With another year in the history books, it’s time for GaryG to move his prior year’s photos from his desktop computer into backup storage while scanning through them to pick out his personal favorites from the past 12 months to share with us. Enjoy!
How time flies! It seems like only yesterday that GaryG penned an article about wristshots. But that was back in 2015. And in 2017 that he posted thoughts and images on how to – and how not to – take watch photographs for sharing. It seemed to Gary that it’s about time for an update on both – as while some things remain the same, much has changed.
Welcome to a new installment of “Behind the Lens.” This time our subject is the Patek Philippe Advanced Research Reference 5550P, a truly lovely perpetual calendar with some interesting technical twists.
If you like watches at all, you have certainly seen wristshots and perhaps you have even posted a few of your own. Like the selfie, wristshots seem to be ubiquitous these days. But where did wristshots come from, why do they exist, and what are the pitfalls to look out for? GaryG shares a few tips on what he has learned works and what doesn’t.
As most folks who follow Patek Philippe are aware, the brand has long been in the habit of making unique watches for special customers, including in recent times entertainment luminaries such as Eric Clapton and Michael Ovitz. It was not until 2015, however, that Patek Philippe publicly issued a number of small editions of previously discontinued references, each in previously unmade metal/dial combinations. This Patek Philippe Reference 5070J-013 is one of those ultra-rare birds. And GaryG wonders if it might bring yellow gold back into fashion single-handedly, as for him the combination of the yellow gold case and sunburst-brushed brown dial is as gorgeous as it is unexpected.
A generous friend offered GaryG the opportunity to shoot his white gold Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II so that Gary is able to share delightful photos of both his custom pink gold Chronograph II in comparison with his friend’s custom white gold version.
From the torrent of really well done watch photos appearing on Instagram and other media these days, it appears as though lots of watch enthusiasts have been spending at least some of their time in COVID-19-induced shutdowns polishing their macro photography and wrist shooting. And GaryG is among them. Here he shares a few of the thousands of photos he has taken recently using a new-to-him flash style.
GaryG recently enjoyed the opportunity to check out three of his friends’ rare Patek Philippe pieces, all with salmon dials: Reference 5059G-018 and Reference 3940G-029 perpetual calendars from Patek Philippe’s Vintage Collection and a unique piece Reference 5270G. And he shares his thoughts and stunning photos with us here.
It’s already time for the latest update in GaryG`s series of articles providing a completely subjective, unscientific, and unofficial history of watch photographs online. The big trend he has recently seen is the emergence of storytelling as a dominant theme in how watches are displayed. And while he lauds the rise to prominence of many more women among the population of online watch shooters and commentators, the emergence of boob shots with a watch hardly “empowers women” . . . or does it?
In the Behind the Lens series, GaryG presents great watches as seen from a variety of visual perspectives while at the same time passing along a few thoughts on what it’s like to shoot these great watches. And they don’t come much greater than the Philippe Dufour Simplicity.