Digital Manipulation....

No.1 - Original Raw File

What a strange place the digital world is. I was preparing my selection for the British Wildlife Photographic awards before I finalised my selection I let my wife view them. This is always a good idea as it allows me to verify my selections and get feedback. We came to one photograph that, whilst was strong could just be a bit stronger. The photograph had come from a series shot in a few seconds so I had a number of very close variations. Sure enough there was a photograph that filled the brief so much better (No.1). Having checked the brief again I went to work processing the image to make it an acceptable photograph.

At this point it is worth noting the rules on digital manipulation:

"...Digital processing, such as contrast, selective exposure and colour adjustments, removal of dust marks, and sharpening is acceptable. Digital manipulation, including composite images and the addition and/or subtraction of objects is prohibited. Images should retain their naturalism and integrity...." - Entry Restrictions:

No.2 - Content Aware Scaling

A facility within Photoshop CS4 is 'Content Aware Scaling' (CAS) - this is an ability to remove areas of the image that are very similar whilst maintaining the size and integrity of the main items within the image. It is a very meat piece of software but it drives a coach and horse through the digital manipulation - or does it? When you compare No.2 and No.3 you will see what I mean. No.2 has scaling applied

No.3 - Conventional Cropping

What the CAS has done is remove a slither of sea between the two main birds in the photograph. By doing this it has made the photograph far more impactive. (This is very difficult to see on the photographs on the blog but in real life it is noticeable.) However, this is nothing compared to the crop of the original (compare No.1 with No.3) and yet cropping has been part of photography since the first Fox-Talbot negative. Now these two images are subtle and there will no doubt be much more blatant applications of CAS. It does, however, go to the false argument that a photograph never lies. This conceit has been around for as long as there has been photography and it is totally bogus. Photography only records what the photographer wants it to record. he/she makes all the choices and only shows the viewer what he/she wants them to see. Photography is a con - it always has been - it just that now it is so much easier for the '...Average Joe...' to partake in the con.

So what will I do? Well I will submit No.3 but in the knowledge that No.2 is a better photograph (in my view) - I just wonder if other contestants will be as conscious of the dangers?

Interesting day or so

I have just spent an interesting day or so rewriting a utility to back up my files correctly.  I have purchased back up software but this proved to be disappointing.  Whether it was me or the software I just don't know but I was certain that the software had backed up the files I wanted.   As a result of this I decided to update an old piece of software that had been running on several of my other computers for a number of years.   It was quite enjoyable to use a different part of my brain than that I use to make photographs.

However, as I was doing this work it struck me that the version of Visual Basic I use is 12 years old.  I know that there are much more modern versions out there but this does fine for me.  I find I know how to use the software to write those little utilities that no commercial software can achieve.  They are as much about your own peculiarities as anything else.  The three main utilities I have created are to do with Metadata generation, Image backup and the one I have just completed.   I really would be lost without them.

This got me thinking about how modern software is developed and actually how useful they are.  This is particularly relevant to Photoshop CS4 and other megaliths of the modern world, such as the office suites.  How much of these programs do we use?  I suspect the answer is not a great deal.  I for one have my own way of working in CS4 that doesn't vary that much.  It certainly doesn't involve 3D modeling etc yet this comes with the software.  I know these are jack of all trade software bundles but there is also a point where you have to ask why?   We all know why because if didn't buy the latest version of the software then very quickly companies like Adobe would be in trouble.  Of course it is not just Adobe who does this.   The great?? Microsoft are devils for this.  I still maintain that the best version of Word was version 2.  I am still using Word 2000 and this is more than adequate for my needs.

I know this is not earth shattering stuff and has been commented on by many other people but I am happy with my twelve year old programing language and would probably be happy with a cut down version of Photoshop CS4 - not elements which is neither here nor there in my view.  Anyway, that's got that off my chest!

Updating we will go.

I have spent the past day or so updating both Photoshop CS4 - now 11.0.1 & Adobe Lightroom - now 2.3.  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly some software gets out of date so quickly.   In the case of Lightroom this is in part due to the continue development of new cameras that mean that the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) has to be continually updated.   However, both are also to fix known bugs/faults call it what you will.

One interesting aside about running 64 bit.  At the recent Focus on Imaging show at the NEC  I spoke to the onOne people about when the 64 bit version of Genuine Fractals was going to be available.   The advice was that this is unlikely to be available until well into the latter part of the year.  I was also informed that I should consider using the the 32 bit version of both Lighroom and Photoshop as there was 'no difference between 32 bit and 64 bit'.  This may be so but if you have built your workflow around the 64 bit products then moving back to 32 bit can be problematic.

Images for next weeks meeting

Start and Finish

I have spent an interesting day putting together a series of images for next weeks meeting.  I have been interested in the question of what makes a good photograph (I know that is an almost impossible question to answer as it is always very subjective but it is one I have been thinking about for a while now).   Anyway, what I have been working on is the difference between an image at the start of the process compared to what it end up like.   

To examine this I made a series of prints based on the RPS submission.   They are diptychs comparing the image at the start and end.   I find the result very revealing about how I work as photographer.  I clearly like images that are fully saturated or with strong blacks and contrasts if they are black and white images.  They also benefit from extensive work in Photoshop.  I am going to keep them in a folder of other images that I printed off over two years ago.  This too is a fascinating comparison of how my photography has changed over time.  In short and enjoyable days work.

As this progressed I decide to produce two images based on composite images.  Again looking at the images now after a few months it is interesting to see how I constructed the images for a particular effect.  I think you can define me as a photographer when you compare the raw images with the final product.

To end the day I printed off a couple of images that just took my fancy.  I have to say the printer appears to be working much better compared to with the previous computer.

Printing and other things

Birds at Staunton Harold Reservoir Car Park

I got around to installing the printer today.   I had to down load the new 64 bit drivers and they installed no problem.  The printer appears to be very stable but is printing a little dark at the moment.  However, I have got to calibrate my screen yet and this might over come some of this.

As I mentioned a few days ago I have been playing around with creating images of several birds superimposed onto one another to make a montage.  The above effort is my first attempt.  I think this shows great promise.   The question is what type of photograph is it?   Is it a photograph at all as this was created with a great deal of digital processing?   In the end I keep coming back to a question that was thrown at me from one of the seminars - Does is matter?   Well in one sense it does matter - I couldn't enter this as an editorial photograph.  However, as I am not that type of photographer that is not a great consideration.   In the end I like it and for me that is all that matters.

An Idea

Chaffinch Taking Off

I have been toying with an idea since shooting a series of images with my wireless remote.   Superimposing them to make a more impressive shot than one image.   I have done this before with such images as 30 minutes at Heathrow.   I have also made other images of birds but this is different.  This is a single background taken again and again from the same angle.   This has some interesting variations that is worth pursuing.   Only time will tell if it works.

30 minutes at Heathrow

The start of something new

Burrough Hill Iron age Fort

I have spent most of the day setting up my new computer.  To date only one set of software won't work - Genuine Fractals 5.   According to the web site this software will not work with 64 bit OS - see support website for more information.  This is a bit of a blow but one I'll get over.

It has been quite tiring slowly building up the new computer - I still have to install the scanner and printer - but these can wait.   I have to say I am impressed with the performance of the new computer.   I am now able to move seamlessly from Lightroom 2.2 to Photoshop CS4 in a blink of an eye.

The new Photoshop is a bit different from CS3.  I am taking my time to get use to the changes but the most important thing is the performance of the software.  The Burrough Hill image at one time was over 300mb in size and the machine/software didn't break into a sweat.   The new zoom facility on Photoshop take a little getting used to - it is so quick and smooth.   Overall, it has been a very enjoyable day.  Lets hope this continues.

Digital workflow

Having spent the weekend thinking about the forthcoming upgrade of my PC I have come to some conclusions about my digital work flow.    The first is that this is an opportunity to refine the process so that it is as efficient as possible.   The second, and this is a linked to the first, is that I will build the work flow around commercially available software rather than using software that I have written for myself.

The nuts and bolts of the work flow will be built on two file formats.   DNG and TIFF.   The reason for this is because these are open formats and so should be immune to the vagaries of changes within digital file format.  They also represent the highest quality files for saving data.   Of course I will use small JPG files when publishing to the net or when required but the main file formats I will use are DNG and TIFF.

As for the software I will build the work flow around Adobe products.   The reason for this is simple - they are the industrial standard for photography and so should provide a stable platform upon which to build any work flow.    The only exception to this will be the use of Photomatix for generating HDR images.

Thinking about setting up the new computer

National Gallery - London

Having to undertake some interesting think about how to set up the new computer.   This wasn't too much of a problem in the past as I hadn't developed a significant digital work flow.   This time it is different and it is causing my brain to hurt.   It revolves around three applications: Adobe's Photoshop, Lightroom and Dreamweaver.   How do I set up these packages up on the new machine?   Equally, do I spend a some cash and buy CS4 - after all I am a full time student and so could get the web premium package for a significant discount.   This is probably the best way forward in the long term but just at the moment it may cause complications when I have an essay to finish.  Problems problems problems.   I suspect I will have to bite the bullet and set things from new and take it from there.   Should be an interesting few weeks.