I’m going to turn this blog over to Mary Winter. For those of you who are not aware of this, my wife is the numismatic imager, par excellence, whose coin photos are part of what makes raregoldcoins.com, in my opinion, a very special numismatic experience. Mary recently had a training session with Mark Goodman whose coin photography skills are quickly becoming legendary with collectors all across the US of A. Take it away, Mary...

I have a confession to make. All I know about coin imaging I learned from Mark Goodman. No, let me rephrase. All I know about GREAT coin imaging I learned from Mark. I have been DWN’s coin photographer since raregoldcoins.com became a website in the mid-1990’s. I was initially self-taught…and it showed.

Anyone who has ever tried on their own to take a photo of a slabbed coin knows how hard it can be to have an image turn out decent, let alone good. After years of trying everything I could think of, the Numismatic Gods (NG’s) smiled on me and quite serendipitously, one of Doug’s customers mentioned a man he knew who was an excellent coin photographer. Desperate and intrigued, I got the contact information on this person and emailed him straightaway.

As I recall, I initially just asked him questions by email. It became quickly apparent that he knew his stuff – and was self-taught to boot….gulp. But I swallowed my pride and continued to ask questions. I found he was not only extremely talented, but willing to share his expertise.

Once DWN relocated to Oregon in 2006, the NG’s smiled once again as Mark Goodman is also located in Oregon, within traveling distance of our office. I asked him if he would ever consider training me in person – and he agreed. That was perhaps 1.5 to 2 years ago. After my initial training, I saw quite a difference in my photography. But there was more to learn…

This year Mark wrote a book, “Numismatic Photography” (available for sale at www.zyruspress.com) which is a must-have for anyone wanting to improve their coin imaging skills. Doug “suggested” I study it…ALOT. I was blown away at the amount of research Mark had put into the book, as well as its ease of use for the layman. And his color photographs tell it all. I was once again humbled and knew I needed more help.

Hat in hand I contacted Mark again. He was as gracious as before and willing to help me again. I sent him a request for further training and he agreed. This session went levels beyond where I was before and I hope my photography from here on out will do him justice.

As I said, and can’t say enough, thank you Mark Goodman – everything I know about great coin imaging has come from you!