Just got this link from Apple, how to use standard software to create great photo based products for Christmas gifts. Shows what can be done, some help in the "how-to" field.
All with that lovely Apple look and feel.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
What the f?
The name Scott Kelby is massive in Photoshop and photography circles so my ears pricked up when his name was mentioned last week on an Apple Mac podcast. Scott was on a photographers panel at a conference in NewYork speculating about the future of cameras and photography. Senior industry figures predicted the usual in digital photography - more pixels, greater sensitivity, better lenses. Kelby's take is very different and two points he made stick in my mind.
First, why can't we do away with the f-stop? As you know this is the mechanism by which the amount of light going into the camera body is adjusted. Get it right and the image pops, too much or too little light and the picture is ruined. Serious snappers shoot in camera RAW, a file format that tolerates greater exposure latitude but still you need to be there or thereabouts to get the best result.
Just imagine if the captured image could be adjusted, to display with just the right amount of light for your purpose. A quick image scan by some clever software would give you a near optimal image which you could then fine tune. We already have a type of camera that allows you to focus after making the image, surely the same could be applied to exposure data to get a brilliant image,
Second, why can't we do away with screw in accessories? When I heard this point I thought immediately pictured items such as coloured filters. My mind when back to my own early days in black & white photography and buying yellow, green and orange glass filters which could be used to improve elements of an image such as clouds or skin tones. They were pretty expensive too and a reasonable set would be a chunk to carry around in your camera bag. Today I can quickly convert from colour to B&W in my image editing program (I normally use Aperture) then apply any filter effect at that point - all in the comfort of home.
But what else falls into the screw in category for digital imaging? How about the tripod? Another expensive purchase from my early days albeit one which immediately improved my images by the simple expedient of holding the camera rock solid. However I noticed a new Pentax DSLR which employs clever technology to stabilise images. I think Scott's right, this will creep into a wider range of DSLRs, pocket cameras and even mobile phones.
First, why can't we do away with the f-stop? As you know this is the mechanism by which the amount of light going into the camera body is adjusted. Get it right and the image pops, too much or too little light and the picture is ruined. Serious snappers shoot in camera RAW, a file format that tolerates greater exposure latitude but still you need to be there or thereabouts to get the best result.
Just imagine if the captured image could be adjusted, to display with just the right amount of light for your purpose. A quick image scan by some clever software would give you a near optimal image which you could then fine tune. We already have a type of camera that allows you to focus after making the image, surely the same could be applied to exposure data to get a brilliant image,
Second, why can't we do away with screw in accessories? When I heard this point I thought immediately pictured items such as coloured filters. My mind when back to my own early days in black & white photography and buying yellow, green and orange glass filters which could be used to improve elements of an image such as clouds or skin tones. They were pretty expensive too and a reasonable set would be a chunk to carry around in your camera bag. Today I can quickly convert from colour to B&W in my image editing program (I normally use Aperture) then apply any filter effect at that point - all in the comfort of home.
But what else falls into the screw in category for digital imaging? How about the tripod? Another expensive purchase from my early days albeit one which immediately improved my images by the simple expedient of holding the camera rock solid. However I noticed a new Pentax DSLR which employs clever technology to stabilise images. I think Scott's right, this will creep into a wider range of DSLRs, pocket cameras and even mobile phones.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
File Size Saga
One of the most frequently asked questions from phone calls relates to the relationship between file size and quality. People seem to think that the quality of a photo scan is determined by the size of the resulting file. Bigger file, better quality.
To re-hash what I've said before the key factor in picture scan quality is the dpi at which the original is scanned, then the cleverness or otherwise of the program which compresses the resulting image. So I was surprised when one of our clients took me to task - we had scanned a large number of 35mm slides, all at 4,000 dpi into jpg files. Why, he asked, did the file sizes vary? After a little thought and file comparison the answer related to the slide mounts.
First, jpg files are compressed. Clever maths enables the program to remove some data points, for example in uniformly solid black areas. If one image has a lot of solid black, while another is more varied, jpg compression will give you a smaller file. In theory that goes some way to answer the question but in practice the file size variation isn't that great.
Second, as I found after some digging, look at the amount of space the slide mount creates. Yes the maximum image size on a 35mm negative or slide doesn't vary but even within the same type of film the bit in the middle varies in size. By a significant amount. It was noticeable, and maybe understandable, how much difference there was between different slide mount manufacturers but I was surprised to find variation between different Kodachrome slide mounts.
To re-hash what I've said before the key factor in picture scan quality is the dpi at which the original is scanned, then the cleverness or otherwise of the program which compresses the resulting image. So I was surprised when one of our clients took me to task - we had scanned a large number of 35mm slides, all at 4,000 dpi into jpg files. Why, he asked, did the file sizes vary? After a little thought and file comparison the answer related to the slide mounts.
First, jpg files are compressed. Clever maths enables the program to remove some data points, for example in uniformly solid black areas. If one image has a lot of solid black, while another is more varied, jpg compression will give you a smaller file. In theory that goes some way to answer the question but in practice the file size variation isn't that great.
Second, as I found after some digging, look at the amount of space the slide mount creates. Yes the maximum image size on a 35mm negative or slide doesn't vary but even within the same type of film the bit in the middle varies in size. By a significant amount. It was noticeable, and maybe understandable, how much difference there was between different slide mount manufacturers but I was surprised to find variation between different Kodachrome slide mounts.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Order! Order!
I've never been a paperwork fan so when we launched our photo scanning service I just asked people to supply their key details on whatever paper came to hand. All we really need is your return address, pretty much everything else we can work out ourselves.
Not everyone thinks that way and we've had consistent calls asking how clients can find an order form on the site. So we have now added an order form page, if you like forms you can just print that page, fill in the details, and mail it in with your photos, slides or negatives.
Not everyone thinks that way and we've had consistent calls asking how clients can find an order form on the site. So we have now added an order form page, if you like forms you can just print that page, fill in the details, and mail it in with your photos, slides or negatives.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Kodak - Another RIP
I read yesterday that as part of their restructuring programme Kodak have stopped production of film strip plastic. Sadly 60 people have been laid off. So what?
Well, the plastic strip in question is the vital physical layer onto which chemical is spread to create slide or negative film for traditional analogue cameras. As Kodak gave up film and slide sales a while back I assume this output went to other companies and emerged on the market under another suppliers name. Where they'll get their supplied from (if anywhere) isn't explained. It seems likely to me that other companies are pulling out of the analogue media market combined with the inevitable decline in demand.
So perhaps, apart from slide, negative and photo scanning companies, who is handling physical film material these days?
Well, the plastic strip in question is the vital physical layer onto which chemical is spread to create slide or negative film for traditional analogue cameras. As Kodak gave up film and slide sales a while back I assume this output went to other companies and emerged on the market under another suppliers name. Where they'll get their supplied from (if anywhere) isn't explained. It seems likely to me that other companies are pulling out of the analogue media market combined with the inevitable decline in demand.
So perhaps, apart from slide, negative and photo scanning companies, who is handling physical film material these days?
Friday, May 31, 2013
Photo Wallpaper
We're often asked how big can prints be made from our photo scanning service. Usually its for clients who want to make a photo book or a canvas print, or on relatively rare occaissions a poster. Today I saw an interesting advert for a service being promoted by Tetenal and Shiraz Software - photo wallpaper. Yes, truly massive enlargements neatly printed on 24 inch wide strips of paper, nicely butting together with no need to fiddle about with an overlap.
So, dig out that photo of Rover, the kids or that lovely sunset, send it to us for scanning and you could soon be looking at it on your wall.
So, dig out that photo of Rover, the kids or that lovely sunset, send it to us for scanning and you could soon be looking at it on your wall.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Personalised iPhone Covers
So, you have an iPhone, it's either black or white - just like all the others, so you can make it unique(ish) to you by clipping on a smart cover.
How about a truly unique cover? One of the clients from our CD ripping service pointed us in the direction of a service from Photobox that applies a digital image to an iPhone case. If you Google "personalised iphone covers" you'll see a collection of suppliers; and of course we can scan those photos for you.
How about a truly unique cover? One of the clients from our CD ripping service pointed us in the direction of a service from Photobox that applies a digital image to an iPhone case. If you Google "personalised iphone covers" you'll see a collection of suppliers; and of course we can scan those photos for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)