The Digital Photo Guy

Are “They” Seeing What You’re Seeing?

By now, serious readers know there’s monitor calibration, printer profiling, projector profiling and, if you want to get picky, even, camera profiling. Well, do you know about web browser profiling? Say, whaaa???

You perfect your photos by color correcting, adjusting levels, setting black point, adjusting Hue/Saturation, tweaking Vibrance, etc until it’s just the way you want it. But you have no control over how they’re displayed on your viewers’ monitors. They could be viewing your photos on a $12000 Eizo calibrated monitor or a $79 Walmart “We don’t need no steenkin’ calibration” special. Throw in a non-color managed web browser and who knows what they’re actually seeing.

I had planned to embed screen captures from various browsers using photos with and without profiles but decided that was too much trouble. Instead, go to this web site and roll your cursor over the test images. The take away is that you have no control over someone who is cluelessly using a non-color managed web browser but you have some modicum of control over those who are, at least, using an up-to-date browser. In any case, be sure to tag your photos before uploading them.

What Can I Say? I’m a Little Slow!

I never understood the fervor over tablets. Who the heck wants to pay $500 to play games or watch videos on a tiny screen? What advantage does a soft keyboard offer over real keyboards? How can I run Lightroom on such anemic hardware?

Nevertheless, I knew my target audience was buying them so I had to understand their appeal. When Costco reduced the Vizio VTAB1008 tablet to $189, I rolled the dice. After playing with it for a few weeks, I finally understand the tablet’s role. This is the new TV, stereo, newspaper, map, GPS, Yellow Pages and Post Office, all rolled up into one device. In other words, it’s strictly for entertainment and info lookup. Instead of looking in TV Guide, use the tablet. Instead of watching TV, watch YouTube on the ’net. No more Yellow Pages, order take out Chinese on-line.

If you want to do serious work such as enhancing and editing photos in LR, PS or PSE, you still need a real PC. Analyzing the genetic makeup of a killer rhinovirus outbreak in Hong Kong ain’t gonna be on a tablet! The catchy phrase of the day for tablets is “information consumption.” The whole idea is to sell you more “stuff,” ie, e-books, videos, music, games, anything to entertain. Bottom line, tablets aren’t really computers.

I found the tablet useful during a recent roadtrip for checking diesel prices, reading e-mail and, in general, entertaining myself. But, when it came time to download, review, rate, enhance, optimize and store nearly 200 photos of bighorn sheep, my big honkin’ laptop was, and still is, the tool of choice. Writing even simple e-mails is a chore on a soft keyboard. Teens with overly developed thumbs, typing in pidgin Textglish, might like it but if you type in complete sentences with proper grammar, soft keyboards are abysmal.

I have, however, discovered tablets are wonderful portfolios. My print portfolio weighs about 10 pounds while the Vizio weighs 1.2 lbs. Of course, an 8″ screen doesn’t have near the impact of a 17″ x 25″ print from an Epson 3880. A tablet is essentially a toy, albeit a fun toy, and there’s no way it’s worth over $250.

Photos from Pt Loma Lighthouse

After all, this is a photography blog so here are some rcent photos. The San Diego Photography Collective had a Meetup at the Pt Loma Lighthouse during its 156th anniversary celebration. The very top of the lighthouse, which is normally closed, was open to the public. I used Topaz Labs Adjust and B&W Effects because those were prizes for a photo contest we concocted for this Meetup.

Given the age of the lighthouse and the docents in period costumes, it seemed appropriate to process these in B&W. The left photo above is Jimmy and a docent. Jimmy is from Quebec and he flew down to San Diego for this event! He had never been to California and thought it might be fun. He’s a great guy and a talented photographer. This was a first for us, no has ever flown in from a foreign country for one of our Meetups.

The middle photo is a docent and the right photo is the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse. Notice the ghost on the landing below! All three were processed in Topaz Labs B&W Effects. The first is an antique sepia preset while the middle is an opalotype preset. I don’t remember what I used for the right photo but I believe it was a classic B&W effect.

On the Snake Oil Salesman, I cranked up the grain and simulated an old daguerreotype. Topaz has a daguerreotype preset but it was too refined for my taste. I wanted this to look like one of the old west posters processed in chemicals long past their useful life. The last one of a gargoyle on the lighthouse roof was processed in Topaz Labs Adjust 5. Afte applying a preset, I pushed it over the top to create a photo appropriate for slasher movies. TA5 was just released and has over 130 presets to get you started.

If you’ve never used Topaz plug-ins, click this LINK and download the fully functional trials. Best of all, Topaz offers FREE upgrades. I bought the entire Topaz suite about 3 years ago and have upgraded most of the plug-ins at least once and some have been upgraded 2 or 3 times.

Busted!

Andy, a fine photographer who regularly reads my drivel for laughs, caught me cheating on my post about cropping. When I posted those images, I knew the seed head in the background was a problem but I was too lazy to fix it. Andy suggested I blur it with Gaussian Blur  but I felt that would still leave a distracting element. Instead, I recropped following my basic cropping rule, “When in doubt, square it out.” In other words, when at a loss for the right crop, try a square.

The first photo above is the original crop, the second is a square crop and the third has a repaired wingtip. Jill, a long-time reader, friend and competition terror in her local club, pointed out that the main element shouldn’t be touching the edge. That’s what I regard as a “soft rule,” something that depends on the situation. One photo below follows the rule but the other doesn’t. Can you tell why?

San Diego Natural History Museum Contest

The deadline for entries has been extended to November 6, 2011 so you still have time to get your act together and enter a photo. While you’re there, check out the previous winners.

This may not be the London Natural History Museum Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest but it will help you get there. Look at the 2011 winning photograph by Daniel Beltrá of Spain and tell me it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye.

How Much Is Too Much Editing?

Most photo contest only allow minimum editing including cropping, adjusting levels and sharpening. Cloning and healing are generally not allowed and removing an entire element is definitely verboten.

The San Diego Natural History Museum Best of Nature Photography Show is different in that it’s more of a fund raiser for the museum so pretty much anything goes. With that in mind, I decided to try the following.

The first image is the original and the second is the edited version. Most contests would never allow the edited version but I felt the single landing eagle was more impactful. What do you think? Is this too much editing? Does it change the essence of the photo?

This was made at Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM with a Canon 40D and a 300/2.8 and 2x TC on a Gitzo 3530LS with a Wimberly Sidekick. Exposure was 1/160, f/25, ISO 1600, 0EV. It’s titled The Eagle Has Landed.

This photo will be used in the Wacom tablet webinar this Wednesday, 10/26 from 7 to 7:30PM.

Alabama Hills

Mobius Arch is possibly the most photographed arch in the Alabama Hills. It’s so popular that to get a position on the boulder just to the east, it’s necessary to be there by Oh-Dark-Thirty. Of course, there’s no reason to sit there in the dark, freezing your buns. I made this photo in near pitch black conditions. If you look carefully, you can see that I misfocused. Almost everyone frames Mt. Whitney through the arch but, being a contrarian, I prefer Lone Pine Peak. This was made with a Canon 7D with a 24-105 at 24mm, ISO 400, 10 seconds, f/4.0 on a Gitzo 3530LS and Markins Q-20. I was there about 5:45AM and barely beat out a guy from New Jersey who took a wrong turn getting there.

This was made the day before while scouting the area around Mobius Arch. The first photo is what everyone makes. This is an angle I’ve never seen. The gear was the same as the first photo. Settings were ISO 400, 1/200, f/4.0.

I was hoping the next morning would have the same heavy cloud cover for a shot at gorgeous alpenglow. Unfortunately, there were just a few wispy clouds the next morning.

By 6:30AM, GWCs (Guy with Camera) were crawling all over Mobius Arch, getting in the way and, in general, acting clueless so I left. On the way back, this thin, wispy alpenglow-like light lit up Mt. Whitney for 15 seconds.

Gear info is exactly the same. Exposure was ISO 100, 1/25, f/4.0. All photos have been cropped, adjusted levels and sharpened in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.

I still have over 600 photos to process so I’ll post more info on future images with explanations of how and why I set up as I did.

Cuties for a Cause Calendar Launch – Friday, October 14

Don’t forget the Cuties for a Cause 2012 calendar launch party at the Lafayette Hotel in San Diego. It’s just $10 and you’ll have an opportunity to photograph professional and semi-professional pin-up models in a fun venue. You can see the Cuties website HERE. The 2012 supported cause is the San Diego Animal Support Foundation.