Owner: Digital Dilemmas URL:http://www.digitaldilemmas.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:32:45 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Digital Photography Blog with articles on Digital Workflow, equipment, cameras and software for the pro shooter. Site statistics:Click here
My Camera's Better Than Yours ! 2007-06-24 11:50:00 Now that I have today's first post out of the way and several cups of fine java circulating thru my veins, I can get to the important task of 'Learnin you folks up about this thar Digitle Kamra Witchery. Cause you know I has sertified degree in Think-Ology from the fedral Govm't.' With credentials like that, who can doubt me!Canon VS Nikon VS whatever you shoot with:Spend time on any Camera
Forum and you will find the die-hards defending their particular imaging instrument against the slings and arrows of others who shoot with another brand or format. Photographers get emotionally involved with their camera choice and to hell with all the unbelievers. If you can't shoot with a _______ then you shouldn't be shooting at all. So , here I am to add to the fray and upset a few more people.I used to shoot with Nikon.....exclusively, FE, FM, F3, F4 and F5. The last one ( F5 ) I could never afford to own, but I shot with one on more than one occasion........SweeeeeeT! So I don't hav Read more:Yours
Unicorn Burger Rocks! 2007-06-24 08:13:00 Special thanks to Kristen Stewart over at UnicornBurger
who has graciously allowed me to use one of her T-Shirt illustrations for my Coffee Posts. You know I love the visuals and she has got some great images over at her website www.unicornburger.com and her page at deviantArt. Buy lots of stuff and send me some to! Remember, I wear an XL in a cotton Tee!Maybe I can sweet-talk Kristen into drawing a new version with a Digital Camera in Coffee Man's hand? Did I mention how fantastically gorgeous Kristen is? You can check her out on her website too!
Read more:Rocks
Packing Lite With The Strobist! 2007-06-21 22:42:00 Approaching my early 40's has brought about a major change in the way I pack for assignments. I no longer feel the need to pack every light, every stand and light modifier I own. In fact I have learned to do more with less and improve upon the quality of the work at the same time. Send me out the door with a camera, a light bulb and one match and I will come back with good pics! With experience comes the confidence to 'make do' and utilize your surroundings and minimal gear to accomplish any assignment. Not every job will produce images worthy of 'Communication Arts', but that is also the case with most ( average ) assignments, even when you pack the entire studio! Knowing my desire to slim down the gear and give my aching back a rest from equipment overload, a friend of mine turned me onto the STROBIST weblog . It has become an invaluable resource for ideas on packing lite and working smarter, not harder! The link below will take you to his homepage and a wonderful article about
EOS-1D Mark III... Stud or Dud! 2007-06-20 06:50:00 Canon Camera has produced some of the best Pro DSLR's ever! I wouldn't want to do my job without one. So why is auto focus on these cameras appear to be getting less reliable? You can follow the link below to an in depth article by Rob Galbraith to read more on the problems with the EOS 1D mark III and autofocus reliability.An analysis of EOS-1D Mark III autofocus performance
Editing The Raw Files...Part 4 2007-06-19 21:08:00 Continuing from the 'Editing The Raw Files' Part 3 post on Sunday June 17th :11) Once you have completed your 1st edit of the images ( still in Raw Format ) and tagged the keepers, it's time to save the tagged files to your next Desktop Folder. Example: ABCorp_RawEdits. You are now ready to open the images in your Processing Software and see them as they really are, before any adjustments in color or exposure. Once you get familiar with your Raw Processing Software you won't have to keep referring to the Histogram display to judge proper exposure. It goes without saying that to judge color and exposure, you will have to have a high end color monitor that is color corrected with the proper software and screen sensor. I recommend using a LCD monitor for the best color accuracy, with the added benefit of Color Profiles that stay accurate far longer than CRT monitor technology.Most Raw Conversion Software will allow you to click balance (color correct) your images by isolating an are
Portrait Retouch Challenge... 2007-06-19 07:47:00 One of the Posters ( Mr. Eamon Hickey ) over at dpreview has posted a simple portrait shot of his girlfriend ( Simple head and shoulders ) and asked readers to try out their retouching skills on the image. Looks like a lot of fun! I may have to give it a whirl. Anyone interested can download the tiff Portrait
image and work their mojo, then upload to the dpreview site and let others comment! I'm not sure how long the challenge will last, so you better check it out soon. Join the site ( free ) if you want to participate. You can follow the dpreview link above to the download page.UPDATE: Our first submission by Dr. Pimento
Read more:Challenge
New KODAK Image Sensor... 2007-06-18 07:01:00 KODAK has designed a new image sensor technology that will help digital cameras see light in a similar fashion to the human eye. They have included a clear ( Panchromatic ) pixel to the sensor array with added sensitivity to low light levels. Software Algorithms process the extra data, effectively giving the sensor 2X - 4X times more sensitivity to light. You can follow the link above to the Kodak Website to read more.
Read more:Image
, Sensor
Can't Get Enough Of Those Beans! 2007-06-17 23:42:00 Coffee quote of the day:"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."America's 16th President, Abraham LincolnNo such problem with the brew I'm drinkin. It's mighty tasty and good to the last drop! My part- time, unpaid editor sent me home with some ' Bean Martin' Whole Bean Java from 'Larry's Beans
' in Downtown Raleigh. It's a smooth, bold blend of Javalicious Goodness! Just what I needed to get my posts rolling.
Read more:Enough
Editing The Raw Files...Part 3 2007-06-17 21:49:00 Continuing from the 'Editing The Raw Files' Part 2 post on Sunday June 3rd :10) Having backed up and organized your newly downloaded Raw Files, you are now ready for the fun part (sort of) of the editing process. Before you can start, you must have an editing software suitable for displaying 'Raw Format' images that is color accurate and renders the images quickly enough to get the job done in a short time. Adobe's 'Bridge Software' or 'Raw Converter' is a poor substitute for a real editing program. The images will certainly be color correct ( if the auto settings aren't engaged! ) but rendering each image quickly and at 'Full Screen' isn't what the program was designed for. While you are struggling to disengage auto this , that and the other, I am halfway through the editing process. In short. All that is needed in an good editing software is a fast rendering, somewhat color accurate display of the files, tagging options and filmstrip scroll through. Camera Bit's 'Photo
PinoBlogero.Com... A Great Site! 2007-06-17 07:55:00 I am a Photographer, not a Writer . So I must rely on others for the occasional push in the right direction with the design and utility of my Blog. Being a visual person, my priorities when designing this site are more focused on Color, Bling and Visuals. I have to edit , re-edit my writing to present my ideas in a relevant manner and not forget to run Spellcheck on every post. Somehow after 42 years I have forgotten how to spell and punctuate the simplest words. Writing daily has made this abundantly clear. I hope I am doing better this week than last! So, in my quest to do things the right way, I seek out others who have mastered their medium and try and learn from their example. This week I stumbled upon Karlo Lucidines Blog ' PinoyBlogero.com' which is a wonderful How to for Blogging and Writing. He is also a Master Illustrator / Artist with a wonderful color rich style. His offer on his website to design customized feed Labels ( Illus. buttons for links ) is not one to pass up. Read more:Great
Saying No to Pro Bono... 2007-06-15 08:31:00 At some point in your career as a Professional Photographer, you will be asked by some Art Director, PR Firm, Charity etc... to shoot Pro- Bono ( Freebie ) for their latest sad-sack cause. "Run for Glaucoma", "Restless Leg Syndrome Foundation", "Feed the Seals!", "Citizens for Carbon Offsets" or some such do-gooder cause. Let me help you with the proper response to such commonly occurring enquiries from the well meaning advertising braniacs who call you to get your free help on their latest project.Response 1) NoResponse 2) Have I got the guy for you! ( Give them another Photographer's name, preferably a close friend. This way he can call you up and curse you later.)Response 3) Are you ( Art Director, Charity Pimp ) being paid for your services? How about the Printing Company responsible for the Ad, Poster et cetera, are they being paid for their time?Response 4) Not this week, I'm still a little shaken up by Al Gore's Movie "An Inconvenient Truth" !The last one will score
Editing The Raw Files...Part 2 2007-06-03 21:35:00 Continuing from the 'Editing The Raw Files' post on Monday, May 28th :9) With the DCIM folders safely backed up on multiple drives or disks ( DVD, CD etc...), its time to create the 'Editing Folders' that will be the back-bone of our 'Workflow'. To keep things organized, their must be a designated place for each edited or processed file that can be quickly accessed from your editing software and in the final stage from Adobe Photoshop. I find it easiest to create 1- 4 folders on my Computer's Desktop to hold the edited selects, before and after the software ( Conversion to Tiff ) processing. Each folder can be given a name that clearly explains what is inside. Example: ABCorp_RawEdits, ABCorp_Tif, ABCorp_WIP ( Work in progress ) and ABCorp _Final. The final folder is obviously the 8 or 16 bit PSD's or Tiff files after all color correction and manipulation. If you do anything freaky to them after that, create a new folder off the desktop for them and label it appropriate
Editing The Raw Files 2007-05-28 10:06:00 Continuing from the 'Plan Ahead...Part Four' post on Sunday, May 27th:8) Now that you have the DCIM folders copied to your Desktop, its time to back up all the folders to another Hard-Drive. This will guarantee that you won't get in a rush and delete any important images or lose the job due to a Hard-Drive failure. The likelihood that both of your computer's Hard Drives would fail at the same time is very slim, but it is certainly within the realm of possibility. Also remember, because you copied the files over, you still have the entire job ( back-up # 3 ) safely stored on your Card Media! This will make it nearly impossible to screw up and delete important files. And with digital, you don't always know what files will be needed until after you do your first edit and process the selects. Better to be safe than sorry!To be continued...
Plan Ahead...Part 4 2007-05-27 10:00:00 Continuing from the 'Plan Ahead...Part 3' post on Thursday, May 24Th:7) After your very successful assignment is finished and in the bag so to speak, it's time to get those stunning images backed up and on your Hard-Drive. If you use a Portable Digital Storage Device to back up CF/SD cards on location, the images should now be on at least one, if not both media. I like to copy the complete folder, labeled DCIM in Canon Cameras, with all images directly from the original source ( The Card ) to my main Hard-Drive. I use my computer's built in card reader ( which is slow as hell! ) to copy the images from my CF cards to the Desktop (Pc).This gives me time to make more coffee. If you are not a Coffee Drinker, a High Speed USB 2.0 Card Reader will do the job much faster. My Workflow is pretty straightforward, so I know I'm not going to be at the computer too long. Whatever transfer device you end up using, do not copy the images directly from your camera! Remove the media (CF/S
A Little Guilty Humor... 2007-05-26 22:42:00 So here it is............ as best as I can remember, or at least as it was told to me by one of my Photographer buddies, a Little Story about a Pain- in- the- Ass- Art Director who got a little too involved in the shoot!So this Art Director/Buyer, a notorious, low budget, line- item- please, Estimate Slayer comes to a friends studio to oversee a tabletop setup for a company Ad. She wants every angle under the sun shot of this set, just in case! The large format Polaroids are flying and the camera stand is going higher and higher to get yet another angle.......... "Could we shoot one here too? " "How about here?" "No....... that's not it........much higher! ". So, at some point, this not-too-petite gal decides that she's going to take matters into her own hands and position the camera herself. She climbs the 12 ft ladder to get a better look at the set from camera position and gets the bright idea to lean out and try to see the image on the Ground Glass. A millisecond later she was di Read more:Guilty
, Humor
Coffee, Coffee, More Coffee... 2007-05-25 09:04:00 My Java Addiction started 2 years ago. I sat for endless hours preparing images, hundreds of images, for an upcoming book project. The only thing that could motivate me to manually remove Chromatic Aberration from every image (350 total) was a double sized , double strength 'Cup of Joe' ! Not ordinary off the shelf grind, but whole bean fancy- boy imported fare! Only the best and strongest brew would draw me back to the computer to complete the job. With the help of the Devil's Bean, I developed a nifty technique for removing the Red, Green and Purple fringe that plagues Digital images shot with wide angle lenses. It ain't quick, but it's effective and doesn't harm the rest of the image like a lot of the Chromatic A. removal tools that come with some imaging software. I will be posting more on this in the 'Plan Ahead' series at a future date. Right now I need to go grind some beans...
Read more:Coffee
Plan Ahead....Part 3 2007-05-24 22:17:00 Continuing from the 'Plan Ahead...Part 2 ' post on Thursday, May 17:6) Now that you slackers have the right juice to run your 'Photo Creation Optical Illusion Facilitators', ( Cameras for the humor impaired ! ) you can move onto the nitty gritty of on the job workflow etiquette. I think it's time to ditch the fancy nylon CF/SD card wallets with the nifty see thru mesh and start separating unused formatted cards from the very important card that contains the job that you are currently shooting! You know what I mean. Stop the flip the card -one-way-or-the-other game! Shot.......not shot...........uhhhh......shot? You know you're just gonna load it in the camera to check anyway! Better to place the full cards in a completely separate area of your camera bag. That way you don't have to guess or confuse the hell out of your assistant as he races to get you a clean card for that 'once in a lifetime' photo of the 'Executive at his desk'. As we discussed before, those cards will re
Digital Photo Seminar... 2007-05-23 07:59:00 I just finished teaching a DigitalPhoto
graphy Seminar
for BASF Chemical Corporation in Research Triangle Park, here in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill Region. One day isn't a lot of time to teach 30+ people the basics of Photography and Digital Capture. Every individual had a different goal for using photography in their research, both in the field and lab. Covering the basics ( Photo 101) of beginners photography allowed me to transition them from Film to Digital and have it make sense in a short period of time. I really had a successful day and I am looking forward to returning in July or August for another portion of the seminar. Maybe by then I will have a new laptop and I won't have to wrench my back loading my desktop and 20 inch monitor into the car!More about this later...
Canon Rumors.... 2007-05-19 11:57:00 I check the Web and Blogosphere at least once a day for any news from Canon
Camera about their Latest and Greatest DSLR, hoping that the next big thing is right around the corner for release. Most info out there is old and pure fanciful speculation. Some of the best gossip, fabrication and half truths come from obscure Chinese Language websites that pop up from time to time, usually just a page or two, poorly translated and half finished. I think the engineers at Canon put them up on the Web to entertain themselves during coffee breaks, just to mess with our minds! I'm thinking about adding a link to my site of the best Bull Sh_t Camera Fakes that are currently circulating on the internet. Maybe people could send me links to their own BS, cut and paste Frankenstein Super Cameras. I could send the best one sailing through cyber' space forever!More to come...
Lock and Load... 2007-05-17 21:21:00 Shooting the occasional personal project can really get you energized as an image maker. I know that I don't make the time to shoot new portfolio images as often as I should. Somewhere in all the work and bills to be paid, my urge to shoot personal images gets its butt kicked. I find that writing an idea down on paper ( scribbles, drawings etc...) in front of my computer really helps to make it happen. Without that constant reminder, the self- originated, creative and satisfying work just gets forgotten in my daily grind to get ahead. You have to convince yourself of the importance of shooting new work. New images can bring you new clients. Pick a day on the calendar and schedule your time just as you would for a real paying job!PS. Speaking of a Digital Dilemma! ..... I have 11 or 12 episodes of ABC's ' Lost ' digitally recorded on my cable box. I don't know whether the SOB's are still lost?..... on the island?......off the island? Are they all robots, or maybe just a figment
Plan Ahead....Part 2 2007-05-17 15:07:00 Continuing from the 'Plan Ahead' post on Tuesday, May 15 :5) Batteries! Batteries! Batteries! ...... Yes, I know it's a little condescending to be reminding other Professional Photographers to carry enough batteries to get the job done. But it's not just about your Ziploc Bag filled with Double A's and Triple A's. It's more about being prepared with fresh ( New ) batteries before you show up for the job and also about having the right type of Battery!Yes, I can hear it now ' This jerk is gonna tell me what batteries I should be using! Next he'll be telling me what kind of equipment to bring! 'What is the right battery for your Digital Camera? Well, that depends on whether or not you want to have your camera die right in the middle of an important job or shoot like a madman all day without having to crack open the battery cover. There's nothing lamer than having to fumble through a dark camera bag to find enough dollar store double A's to get you through the hour. That's a
You Have To Have A Plan!..... 2007-05-15 17:26:00 If you've been shooting Still Film professionally for any length of time, you have certainly already come up with a workflow that suits your personal style and needs. Everyone has they're system for culling through slides, negatives and prints that works for them . But photographers new to digital can spend several years and waste lots of money trying to figure out the best way to manage the voluminous amounts of data created by our modern high res digital cameras. I personally have benefited from working at a studio where major investments of time and money have been put into the switch from film to digital. It has not been easy and the learning curve is painful (to both your wallet and behind). It requires many long hours in front of your computer and a healthy vocabulary of good cuss words...and Coffee, lots and lots of coffee! I still wouldn't trade my digital for all the fujichrome Velvia and Ektachrome 100 in the world! If your still fighting the switch from film to digit
Another Day Another Dollar... 2007-05-13 21:32:00 Friday's shoot was a real challenge. We broke out all the "Old School Tricks" we could think of..... hot lights, Strobes, Vivitar 283's, gels, peanut slaves and dozens of rolls of background paper. We had the kitchen sink and the whole kitchen with us! Hardly a piece of equipment was left behind at the studio when we loaded for the job and the location was dusty and dirty from metal work and welding. And after all the preparation, hard work and gear delivered to the site, our hero's end up being 3 ambient light exposures (with a little help from 1/8th mile of white seamless) on a Canon EOS 1ds Mark II. Ain't digital great! But when the job was finished, there was quite a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. You have to have a few rough days to make you appreciate the breeze jobs that start at 9:AM and end before the lunch hour starts. The lunch hour being 'THE' most important hour of any day!Later...
Read more:Dollar
Hello To All.....A Little About Me. 2007-05-10 23:19:00 It had to happen eventually....and here it is, my attempt at communication with the other obsessed people with camera envy, sore wallets and tired 'stared at the LCD monitor too long' eyes! I hope I can be of some help, even if just hearing another person complain makes your problems more bearable. I can bitch and moan with the best of them, so bear with me in the next few weeks as I lay out my plan to take over the photo world, one slow pay client at a time!Day One.
Read more:Hello
Technology You Haven't Seen! 2007-06-28 09:48:00 Could this be the cause of the focus problems with Canon Camera's new EOS 1D Mark III? You be the judge! I know what this is............do you?What do you think...
Read more:Technology
, Haven
Strobist Takes Leave... 2007-06-28 07:35:00 David, over at the Strobist Weblog is taking a 1 year leave of absence from his full time gig as a Staff Photographer for the Baltimore Sun. He will be devoting more resources to his very popular Weblog, with the added benefit of having more time to spend with his family. Plans for a lighting course on DVD and more travel projects and seminars are in the works.you can read more about it on his site
Read more:Leave
After Capture Magazine Subscription Offer! 2007-06-26 21:59:00 I had an opportunity to check out a copy of the new AFTERCAPTURE magazine today. I read it cover to cover while I was waiting for a client to arrive at the studio. The publishers are offering some sort of free subscription, available for a limited time. I was extremely impressed by the printing, visuals and content. I would have to say that it might well be the most useful magazine ever published for Digital Photographers. No kidding!Check them out on their WEBZINE to get a feel for the content.
Read more:Magazine
, Subscription
, Offer
, Magazine Subscription
Software Review... 2007-06-26 20:18:00 The good folks at Alien Skin Software
are shipping me two of their most popular Photoshop Plug- ins, 'Snap art' and 'BLOWUP'. I will be playing with both of them this weekend and hope to have a review of each plug- in posted early next week. The 'Snap art' plug- in gives your images the look of natural art media, such as oil paint or pen and ink and 'BLOWUP' is Alien Skin's answer to Genuine Fractals for image upressing. I have read good things about both and I'm looking forward to putting them through a few of my very unscientific and subjective tests. Don't expect a 10 page White Paper with charts and mathematical analysis. If your looking for that much detail you've come to the wrong place!coming soon...
Alien Skin's 'Exposure' Plug-In 2007-06-25 07:19:00 In the Sunday June 3rd post I promised you I would write more about Alien
Skin Software's 'Exposure
' Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. So here it is...The folks at Alien Skin Software are local. So they actually came over and spent an afternoon with me in front of my computer listening to me gripe about Adobe Photoshop. In the middle of a book project, I was on month 6 of the editing, processing and manipulation of images to submit to my editor. Anything that would speed up or improve upon the process would be greatly appreciated. Their contribution to ending my misery was the new Adobe Photoshop Plug-in 'Exposure', designed to give your digital images a more traditional film-Like look complete with added grain and luminosity. After the initial testing, Jeff Butterworth; Owner, Founder and Head Braniac at Alien Skin, sent me newly updated versions of the software almost every day. Those nutty guys at AS implemented every change into the software that I asked for and usually within 24
EOS-1D Mark III ...Stud or Dud! ....Update 2007-06-25 06:35:00 Rob Galbraith has added an update to the article on the Canon EOS 1D Mark III and its autofocus performance problems. The update to the June 19th post deals with more of the readers questions. The article lists several methods for contacting Canon Technical Support and your local Canon Rep.Link Below:An analysis of EOS-1D Mark III ... Update
for June 21
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