mm f/8.0 1/1s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Nov 22, 2022 at 03:41 PM

liggy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Nice! Saxophones can definitely be shiny

Nov 22, 2022 at 03:58 PM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

liggy wrote:
Nice! Saxophones can definitely be shiny

and that makes controlling the light a challenge. Yanagisawa is well known as one of the best soprano makers in the world. That one is really pristine. Looks like original lacquer which is a big deal for resale.

I had the predecessor to that horn with different palm keys and a one piece body. Sounded great.

I didn’t realize they made the Elimona as early as 1979.

How did you light this so evenly? Well done.

Thanks Iiggy. I did a serial number search and it was a little ambiguous, but it seemed like '79 was the most likely year. Their website is not as accurate, as, let's say, Martin guitars, where you can get down to the exact day an instrument was started. Before my sister started her downward spiral into the world of schizophrenia she was a very accomplished musician, so it doesn't surprise me that she had a good instrument.

I think you're right about the original lacquer. The lighting was pretty simple and basic. One large Chimera soft box on the left as close to the instrument as possible and an equally sized piece of white Fomecore board on the right, leaned right up against the top of the Chimera, and a bare head on the white seamless paper in the background where appropriate.

Nov 22, 2022 at 04:35 PM

Bill Gass
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Beautiful Instrument and pictures.

Nov 22, 2022 at 04:45 PM

liggy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Peter Figen wrote:
Thanks Iiggy. I did a serial number search and it was a little ambiguous, but it seemed like '79 was the most likely year. Their website is not as accurate, as, let's say, Martin guitars, where you can get down to the exact day an instrument was started. Before my sister started her downward spiral into the world of schizophrenia she was a very accomplished musician, so it doesn't surprise me that she had a good instrument.

I think you're right about the original lacquer. The lighting was pretty simple and basic. One large Chimera soft box on the...Show more →

Thanks for the details - really nice result. Sorry to hear about your sisters condition - that has to be hard. That axe is definitely worthy of top level musicianship.

I am taking advantage of the weakness of the yen vs. the dollar and have ordered a saxophone from Japan. Cannot wait - it'll be a thing to behold and play.

One of the top saxophone repair/setup companies in the world is in Japan - Ishimori. They now make their own instruments in addition to selling the usual top shelf horns. After trying a couple of their instruments out while on a business trip I knew eventually I had to have one.

Will sell one of my Selmers and it'll more than cover the Ishimori. I'll try your lighting tips. It'll be a combination of smooth shiny silver plate and frosted silver so getting it lit will be a little work.

Nov 22, 2022 at 04:47 PM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

liggy wrote:
Thanks for the details - really nice result. Sorry to hear about your sisters condition - that has to be hard. That axe is definitely worthy of top level musicianship.

I am taking advantage of the weakness of the yen vs. the dollar and have ordered a saxophone from Japan. Cannot wait - it'll be a thing to behold and play.

One of the top saxophone repair/setup companies in the world is in Japan - Ishimori. They now make their own instruments in addition to selling the usual top shelf horns. After trying a couple of their instruments out while on...Show more →

My sister used to play with a bunch of bands in the Santa Cruz area and for many years I was the only family member who understood her but now she's not too happy with me for going to court to have a conservator and special needs trust set up for her. Dealing with severe mental health issues in your family is something that no one prepares you for and when our father was still alive, all he could do was blame himself and throw money at the situation, neither of which helped. Much better to have professionals involved but still be on the sidelines advising when necessary.

It sounds like you must be a serious musician to have multiple Selmer's. Rusty Higgins, the owner of Long Beach Woodwind and Brass, and who played on a huge gig with my gf a year ago - live orchestra performance of Nightmare Before Christmas with Billie Eilish, Danny Elfman, and Weird Al - did the appraisal and told me that Yanagisawa licensed the basic design from Selmer years ago. There were more Selmer sax's in that store than I've seen in one place ever, and apparently, it's the only store in the L.A. area that will still do appraisals.

Yep. Good time to buy many things if you've got the money to spend. The Rodenstock macro that I used for a couple of these shots, and purchased through Linhof Studios in the U.K. was a great deal six months ago compared to here at about $5300 and now is about $500 less. And thankfully, I'm through spending money on guitars for the time being and back to buying photo gear.

Peter

Nov 22, 2022 at 05:51 PM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

And one more thing lighting wise, is that sometimes it's nice to hit the reflector board with a hard light that falls off, which can give a nice gradation in the metal, but that tends to happen naturally when you've got basically cylindrical objects like a straight soprano sax.

Nov 22, 2022 at 06:46 PM

liggy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

@Peter Figen That sounds rough - and I’m sure it’s just a taste of what the reality of the situation is. Hang in there!

I am serious about having a good time with music.

Met my wife on a gig 27 years ago. She blew me off initially thinking I was a quote “loser ass musician”

Against my father’s wishes I chose business school over music school and stayed a weekend warrior. Now retired I started my own band this year and am playing in a few others at the moment so I get to have fun with my horns all over the place.

Lucky for me I found most of my Selmers before the internet changed everything. Most of the time my gig horns are not the Selmers. Getting to be too nice for most of the venues I play. Had a drunk fellow knock over my silver plated Selmer tenor and the bent rod rendered it unplayable but thankfully repairable.

Re: the Yanagisawa sopranos - personally I like them better than the Selmer sopranos - especially the Mark VI.

In LA I had a great experience recently at Manny’s Horn Connection and really enjoyed Rhueben Allen’s shop in North Hollywood back in the day. A bunch of my heroes used to use his services.

After adding the X-T5 to the kit and getting my Ishimori it’s now time to downsize the sax / mouthpiece / lens / body herd. At least that is what I have promised the wifey. When we met I already had 20+ horns so she knew what she was getting into.

Nov 22, 2022 at 06:51 PM

keepclicking
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Peter, man the details you have captured is incredible! Top notch work as usual. Amazing stuff 👍🏻

Nov 22, 2022 at 07:07 PM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

liggy wrote:
@Peter Figen@ That sounds rough - and I’m sure it’s just a taste of what the reality of the situation is. Hang in there!

I am serious about having a good time with music.

Met my wife on a gig 27 years ago. She blew me off initially thinking I was a quote “loser ass musician”

Against my father’s wishes I chose business school over music school and stayed a weekend warrior. Now retired I started my own band this year and am playing in a few others at the moment so I get to have fun with my...Show more →

There are no loser ass musicians. Well, maybe a few. Just before I met my long time gf, Gee, she spent the summer after getting her master's in ethno from UCLA, working for Folklore Productions in Santa Monica and sending out my photo of Doc Watson. That was a little weird. When I met her she lived across the street from me and didn't want to tell me she played accordion. When she moved in a couple of months later she owned three accordions but now there are something like twenty-eight, including a few quite rare and expensive ones, plus half a dozen steel drums in the garage, and now we have a nice little home recording studio set up inside the photo studio where I play engineer and record remote sessions for all sorts of projects.

I spoke with Manny a few weeks ago but he no longer does appraisals and the same with a guy out in Pasadena as well. Apparently if that's what you need, your only option is Long Beach, at least here in L.A.

So, while I live with a professional musician, I'm just a couch player every night for a couple of hours. I know where my limits are but am slowly getting better.

Nov 22, 2022 at 07:26 PM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

keepclicking wrote:
Peter, man the details you have captured is incredible! Top notch work as usual. Amazing stuff 👍🏻

Thanks Parul. These were more time consuming that I had planned, but then I sorta got into exploring the subject and spent a week on it.

Nov 22, 2022 at 07:27 PM

Rajan Parrikar
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Splendid set. My pick is the very first one, with the TS-E 50.

Nov 23, 2022 at 06:45 AM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Rajan Parrikar wrote:
Splendid set. My pick is the very first one, with the TS-E 50.

Thanks Rajan. I like 'em all for different reasons, or I would not have posted them. My self assignment was the documentation of the instrument for the lawyers involved (and there are always lawyers, aren't there?) and during the process I just kept discovering tidbits and followed wherever that led. At some point you have to say to yourself, "I'm done here" and then mean it.

Nov 23, 2022 at 08:27 AM

Danpbphoto
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Just beautiful images Peter!
The crispness, detail..light

Happy Thanksgiving!
Dan

Nov 23, 2022 at 10:16 AM

mikeengles
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Excellent images, but how did you get it so clean?

Nov 23, 2022 at 10:43 AM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

mikeengles wrote:
Excellent images, but how did you get it so clean?

Clean? It's actually kinda not clean being over forty years old, but I did actually go in with a PEC Pad on a stick dipped in Windex and clean in a lot of the nooks and crevices. Lots of what looked like tiny hairs that might have been from sitting in the case for many years. But the overall "clean" look comes from the lighting. Whenever you're shooting shiny metal, you need large, broad light surfaces and reflectors. Since you are basically photographing a mirrored surface, and a curved one at that, you have to control just what it is that is seen in the reflections - so primarily the large softbox, the large Fomecore reflector, and in the first shot, a piece of white seamless with a hole cut in it and slipped over the lens to work on front reflections. And then retouching out the reflections of me that did show up a couple of times. Those are always a surprise.

Nov 23, 2022 at 12:10 PM

Desmolicious
Online
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Stunning work as always Peter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 23, 2022 at 12:54 PM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Desmolicious wrote:
Stunning work as always Peter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks Huss. Did you ever get over to see all of our work (and David Zaitz's as well) on the wall at Korn Ferry?

Nov 23, 2022 at 01:01 PM

cwebster
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

Excellent photos Peter. Object lessons in how to light and shoot shiny round objects!

Nov 23, 2022 at 01:39 PM

Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · 1979 Yanagisawa Soprano Sax

cwebster wrote:
Excellent photos Peter. Object lessons in how to light and shoot shiny round objects!

Thank you. I know you appreciate that. It still all goes back to the "shiny metal" assignment at Art Center back in 1982. I still have the staple gun I bought for that assignment, and after all these years, there's still a visceral satisfaction in shooting shiny metal - when you get it right - that makes is so satisfying. They always told us to make sure to NOT make it look like plastic.

Nov 23, 2022 at 01:51 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| City, Street & Architecture \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end