There have been many articles on how to photograph a pocket watch to capture the details that are sufficient for documentation and research purposes. There are also as many ways to photograph a watch as there have been articles. I have photographed watches to capture sufficient detail for further research, to document collections, to provide photos for the Railroaders’ Corner, and to document the watches that were on display at the 1999 National Convention in Houston.

There is no one secret to success, but there are many steps that get you to the right photograph: the camera, the lens, the lighting, the film, the table to support the watch, and the film exposure.

Figure 1 shows the setup that I use. In summary, the camera is mounted vertically on an enlarger post for stability and for ease of changing the camera-to-watch distance. The watch to be photographed is positioned on a small tilt table that allows changing the angle of the watch with respect to the camera lens. The lights are positioned to either side of the watch and angled down approximately 45 degrees. The light diffusers are positioned between the lights and the watch.

The more flexible the camera, the more chances you have of getting just the right shot. If you can manually adjust the focus through the lens, adjust the aperture to maximize depth of field, and/or adjust the shutter speed, your chances are better for achieving a quality photo. To this end, the single lens reflex camera (SLR) gives the best chances for a good shot. My camera is an old Nikon FM2, a manual single lens reflex with a built-in light meter. An accessory option that is very useful is a right-angle viewer for the eyepiece. This viewer lets you look horizontally into the camera eyepiece instead of having to look down over the top of the camera. A close-up of this viewer is shown in Figure 2.

A macro (close focusing) lens is critical for close-up photography. I use a 105 mm Nikon macro lens that has close focus capability in addition to normal focusing. There are other macro lenses that are shorter focal lengths (55 or 70 mm). These will work but will put the lens closer to the watch and increase the problem of achieving good lighting. With the 105 mm macro, I can work about 12 inches above the watch and have a 16S movement fill a 35 mm frame.

Because of slow shutter speeds (around 1/15sec), the camera is mounted on an enlarger post so that it can be adjusted vertically and held in place securely. This vertical adjustment comes in handy when you change to a different size watch and still want to fill the frame with the image. A copy stand is an equivalent mounting stand. To minimize camera shake, a cable release is used to activate the shutter. With the camera stand placed on a table, the camera is at eye level, thus making the right angle finder a very convenient option, especially if you are taking many photos. It is very desirable that your setup allow you to view the watch through the camera viewfinder while you are adjusting the position of the watch.

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