Peridot is the August birthstone and when I was born, I was given a baby ring with a green peridot gem set into a tiny gold ring. I know next to nothing about gemstones and all I know about peridot is that it is green. The ring is marked 10K and the metal is very thin so it is not an expensive ring, and the stone looks suspiciously like colored glass. When I was about twelve, I asked my mother if I could have the ring resized because I wanted to wear it. A small piece of gold was added and I wore it on the baby finger of my right hand. The stone is badly scratched and a chunk of it broke out when I hit my hand against the edge of the desk after reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance one morning at Junior High School. But I still keep the ring in its original cute little hinged plastic ring box which seems to have held up better than the ring for more than 65 years.
I took this photo on my kitchen table and I used a small aperture because I wanted a deep depth of field. I tried using a custom white balance but the color was not at all accurate. When I switched to auto white balance, the color was perfect.
Focal Length 300mm
ISO 100
f/16
1 second
Auto WB
SOOC
Excellent! Nicely composed and focused shot! Isn’t it great to be able to be intentional with depth of field- to know how to achieve the look we want??? I’m proud of US! I love the story- especially the part about chipping it while reciting the pledge of allegiance (a nice Fourth of July touch)! Wonder if the jeweler is still there in Alameda?