Sharp Lines Old Times: My favourite photos

I regularly sell on eBay during the summer and my main commodity is Scandinavian stoneware. While I occasionally run into Swedish and Finnish stoneware, I primarily sell Danish pieces for the obvious reason that I live just north of Copenhagen - the capital of Denmark.

The 1950’s-1970’s was really a golden age for Danish stoneware spawning a long list of both ceramic factories and private studios creating beautiful art pottery in large quantities. Despite the seemingly unstoppable vintage craze there’s thankfully still plenty of stoneware out there to be found, though the sudden appearance of pieces by top makers like Saxbo or Arne Bang have definitely dwindled.

However, less can also do it. Many pieces by Danish ceramic factories like Michael Andersen & Søn, Søholm or Aluminia aren’t nearly as highly regarded in Denmark as our classic stoneware but they’re on the contrary very sought after in especially USA as a authentic means to recreate the Danish Modern style - a specific interior style from the 1950s that really rose to fame again in recent times as a direct result of HBO’s hit series Mad Men.

When I put new pieces up for sale it’s very important to me that they’re displayed realistically through great photos.
I usually take anywhere between 30-60 photos of each piece which are then edited down to 10-12 photos. Less work would probably be the result of getting a better camera but for now it’s satisfactory as I’m overall content with the level of my photography. A level I prioritize, not only sooth my perfectionism and please my professionalism, but also because I’d like my buyers to feel completely secure about what they’re bidding on.

Detailed photos are especially important when selling stoneware pieces as glazes are often very much alive in their expression shifting in both texture, shine and color and the overall uniformity of these. I almost always take my photos outside as I personally think the warm sunlight brings out the best in every piece. Also, the natural surroundings make a very nice backdrop while the occasional appearance of my hands gives a good impression of scale.

Every now and then a photo turns out to be better than the rest. I recently looked through my sales archive from the past 3 years and picked my personal favorites. I’ll start be showing the 10 photos below. The rest will follow in a randomly fashion through future posts when I’m - like now - in need of more time to finish my next primary post.