Photographic Printing Workflow
I gave a presentation at the Photographic Society of Rhode Island, PSRI, on producing quality prints using repeatable workflow. It also included a couple of tips on how to create multiple proof prints at once. This is based on a technique I learned from John Paul Caponigro, he calls it “Bracket Proofing” and it works like a charm. The following slide show will give you a refresher if you were at the presentation, or will give you a general idea about the workflow that you can try to replicate. Watch the slide presentation as some effects and layered images are shown as single image in the PDF files. For instance, the soft proofing sample image shows only one state in the PDF file, you will see both states in the presentation. In any case, I hope you find them useful.
Photographic Printing Workflow Presentation
Photoshop is 20 today
The ubiquitous Photoshop started as someone’s doctoral work. With a little luck, confluence of events, and support from the industry leaders of the day, it has become a household name, even a verb. In the video below the two brothers, Thomas and John Knoll, reminisce about the starting days of “DeLuxe PhotoLab” with Russell Brown and Steve Guttman, two others in the original team that brought us the tool that is loved, hated, used, and abused today. Watch …
Cabbage
Some see photography as “finding beautiful things and capturing them”. I see it differently as “seeing things and creating beautiful photographs of them.” To wit, the lowly cabbage, especially with some bruises on it on a market stand will not appeal to many as it is not “beautiful.” A careful study of the subject, its shape and lines, texture, the light falling on it will likely prove the beauty seekers wrong. The road to creative and innovative photographic work requires departing from what you have been doing over and over again with reliable results, leaving your comfort zone. You need to go out on a limb, try something different, new, and create new work.
I photographed these in a small Aegean coast town in Turkey, Ayvalik, at its weekly market. The form and lines appeal to me greatly. I decided to present them in monochrome, toned B&W images to remove the impact of color, a layer of abstraction if you will. Tell me what you think of the subject and the photographs resulting from it.
Sharpening Workshop
I ran a workshop on January 3, 2010 for the members of PSRI. The main purpose was to explore the sharpening strategies and methods in Photoshop and Lightroom. In the 4-hour long workshop, the first part was some general background information on what sharpening is and why we need it, followed by an overview of the process. Then, using Photoshop and Lightroom, I presented the application of the ideas presented earlier. Following that, the participants practiced on their own images. Below is the slide show of the Powerpoint presentation I used. It does not cover the actual hands-on part, but should give a general idea about the sharpening.
Adobe Air and Application Install Problems
I have written several posts on Adobe CS4 installation problems and how I finally managed to install the parts that I needed. At that time, the problem always happened as the installation software attempted to install Adobe Air and/or an Air application. One part of my solution was to skip installing Adobe Air. Since then, on multiple occasions I tried installing Air applications which always, without exception, ended up my computer being rebooted. Every so often I would get curious enough and would have enough time to spend on this issue and search, experiment, and fail again.
Today on Adobe forums I stumbled upon several posts that mentioned the application “Folder Lock” being a problem. I had that installed at one time on my computer, I had uninstalled it way before the CS4 installation problems. But I was able to find the file mentioned in the forums and removed it. That did not solve the problem. Then, I reinstalled Folder Lock and uninstalled it using its specific method once more. Lo and behold! I could install Air applications! Not that they are earth shatteringly necessary or useful, but it brought a sense of closure, at least at a personal level, to my ongoing battle with the Adobe installation problems.
Now, clearly Folder Lock appears to be an obstacle for Air applications to install. Shame on Folder Lock. That said, why on earth Air application installers, or Air program itself not designed, or corrected to trap this problem and give a meaningful error message instead of crashing the computer. Another point that is still very problematic is the advice given by Adobe tech support. They insisted that I should uninstall all Adobe products. Had I listened to them,uninstalling Adobe software would not help my problem. As guilty as Folder Lock, or similar software may be, Adobe and its tech support provide good company to it.
Eggsperiment
Eggs are the specialty of my friend Nermin Kura. A ceramicist, Nermin makes vessels inspired by eggs, and photographs eggs in various settings. When I was in Ayvalik and saw the two ostrich and one emu eggs, I wanted to experiment with their shapes, forms, texture and photographed them in the generally soft light of the conservatory. I wanted to see the effect of light coming from different directions on their form and texture. It also affected the relationships and the space around them. As a compositional element I also used an old copper plate with tin plating. I was also thinking “what would Nermin do?” Read more
More Calla Studies
I took more photographs of a couple of calla lilly blossoms. I wanted to explore their shape and form. All shooting by a window where the flowers are receiveing full light and the background is getting what spills.
Canon 5D
Canon 24-105 L
Natural light
Tripod mounted
Cable release
Post processing:
Lightroom, Photoshop CS4
Both color and monochrome converted versions are presented as part of the study. My reaction to the photographs are different depending on whether they are in color or are monochrome presentations.
Calla Studies in Color and Monochrome
This afternoon Jan and I took photographs of a single calla flower. Setup:
Canon 5D
Canon 100mm Macro
Natural light
Tripod mounted
Cable release
Post processing:
Lightroom, Photoshop CS4
Below are three images in both color and monochrome. Conversion to B&W was in Lightroom with split toning.
Photo Workshop, Boston
Digital photography has changed the industry and the practice of photography in very profound ways. The art and hobby of photography have been rejuvenated and more people are photographing today then ever before. It is certainly a liberating technology that democratizes photography in many ways and allows millions to enjoy photography for self expression, art, commercial endavours, and as a great hobby.
Inherent in this great technology is some level of increased complexity, primarily stemming from the amazing capabilities of today’s cameras and photo editing software. People interested in photography today can get information and support from variety of sources like the Internet, magazines, friends, local camera clubs and the like. A great opportunity to learn the techniques of digital photography and practice it with peers and professionals is coming to Boston. Digital Days Photography Workshops, which travels to 18 cities every year will hold a two-day event in April 18-19, 2009. It is a great opportunity for Rhode Island photographers, Boston is only an hour away and you will get a chance to work with and learn from three great instructors at the workshop.
The event is organized in two segments, the first day is about the digital fundamentals, photography basics like composition, and basic digital workflow after the shoot, and digital photography tips. The second day builds on the fundamentals covered on day one and continues with a live shoot session, image critique, setting up your workstation and workflow, and advanced editing.
The event is presented by the well-known photography magazine, Popular Photography, and sponsored in Boston by Hunt’s Photo and Video. Judging by the program and the workshop team, it promises to be a very rewarding experience for anyone wishing to get to the heart of the digital photography and its rich and enabling environment. Definitely worth checking out. If you are a member of the Photographic Society of Rhode Island, you may even get a significant discount, how about 25%! See a PSRI officer for details or check your e-mail for the next PSRI Newscast.
Don’t Bruise the Pixels
I made a presentation for the Photographic Society of Rhode Island (PSRI) on January 20, 2009. The title “Don’t Bruise the Pixels” was the core idea behind nondestructive editing in Photoshop. After the initial talk segment, I demonstrated the idea and what could be done by using layers, blend modes, and blend if sliders. The following slide show contains the initial talk material. It may make more sense to people who watched to presentation but the general ideas can provide the foundation for ideas that you may use to adjust your workflow. The following link will pop up a window and display the slide presentation. To navigate, use the “Next” and “Previous” arrows at the bottom of the slides to see the full content of all.
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