Rear Projection Screening

This is a response to the proposed idea of "projecting people onto still images of the gold coast in a mall type environment". We have researched technology that would be required to do this and have been unable to come up with a solution. This is due to the inability to seperate a live image from a still background image. However we have a new concept that you might like to consider. Still based in a mall type situation where punters can have their photo taken against a backdrop of the beautiful Gold Coast, then using software to transfer and print the image in a postcard format. The punter are then able to take this "postcard" away with them and send it on to whomever they choose, publicising the Gold Coast wherever it goes because of the novelty factor. What do you think? Add a slogan? or a logo.. something Gold Coast..

ITS A WRAP!!

In relation to all the information we have produced for the current campaign, we as the Tech Trends Team have an outline to meet requirements as stipulated by business and marketing brief ( can be found at www.b-mphotography.blogspot.com/2009/05/4-mediums.html.)

1. Billboards

For the production of the large format imagery, we suggest the use of the Seitz Super Hi Res Camera. This will produce an image of 160mp which is ample to be blown up to billboard size. Check out the full article at the below link:

http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/05/super-hi-rez-large-format-digital.html#comments

Through research we have also found a suitable printer for billboard size imagery and recommend the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000.
Capable of printing up to 1.62 meters wide and suitable for outdoors.

Full article at
http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/06/printing-big.html
which also includes links to Epsons Website.

2. Building Wraps

For the production of an image ten stories high as per brief we recommend using the Better Light digital scan back together with a large format view camera. This camera setup will produce an image up to the 794mb ( 10200 x 13600 px ) which will be more than sufficient for an image of this size.
Further details can be found at http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/05/getting-massive-image-to-plaster-on.html

Printing of this large scale image can be achieved with AdpHence who can produce premium PVC coated, UV Stabilised, Fire retardant, Anti-fungal fabric finish specific to building wraps. This type of technology starts at $100 per meter. For full article please go to http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/05/sign-post-away.html

3. Posters

In relation to image capture for posters on taxis, trains and buses we recommend using the highest quality camera available - Professional standard, full frame sensor, E.g.Canon 1D Mark III or Nikon D3. This is simply to produce images of no larger than A2 size.

Printing poster size imagery we recommend the printing with the Seiko ColorPainter, which prints in widths of up to 2.63 meters - making if efficient for large scale batch printing as we can fit numerous prints on the width of one roll.
http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/06/printing-big.html

4. Web Banner

The technology required for Web Banners is consistent with the technology as outlined in the above section on posters.
We also recommend editing in photoshop - to produce, edit and re size for web devices. To make dynamic banners with movement we recommend flash software, for further information on flash software visit www.adobe.com/products/flash.

For integration into government websites we recommend Dreamweaver ( www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.)
For upload of web banners utilize FTP as outlined in our article. http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/03/ftp-service-sending-prints-to-lab.html.

( NOTE: Has marketing considered a viral campaign, where "cool" images are emailed out to the general public? E.g. The airline food trays in the article Advertising Via Transport - www.b-mphotography.blogspot.com/2009/05/advertising-via-transport.html.
This works by people forwarding on emails to friends and family that they found amusing.

Miscellaneous:

In addition to the outlined resources we have researched other integral technological equipment that could be used for the requirements of this campaign.

Lighting

For the purpose of where lighting is required we have researched both indoor and outdoor lighting equipment at both the high end and low end market. For portable systems at the low end market we recommend the Alien Bees portable strobe kit.
( full article found at http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/03/alien-bees-lighting-review.html
and at the high end market we recommend Bowens photographic equipment. Within the full article we have listed the essentials for a base kit. A point of difference between these two lighting systems is that Alien Bees is battery powered and portable, where as the Bowens is generator powered and has a greater light output whilst still remaining portable to location shoots. Full article on Bowen lighting at http://phototechtrends.blogspot.com/2009/05/working-with-light-its-all-about.html

This is our solution to the brief as outlined and welcome any further comments or questions that relate to Technology aspects of photography.

Printing Big

Since last week I've had to research about printers which are capable of printing billboards or banners that span whole buildings. From my research of large format printers I have found a few that suit the criteria.

What I found is:

• The 'Epson Stylus Pro GS6000'

&

• The 'Seiko ColorPainter H104s'

The Epson Stylus Pro is a 64 inch printer, it prints 1.62 meters wide and it is good for indoor and outdoor use.

The Seiko ColorPainter is a 103.6 inch printer, it prints 2.63 meters wide but there was no mention of whether it was good outdoors.

You can check both these different printers out for yourselves at:

• www.epson.com.au/prographics/products/largeformat/

&

• http://www.colourcorp.co.za/index.php?ID=258

Sign Post Away

OK, so I've been looking at large scale printing materials for use on medias such as billboards, signposts and fences.
So far I've found some great outdoor large scale building wraps, here are some of the main ones.
Prices start at around $100 per square meter; this particular company do all the scaffolding, mounting etc. I like that they specialise in outdoor long lasting printing. I think this is exactly the sort of thing we need.


Digitally printed mesh for building wrap advertising.

adpHence™ is uniquely placed to offer building wrap products to the Australian market. Maximise the impact of your advertising message by presenting it on a grand scale.

In conjunction with leading fabric tension engineers, adpHence™ has developed a fully certified and insured process for creating building wrap advertising products, allowing Australian advertisers to take advantage of technology only previously available overseas.

pHencewrap building wraps are printed on adpHence™ Crest Mesh.



Premium PVC-coated
UV-stabilised
Fire-retardant
Anti-fungal fabric finish
Ideal for building wraps


Digitally printed billboard advertising products




Billboard advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising. Commonly found along busy roads and high traffic areas, billboards are a the ideal choice to gain maximum exposure.

Super-tough PVC vinyl
UV-stabilised
Fire-retardant
Available in any size to meet custom requirements
Installation available

For more information and quotes you can go to

http://www.phenceit.com/adphence/

Thanks,

Alana.

Its RED, its good

Its a motion camera, a stills camera, to put it simply, its possibly the most brilliant piece of photographic/motion cinema equipment that has emerged in the last few years. The RED camera is a camera with personality.

The idea behind the camera was to simply create a high performance cine camera equivilant to the 35mm motion cameras that are currently being used to film movies. But in digital. Designed to be totally configurable in the sense that it essentially has a brain, which is the sensor, and then other add on modules like handles, interchangable lens mounts (switch between nikon and canon and RED) recording modes, battery options and even the way you view what you are about to shoot (viewfinder or a 4inch screen) even audio. Want to create a 3D camera? no problem, RED claim to be able to configure up to 1,048,576 different possibilities with the options of the camera. 

So how does it work. Essentially it is a motion picture so it records in a motion picture format and allows you to capture still frames from it with out comprimising the quality. Normally when you get a "frame grab" from a motion picture, it is blurred. This is because the speed its recorded at isn't fast enough for the freeze to actually happen. Now with the RED, get the best of both worlds and capture both a still shot with clear res and super high def motion picture.

Want to see how crisp this camera shoots at. check out one of Vincent Laforet's latest projects filming Hawaiian surfer Jamie O'Brien surfing his home break Backdoor. I highly recommend you watch this bigger on the SmugMug link, and really see the great quaility this is.

http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/category/jamieobrien/

Theres also video footage on there from the Canon 5D MkII. The helicopter footage and water footage. 

And here, a recent cover of Esquire magazine in which the cover was shot with the RED camera

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/video/megan-fox-images-0609?click=pp

By the way. The RED camera starts at $9,750.00 for the sensor alone, thats around $12,500.00 AUD. They go upwards of $53,000.00. And to think steven spielberg has one for his "personal" camera. wouldn't you love to have that handy....

Ben.

Set your Seitz on super Hi-Res!

With reference to the brief for the supply of images for use in an advertising campaign for Queensland tourism, advertising the Gold Coast as a holiday destination; I wish to suggest the use of the Seitz digital 6x17 camera due to it's extremely high quality output resolution (160 megapixels).

I feel this level of output quality will look incredibly eyecatching on the side of buses, buildings and/or any other large display (billboards) and may give the campaign an edge over and above the competition (and after all there's no budget so what the heck!?)

This camera uses scan technology to produce panoramic images up to 160 megapixels in a single frame. The scan technology used means the camera takes a minimum of 1 second to complete the scan of the scene being photographed regardless of the shutter speed used (upto 1/2000th sec) which can render moving subjects strangely (often beautiful and unique but still hard to predict) and therefore is perhaps best suited in a commercial sense to landscape/relatively still scenes.

A seasoned user may be able to better predict the capture of movement with this camera so with their use, something really different to the norm could be produced (kite-surfers, iron men, life savers etc) which in combination with the high resolution could really stand out from the crowd - for example, the image by Philip Wong shown above.

The camera accepts high quality, though manual focus lenses from Seitz/Schneider, Rodenstock, Linhof and Fuji. Also available is an optional touch-screen, motion-sensing tablet pc which can be used to control the camera in live-view, display captures and store the images. It can also be used to edit the images with Seitz proprietary RAW conversion software or images can be converted to DNG for editing in Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Apple aperture etc.

Oh, and it captures 16-bit RAWs - nice!

Andy Hart

Working With Light - It's all about lighting!

In relation to our current campaign for the Queensland Government, I think it is important that the lighting needed to be used on the day of the shoot be discussed. As there is a high chance that most if not some of the images will be taken outside we need to consider the lighting.
Will flash lighting on camera or off camera be needed? Will we preffer to use continuous instead of flash?
Is the natural light enough?
Will we need reflectors?
Will ambient/staging light give problems?
Will their be electricity near by if we do need studio lighting? and if so where can we hire a generator or alternative from?
Will solar power or battery powered technology need to be used?

All these things and more need to be considered without even touching on the elements. What if it rains. . etc etc.
On top of all that, depending on how much equipment we need, how are we going to transport it? Hiring of vehicle etc etc.

So will all that food for thought, I have endeavoured to find some answers the best I could. If anyone has anything else to add or further suggestions,please do so.

Studio Lighting:

As we all know there are many different brands and strenghts of studio lighting available. Some reasonably cheap and some higher quality,yet more expensive lighting. As we are aiming for a high end result the use of better quality photographic equipment would seem appropriate. Bowens photographic equipment currently have a good repore within our industry and offer alot of great equipment and are seemingly improving technology all the time. As I was researching I went onto their uk website - www.bowens.co.uk - and on their front page they actually have featured an outdoor shoot! It would seem they have planned this just for me to find, as they have listed the equipment they have used for the shoot.


Lighting Explorer 1500 ( Generator )
Gemini 500 ( 500w flash head)
Quad Head ( Flash head )
Pulsar Radio Trigger
Softbox 140
60° Reflector
Barn Doors

As this list of equipment compiles of a generator to create power, it means that we are able to shoot on location and still acheive the results possible with a flash.

Below is some further information on the generator if would like to read on.

The Bowens Explorer 1500 represents the state of the art in portable battery generator technology. Measuring just 27cm(L) x 18cm(W) x 28cm(H) and weighing just 10kg, the unit offers an unbeatable power to size ratio while providing the photographer with the flexibility of two independently digitally controlled 0.1 f-stop incremented channels.

The unique LCD interface is both intuitive and informative, making it quick and simple to setup and start shooting accurately anywhere. The unit comes with an interchangeable 12Ah battery unit which provides up to 150 shots at the full 1500Ws, recycling in 3.8 seconds or 180 shots at 1200Ws in 3 seconds.

In addition, the Explorer also features two 'Gemini' sockets which allows connection of two Esprit Gemini Monolights.
So, by Connecting two QUAD Heads and two Esprit Gemini 750 Units you can acheive a total of 3000Ws from this remarkably compact power pack.

They have pages and pages of equipment available should we need alternative equipment or if we had the use of electricity near by.

This could be a good start for our campaign, depending on the size of the shoot. Their are some limitations to the amount of shots being taken and of course the battery life. This would need to be taking into account if shooting something on Multiple Framers per second, working with children etc.

Of course the use of reflectors, tripods, light meters etc will most likely come into the scenerio, however I would hope most of use have these by now.


Please add comments and/or suggestions should you have any.

Thanks

Amanda

Getting a massive image to plaster on a building

Saw Nicoles post Bilboards for Business and Marketing and the image with Huge billboard in the US inspired my to think big. So I have been looking for Technology that is going to be able to reproduce a sharp image on a wall of a building. No a small building, a big one. This is called building wrapping which is depicted in the image above at Kelvin Grove Uni, but I am thining even grander in size. Producing this type of image will require Large format photography to be employed. It appears the best way to achieve this is by using a Large format camera but not using film or the Hasselblat 45 digital camera. The technology that I have discovered blitzes this type of image production. It uses technology developed by Better Light.

Better Light is totally different from the single-shot digital capture cameras using area array sensors (CCD and CMOS). They use scan backs which gather the information for the image in one continuous scan as the light is collected by three, individually filtered rows of pixels – this is called a tri-linear CCD. Since it moves across the “film plane” capturing light one row of pixels at a time, it will take several minutes to complete a large file. On the other hand, no other camera is gathering such a huge population of pixels (144 Megapixels or MORE) over such a large format area of nearly 3”x4”—that’s 5X the physical area of most array sensors! And, all of the pixels are PURE, true RGB color, not interpolated color by the camera software.

So forget the hasselblad or phase one this appears to be the best option for creating an image with sufficient file size to be reprinted on the side of a building in monstrous proportion.

What do we need?

Well the unit is a scanner which fits snugly into the film slide area of a large format view camera. View cameras are old technology and reasonably cheap. Associated lenses are also used. A laptop is required to store the data. As a scan can take 100 seconds + a strudy tripod is also required. But what is the cost I hear you ask, well a bit but not as much as you might expect compared to the Hasselblad at $45,000. If we are going to get anything it may as well be the biggest and the best so the Super 10K-HS™ has an image size of 10200 x 13600px resulting in an image of 794 MB and costs $22,995 USD. But there are smaller versions of startig at $6495 USD and still have some fairly impressive specs.

Still not convinced. Check out the image at Zoomify and check out the resolution of this image. Look for the people on the other side of the lake swimming at the beach in the far right corner, you will be amazed.

Let me know your thoughts.

Tranformer Film

Ok, growning up watching Transformers this just appeals to me!. This is a Korean camera diguised as a over sized roll of 35mm film.

There is a advantage to it! you will always know what film to use! lol the disadvantage is that it is currently only sold in korea and their arent any plans to release it else where, ( atleast that i can find). The cost for this little gem is approx. $20 US.

Adobe Lightfield Camera/lens

A light field camera effectively takes alot of photos of the same scene all at once using different aperture settings. The result is a single photo which contains many versions of the same scene shot at different aperture settings.

Using software and brainiac mathematical algorhythms which converts the information gathered into a single shot with corresponding depth map and blur maps, the photographer can effectively shoot a scene with aperture settings from the minimum aperture (eg; f/2.8) up to the maximum (eg; f/22) all captured in the same shot and then in post editing can select which point in the image they wish to be in focus and at what aperture they wish the depth of field and corresponding blur to represent. So you could have maximum depth of field as if the scene was shot at f/22 or you can select a subject and apply the blur and minimal depth of field as if shot at f/2.8 all after having taken the shot.

Nifty.

The folks at Adobe have been investigating this technology and have created a prototype 100 megapixel camera and lightfield lens which combined with software allows you to do the above. The downside of this technology is that because so many versions of the same image are captured on the same frame in order to gather the required information, the final image from the 100 megapixel camera becomes a mere 5 megapixels!

Andy

Wacom Korea to launch new tablet "intuos4"

Wacom korea has released a new tablet, with new features and better performance for photographers. Inspired by those who use it, Intuos4's new pen performance,is capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity.

It also offers a more accurate and intelligent design , providing better look, comfort and importantly control.It also has specific workflow and productivity tools. Including the customizable shortcut and modifier keys with accompanying OLED displays, which allow users to see, via the displays, what the keys are currently set to.

The Intuos4 is available in four sizes, small, medium, large and extra large,which are all wide format, the Intuos4's new asymmetrical design puts all of the customizable ExpressKeys and Touch Ring on one side of the tablet, "making them all available to the user's non-dominant hand" according to aving.net's review on the product.

The application-specific ExpressKeys are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used commands right at the fingertips.

SpyderCUBE White Balance Solution

The Datacolor company who brought us the affordable(?) monitor calibration device Spyder3Elite and Spyder3Pro (and I presume Spyder1 and 2!) have developed a new product for obtaining correct white balance - the SpyderCUBE.

SpyderCUBE is unique amongst white balance tools in that it not only has a grey reference for setting white balance but also has pure white and black faces as well as a 'black trap' which is a hole in the device into which light cannot go and thus gives the photographer a 'pure black' reference.

To use the device, you place it in the scene you are photographing and take a reference shot (preferably as a RAW capture). Later, in Camera RAW, you can synchronise all shots taken under the same lighting to this reference shot and click the grey face of the cube to set the white balance, then; using the exposure and brightness sliders, you can set the optimal white point by observing the white face on the device. The optimal black point can then be set using the 'black' slider in Camera RAW to ensure you can visibly distinguish between the 'black face' of the cube and the 'black trap' hole within the black face of the cube.

Instructions on exactly how to set the white and black points are vague on the website - even after watching the instructional video - but I can see how having a pure white and pure black reference can help you to set the correct density for your lighting setup.

Andy

USB cell batteries

OK, this maybe out of the realm of professional photography but i can see a use for it and it is pretty cool.


Moixa has created a type of battery (aa) with a USB charger built in, so you can charge on the go, useful for the back up compact in the handbag... or man bag... :)

Features
Portability - Easy Energy on the Go: No need for a separate charger or cables when travelling. Built in intelligent USB charger.
Recharged Anywhere: Charge anywhere from any accessible powered USB.
Swap and Play: Easily charge cells in your game station and just swap over to continue play.
Top-Up: Charging for just a few minutes provides extra hours of instant use for most input devices.

Emily

Firmware up to date?

Having problems with your digital camera? Just not working the way you want it to or has a bug that is annoying or just want better performance? Before you spit the dummy or decide on buying a new camera you may just need to upgrade your firmware to improve your camera.
So what the hell is firmware? It is a little program in the camera that controls aspects of your cameras like noise reduction, ISO, LCD brightness, battery life, focusing and menus to name a few. Camera manufacturers update firmware to fix minor bugs that were not realised until after a model release or they may just upgrade other things as above, but best of all it is free.
Firmware updates can be located on manufacturers sites in the support or downloads pages. Here are Nikon and Canon Firmware updates.
Now that you have checked and found a new firmware update for you camera your next question is how do I put it on my camera. This is my answer... updating firmware is a different process for each camera. Check the manufacturers site where the update was downloaded and follow the instructions. I'm not going to tell you how to do it because if it is not right and it stuffs the camera I am not taking responsibility for it.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility if you incorrectly replace the firmware and disable your own camera while trying to update the firmware. Do this at your own risk, read the manufacturer’s instructions VERY CAREFULLY.
When the new firmware is installed successfully check the menu as there may be new areas to explore from the update. Reset the settings as these will most likely be changed in the update process.
Enjoy the new high performance of your camera.

Adobe Lightroom vs Photoshop CS4 Part II

Photoshop CS4
Having used CS2 and CS3 I thought that CS4 would be just a rebadging of CS3 with a little candy to make me feel good about the upgrade but, whoa CS4 is pretty damn impressive.
I have only just got my version but I like it. The appearance is smoother, sleeker and has some nice features.
Now I know that this a comparison between Lightroom and CS4 but it is totally unfare to compare Lightroom to the complete Photoshop package so lets just look at the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Bridge components to keep things fair.
Bridge is excellent for browsing files and creating workflows which I found particularly hard to do with Lightroom and because I would like Lightroom to have a bridge equivelant, lets not dwell on this part of the review. ACR is where it is at. New tools comparitive to Lightroom obviously made by the same company, designed by the same design crew or at least shared, it is hard to tell them apart. I particularly like the healing tool they have added. It is intuitive and does a great job of blending into the surrounding area. The adjustments tool also has the auto mask which is great. The program layout is not as appealing as Lightroom but it isn't Lightroom it is Photoshop. Just as a side issue, while we are on photoshop (which is a whole new article in itself) there are some great modification to the tools. I like that they added the exposure adjustment tool to the package in the masks.
So if I had the cash which one would I buy. I suppose it depends on a few factors. Either one is great for working in a RAW environment. The tools are very similar and it would be difficult to say one is better than the other. I prefer the look and feel of Lightroom, I like the features to view and compare images, the flagging sytem and the automatic changing of file to DNG.
Photoshop CS4 still has Bridge which is great for file management, ACR has the same tools as Lightroom so it is almost a dead heat. Lightroom still needs photoshop to do editing that isn't in RAW. Lightroom is cheaper about $170 student edition, compared to CS4 which is about $299, BUT you have to buy photoshop something (Elements 7 $199) to complete your photoediting package.
So I personally chose Photoshop CS4 for the complete package, but I have heard a wisper that very soon the Lightroom package will be Lightroom and Photoshop combined. This will then be the premier package to have. Lets just wait and see...

Adobe Lightroom v's Photoshop CS4 Part I

If you are looking for an application for your photo management and development what do you choose, the tested and true Photoshop CS4 or the new kid on the block (comparitively speaking) Lightroom. I have used both and I am going to give my humble review on both programs in two parts. Part 1 will look at Lightroom and Part II will look at Photoshop CS4 with an overall comment on both. Here we go...

Lightroom.
Trying not to be bias but first off I love it! This program is like velvet, very smooth and visually appealing but is has a couple of little niggles that just need to be tweaked to make it the ducks nuts of photo management systems.
On the surface the sleek black and grey appearance is professional and excellent for viewing photo's especially the functions which allow all the program to disappear into the background and display only the large photo image on a black background. The tab button hides the side panels (like Photoshop), the top and bottom bars can be hidden by clicking on the pop up or down arrows and then the program drops back to 50% black transparency by hitting the 'L' key once and then completely black with a second tap on the 'L' key. Perfect for viewing single photos that are under development.
While we are on key shortcuts the flaging system I find especially useful. After uploading photos use the 'P' to flag (or pick) your favorites and for the really bad stuff use the 'x' for a black flag. I usually delete all the 'x' photos at the end of my browsing session. The star rating and colour rating are also available to really define the work flow. Ooo, Oooh there is also a great comparison tool where two similar photos can be compared side by side. There is the selected one and a candidate. If the candidate is better it can be selected and the next candidate can be entered.
The tools that have been bought into Lightroom all work in the raw environment so it is a non destructive environmenr for your photos. The greatest update to the tools is the Adjustments brush which allows the classic dodge and burn process but with a little more class. The auto mask tool is very intuitive and this process easy. I really like that the developers have embraced photography terminology by allowing the user to move adjustments in stops of light rather than the old unrelated numerical system Adobe used to cling to. Besides this tool the rest of the development tools are easy to use and powerful.
The photo management side of things starts from the initial upload. The program is again intuitive an appears to look for new photos that it has not uploaded previously and recognises ones that have already been added. A thumbnail display of photos to be uploaded is used to help with the selection process. Lightroom allows file renaming up to 3 parameters, automatic change to DNG files, copyright metadata embedded, keywords and even completes a backup of the new files onto a specified external hard drive. Little gripe here is that unlike Bridge from Photoshop there is no real browsing at this level. Sure the thumbnails are a good indication but they are just not as good as having Bridge. Second little gripe is that when Lightroom is installed on C: drive (for instance) this becomes the primary drive where files are stored on the database. I like to use 2 external hard drives for all my photos (primary and backup) and not store files on the harddisk of my laptop. So as it stands only one external HD is recognised by the program and there appears to be no way to select a primary drive and the secondary drive. Just a small, very specific, but valid gripe never the less. Oh, by the by a cool feature is that Lightroom recognises when files are missing or the backup portable hard drive is not connected. It displays a '?' or green light where necessary.
Look, I could go on for days about Lightroom. It is a great program that has brought in a heap of features from Photoshop into the raw editing environment. It is also completely compatible with Photoshop as well. So I recommend two things if anyone is serious about getting a copy of this program.
First get a free 30 trial version (this is fully functional it just stops working after 30 days without a key) from Adobe and give it a test run. Get the version from http://www.adobe.com/downloads/
Second check out Matt Kloskowski tutorials. He is a guru and the tutorials give anyone a great jumping off point to start using the program and some of the powerful features it has.
Don't forget to check out Part II where I will look at Photoshop CS4 and compare it with Lightroom. Let us know what you think of Lightroom.

FTP SERVICE - SENDING PRINTS TO LAB

Hi everyone,

I just thought Id write a bit on sending prints to the lab via FTP. I realised the other day that not everyone knows about this service and I think that all photographers should be at least made aware of it. I myself think its extremley useful for effective time management and in my experience have had to troubles as yet.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows you to transfer files from one computer to another. The files may be plain text, compressed text or in this case photos. As photographers we often use FTP to upload our photos to the printing lab. Once setup this service is great for time management. The host computer, where you get the data from, might be in the office next door or on the other side of the planet. You will need FTP software which can be purchased or downloaded from the internet. E.g. Core FTP. Once you have the appropriate software you will need to enter in the recipients host address, username and password (supplied by the recipient). This then put simply connects you to the recipients computer ready for file transfers.

As a general rule before uploading any images most labs require images to be saved as JPEG files, cropped at exact size for printing and saved at a set dpi/resolution E.g. 300dpi and placed in clearly labeled folders.

E.g. ATaylor_001 (Main folder)
250dpi A3 (sub folder)
250dpi 8x10

Always read each lab preferences as they will all be slighting different. Keep in mind that if you try to send PSD/Tiff files you could incur a surcharge and generally all measurements are done in Inches, cropping can occur if metric is used.

Always check with your lab for its preferences prior to trying to upload any images.
Once you have done so, you are ready to start uploading.

Depending on the setout of your FTP software uploading is as simple as dragging complete folders from your computer to the labs computer. Some labs have a step by step procedure as to how to upload your images so check your lab for more details. Streets Imaging have detailed instructions should you need to have a look. Their website is www.streetsimaging.com.au. The time it takes to upload your images is dependant on a lot of factors – including how many files you have and the image sizes etc. You can quite often drag and drop all the images and leave them upload themselves.

Once files have completed uploading the lab witll generally require you to send an confirmation email advising of your order and/or for you to use a checkout system that requires you to pay via credit card. That’s it! Easy.

Pickup time will also vary from lab to lab. Again check all the preferences that your specific lab requires. If used correctly FTP can be a useful time saver and some labs will even offer a night box for pickup after hours. If this option is available they will give you a pin number to enter the box. The only downfall is that it’s a on trust basis, as other photographers have access to the box also. Nine times out of ten the lab isn’t liable for any lost or damage prints if you do decide to use this option.

I myself often use FTP when sending files to the lab and get them couriered out to me for a small fee. It’s much cheaper and easier, rather than having to travel myself. I would much prefer to use my time photographing than driving.

Hope I have made sense, please let me know if I have left anything out.

If anyone has anything to add please do.

Amanda

Nik Software's Viveza Plug-in for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture

Nik Software's 'Viveza' Plug-in allows Photographers to selectively modify colour, light and tonality in their photographs.

Using Nik Software's patented 'U Point technology' powered control points, the user can isolate objects or regions within a photograph that they wish to modify both quickly and easily. Viveza then offers sliders to modify the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, separate red, green and blue values and the clarity of the area selected.

Nik Software's 'U Point' technology eliminates the need for complex masking/selections by analyzing the position of the control point's colour, tonality, detail and location so the object you wish to modify is selected and surrounding areas are not.

Viveza works with 8 or 16 Bit images and is also compatible with Photoshop's 'Smart Filter' option making your 'Viveza' adjustments non-destructive and re-editable.

For more information about Viveza and Nik Software's other awesome Plug-ins featuring U Point technology, visit
http://www.niksoftware.com

Andy

New Bionic Eye Camera Technology

Have you ever looked at a scene and it just isn't captured the way you can see it, in your camera?

This new technology is based on the human eye and could lead to sharpers photography and possibly led to the creation of a bionic eye.

The eye captures images on the curved surface at the back of the eye, but cameras capture the image on a flat surface, causing some distortion of the image.

US researchers have come up with a new imaging device which captures on a curved surface mimicking the eyes curvature.

The "eye" is made of flexible mesh of wires, has been incorporated into a working camera the size and shape of a human eye. Images produced are sharper than those taken on conventional two-dimensional surfaces.

The researchers believe this could be the first steps to creating a working bionic eye for humans.

"It foreshadows artificial retinas for bionic eyes similar to those in the movie Terminator and other popular science fiction," said a statement issued by the University of Illinois.

Monash University vision scientist Dr Adrian Dyer described the results, published overnight in the journal Nature, as very exciting. "To capture the light or the image in this type of form is one really key part of how to create quite a good bionic eye system."

Once again Photography is helping people :)

Emily

Lecias New lens

Lecia is making a grab at the "high speed lens" crown, Lecia has said they have created a new version of its Noctilux lens with an aperture number of 0.95, which in the inverted maths of optics means it gathers 11 per cent more light than the old version, which had an aperture of 1.

As we all know, lens that gather more light perform better in darker areas, but this change is hardly noticeable, so all you are really able to do is brag about it :P

Mind you Lecia Noctilux lenses are substantially faster then the average lens that gets sold with digi cameras. but to gather more light, a lens needs to have a bigger glass surface, and super-speed lenses like the Noctilux are at the limit of practicality. The lens weighs 0.6kg, and dwarfs the Leica cameras it mounts on. It's focused manually and doesn't zoom, but has a fixed focal length of 50mm.

The new lens can be snapped up for about $10,000.

Emily