Glyphs of Time :: a blog by jarvis grant

August 15, 2012

Mobile Photography: Confessions of a Camera Snob

Filed under: Digital Tech,Innovation,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , , , — Jarvo @ 11:34 am
Le Tombeau de Daguerre

Le Tombeau de Daguerre ©Jarvis Grant

Photographic technology has always spurred controversy in the art world. First here was photography itself. When photography first came on the scene in 1839, it was supposed to bring the death of painting, drawing, and art as we know it.  Now anybody could create an image. What was a true artist to do? Then film came along and replaced big cameras and glass plates. Now anybody could create an image! What was a real photographer to do? Then came portable 35mm roll film cameras you could fit in your pocket. They replaced large format 4×5 sheet film cameras. What was a real photographer to do? Next came color photography, how unnatural was that? Real photographs are made in black & white. Then came Polaroid’s instant photography. Instant photography no darkroom? Hell, now anybody can take a picture without even waiting a week to get their pictures back. Then came digital photography, replacing film. Hey, only real photos can be made with film cameras. Now anybody can take a good picture by “fixing” it in Photoshop. What’s a real photographer to do?

Well now it seems that photo tech has arrived at a new  paradigm, the mobile phone–camera.  With this new development in photo tech, you don’t even need a camera! What’s a real photographer to do?! For the past seven years, phone cameras have evolved from a dinky two megapixel joke to a decent eight megapixel creative tool.  Phone cameras have grown from novelty toys to the voice of people toppling dictatorial requiems around the world.  Now that almost everybody is carrying a video camera and a still camera in their pocket, web services like Faop for selling iPhone images as stock and ScoopShot as spot news cuts into the stock photography and photojournalism business model for many established photographers.

Now, I have been a long time camera snob when it comes to mobile photography and photography in general.  When all the hype about the iPhone came out I was a skeptic. Then when all of the accessory  and equipment hype came out, I thought there were a lot of folks drinking the Apple Kool-Aid! I mean why would any body want to put a $1000 plus Nikon or Canon DSLR lens on an iPhone? What’s the point. Get a camera! It’ll be easier to handle, give you more control, and will possible be smaller than having a five inch DSLR lens dangling from an iPhone. And don’t even mention an iPad tablet!

However, this past winter I went to a NAPP event at the Washington Convention Center and ran into my friend, classmate, and fellow creative pro Lorenzo Wilkins. He casually showed me some pictures from a recent trip he made on his iPhone. Man, I was blown away! Lorenzo’s images looked really good. At that moment I got the whole iPhone portfolio thing. I’ve seen lots of iPhone pics but was never really that impressed. I always felt people were showing off the phone not their images.

About a month ago I was forced to upgrade my old HTC Diamond Touch to a HTC EVO 4G LTE. The Touch Diamond finally died after 5 years of good service, but I never really used the Touch’s camera. It was okay, but not for taking real photos. I only used its 3 megapixel camera for visual note taking.  Then my daughter, Maya,  told me about Instagram and how she was using it to get her digital painting out into the world. So, I downloaded the app and started to play around with it. It was quite intriguing. Once I got used to it and my phone’s camera, I began to come up with a couple of good shots. Then I just naturally stated to see how to better manipulate the camera’s controls, along with finding photo apps that allowed more image processing contols beyond Instagram’s filter set.

So now I’m at the point were I believe that phone-cams can be creative professional tools. I still believe that a real camera will offer up better results faster that a phone-cam. I just don’t dismiss phone-cams as merely toys for people who are too cheap or lazy to use a traditional camera. I now stand on the opposite side of the mobile photography argument. Well, at least I’m beginning to see the other side’s perspective.

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April 21, 2012

Photoshop World DC 2012: Cool & Fun

Filed under: Digital Tech,Education,Observations,Photoshop — Tags: , , , , , , — Jarvo @ 10:48 pm
PSW 2012 Seal

Photoshop World DC Seal

Well Photoshop World DC has come and gone! It was great having Photoshop on the Green & Yellow Metro line. No airports hassles, no hotel hang ups, just a quick three block walk to the Metro and then a quick 15 minute ride. BAM, I’m there! Photoshop World, a three day Photoshop Lovefest!  Yet I must confess, it’s not the experience it used to be for me ten years ago. While I felt I knew my way around Adobe Photoshop back in 2000, I began my digital imaging experience with Aldus PhotoStyler 1.0 in 1993 and migrated to Photoshop 3.0 in 1995 (Adobe bought Aldus). Photoshop 5.0 was still quite the Magic Box. Scott Kelby and NAPP  (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) opened a brave new world of digital imaging and design to me. Back then Photoshop World was simply amazing! Back in the day, Photoshop was a design, illustration, and prepress tool. Despite its name, there was very little photography going on at Photoshop World. There was only John Paul Caponigro and Jim Divitale talking about Photoshop for photographers.

Joe McNally explains speedlite technique with yours truly as workshop model! ©Jarvis Grant

Well, now all of that has changed. Photoshop World is extremely photography centric.  There’s was very little talk of design issues, no prepress except for two sessions by Dan Margulison LAB color, some video and some web, and a little video. The rest was photography. I should be happy, right? Well, I was. But after 30 plus years as a photographer and arts educator, I know the relationship of exposure of/stop, shutter speed and ISO, marketing, an exhibiting fine art photographer, etc. Plus, I also know that gear has very little to do with great image making. I’m also a Photoshop ACE (Adobe Certified Expert). I say that not to imply I’m a giant Photoshop Intellect. Not by any means.  For the most part Photoshop World, this year, allowed me to see that I was on the right track in my continued career goals, and that I actually know a thing or two! But hey, I am always looking for a couple of jewels to add to my utility belt.

Those pearls of wisdom and magic did present themselves to me from Calvin Hollywood and Greg Hessler. I got my Photoshop fix from German photographer Calvin Hollywood and my photography inspiration from Greg Hessler. Plus the mad cap antics Russell Preston Brown can be a bit “over the top” they never, ever disappoint! Not to mention some old tile religion from from speedlite wizard  and photo journalist Joe McNally. Some really good stiff. Whoa, don’t let me forget the geeky-krazy Corey Barker. Corey is very old school Photoshop. His Photoshop For Designers session definitely got to the core of what being a Photoshop Maestro is all about! He is also the creator of Photoshop Planet.

So, the next stop for Photoshop World is at Las Vegas, officially known as Photoshop West. If you have never gone to a Photoshop World, check it out. Also, when you go, don’t walk around with your Big-Ass DSLR! What’s the point? There’s nothing to shoot with it, except for at a couple of booths that do have models and lights set up. I recommend taking a  point & shoot. You’ll be be more free, and you’ll get more photos, and besides you’ve got three days!

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March 18, 2012

Photoshop World 2012 Comes to Washington, DC

Filed under: Design,Digital Tech,Education,Innovation,Observations,Photoshop — Tags: , , — Jarvo @ 12:33 am
Photoshop World DC 2012 Poster

Photoshop World 2012 East Comes to DC! ©NAPP

Well, NAPP’s (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) Photoshop World is finally coming to the nation’s capital! That’s great, cause that’s were I live! Ya know, I’ve been a member of NAPP since 2000, or is it 1998? At any rate it has been for quite some time. NAPP is, by far, the best professional organization for people who use Photoshop and want to learn more about the program. With that said, Photoshop World is the best way to immerse yourself in all things Photoshop. The worlds best trainers and authors of Photoshop are in one location, and attendee have the best opportunity for meeting and conversing with them one on one. Photoshop World also affords you the chance to connect with vendors who are on the cutting edge of digital imaging. Well, at least the cutting edge at that moment! Now, with that said, Photoshop World can be like a Miles Davis concert during the 1980’s. As strange and bizarre as it can be, you can’t get help get a Golden Nugget unavailable anywhere else.

Photoshop World 2008 "Star Trek" theme

I wasn't going to the 2008 Photoashop World until I found out it was going to have a Star Trek theme! ©NAPP

Each year the conference has a theme. It can be anything.  From Formula One racing to boxing.  Themes can be based on popular culture like like Motown (Photown!) to a KISS Concert and  Star Trek. Kinda wacky for sure. Yet the business of doing Photoshop is taken very seriously. When I first started going to Photoshop World is was graphic design and illustration. Then later, web graphics, and finally photography and  digital video. Whatever’s the trend Photoshop World tries to get its membership up to speed on it. Yet I have to say, when I first attended Photoshop there was very little about photography. John Paul Caponigro and Jim DiVitale were the only Dream Team members that talked about photography and then Kevin Ames.  That’s because they were photographers! Then Russell Brownbegan showing photographers some very cool Tips & Tricks.Now, it seems Photoshop World has turned into a photography conference, simply because that is the “trend”.

Okay, with all that said, if you are in the Washington DC metro area, you should definitely stop by Photoshop World, If you’re not interested in the full conference, or think it’s too expensive, then get the Free Photoshop World Expo Pass. This pass will allow you to visit the Photoshop  World Expo floor. At the Expo many of the Photoshop Dream Team Instructor will be giving 30 minute  presentations.

So be sure to stop by the Photoshop World. It’s a three day Photoshop Love Fest  well worth the visit! You can stay in touch via the Photoshop World Hashcaster Site  and The Official PSW iPhone App.

See ya there!

 
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January 22, 2012

Technical Innovation and the Basics: Part 1

Filed under: Digital Tech,Innovation,Observations,Photography — Tags: , — Jarvo @ 2:43 pm

I was recently reading about the new Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera. This camera looks to be the “professional” version of Fujifilm X100.  I was very excited about the X100 even though I wasn’t in the market for a new camera. What excited  me about the X100 was the fact that this camera looked great! Any camera with a shutter speed dial and the f/stops on the lens barrel has got my vote. At least for now. When I saw the first X100 reviews, the camera seemed wanting. Then I thought about the criticism. Beyond the usual bugs found in first generation technology, the reviewer spoke about the “handling” of the camera. The photos were “blurry”. Not out of focus, but blurry. In the days of film cameras, blurry pictures were not the fault of the camera. It was then I realized, “This guy is new to photography, and has only handled digital cameras.

A few years ago I heard a very interesting comment from a pro shooter. He said that, “All digital cameras are point & shoot.” The comment was referencing a statement made by another photographer about difference in “quality”  (and probably more so, price) between pro cameras and amateur ones. The down play of cheaper/amateur cameras was that , “They to everything for you, not like a real (pricey/pro) camera. With the statement that “all” digital cameras are point and shoot cameras, this means that if a photographer actually understands the concepts of the photograph’s relationship to exposure and the situation, they can “program” the pricey camera to simply perform to the needs of any given situation. This allows the photographer to concentrate on getting the most compelling image, without concerning themselves with mundane technicalities of f/stops and shutter speeds.

The point of this little rant is that, when the reviewer said the camera produced blurry or soft photos, he blamed the camera, not his  technique. Film cameras had no “Image stabilization”. That was your job as photographer. You had to practice handling your camera. What’s the slowest speed I can get away with and have a sharp image? How fast can my thumb advance the film? How quickly can I load the camera (with film!)? These were basic issues and skills, back in the day. You were carful, not carefree. You looked hard, immersed yourself in the scene or situation, and you took your time without wasting any. The innovations in digital photography addresses these issues by allowing you to perform these skills with greater ease. Hey it’s great to be able to carry the equivalent of a brick of film (20 rolls) in your pocket! Yet, when photographers do not address the basic elements of photography, then the cameras and Fotoshop are taking and making the pictures.

 
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December 20, 2011

Eddie Tapp: Image Rescue Webinar

Filed under: Digital Tech,How-To,Photography,Photoshop,Video — Tags: , , , — Jarvo @ 1:27 pm

This webinar is part of x-rite’s educational series of color management webinars. I found that this webinar was extremely informative, and clear approach to understanding how to correct image color problems. This video by Eddie Tapp is about one hour long, but moves quickly. Definitely worth a bookmark.

Webinar: Image Rescue for Problem Files with Eddie Tapp! from X-Rite Photo on Vimeo.

 
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The Adobe InDesign Online Cheat Sheet

Filed under: Digital Tech,Education,How-To — Tags: , , — Jarvo @ 12:46 pm

I have found that sometimes the best and fastest way to get to info that I need is to post it on my own blog! Here’s a great resource I found on Terry White’s blog. The Adobe InDesign Cheat Sheets.

Complete List of InDesign Shortcuts

Courtesy of Business Stationery

 
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October 4, 2011

Photoshop’s Content Aware Fill: The Agony & the Ecstasy

Filed under: Digital Tech,How-To,Inspiration,Observations,Photoshop — Tags: , , — Jarvo @ 4:48 pm

When Adobe’s Photoshop CS5 was introduced, its biggest marketing ploy…uh I mean creative feature was Content Aware Fill. This feature allows you make a selection around some visual annoyance and like magic Photoshop will fill the selection with whatever is around or near the object in question. So if someone should walk in front of you while taking a photo, you can eliminate them using Content Aware Fill. Now in the old days of film, you would simple wait for a clear shot, but that’s so old skool!

So why Agony & Ecstasy? Some of you may remember that 1965 big budget film The Agony & the Ecstasy with Charlton Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison: Pope Julius II. In a nutshell, The Pope wants sculptor Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, while Michelangelo wanted to sculpt the Pope’s tomb. So because the Pope had the power, he made a sculptor paint! And on his back 50 feet above the floor! It’s the same old story, corporate demands against designer vision, the marketing department’s messages against the design department’s voice. What’s all this got to do the Content Aware Fill? Adobe’s marketing department pushes feature sets to the weakest or newest users of their flagship product, Photoshop. Pushing fetures that “fix” apposed to features that “create”. This content aware feature is powerful when used as a creative tool. Here’s one way.

In this example, I’ll use Fig.1. Normally, we would use the, Content Aware Fill (CAF), to get rid of some out of place element, like the building to the right. Here I’ll use the couple walking on the sidewalk. First, I’ll use the Quick Selection Tool to select the couple. Just a Note: CAF does not “create” content, it replicates content found near the selection. I choose the walking couple because they were on the grassy plane. I didn’t choose the person in front of the bus top because Photoshop would not be able to Create the missing segments of the bus shop. For best results, after the selection is made go to Select/Modify/Expand and choose about 4-16 pixels. When this is done Photoshop will compare those pixels inside of the selections border with those near the outside of its selection border. It will take that information and guess at what should be on the inside. Once we have the selection hold Shift/F5 to bring up the CAF dialog box (Fig.3), and click OK, and like magic, the couple is gone. Now, there’s always a little Stamp (Clone) Tool cleanup, but 90% of the work is done (Fig.4).

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Okay, now when I took this photo, the subject was the sky and those beautiful lush clouds. I wanted the clouds that were near the horizon and didn’t want to lose them by tilting the camera higher. I then suddenly thought of CAF! Get rid of everything except the clouds. This should work great on an organic fractal pattern element like clouds. When I got back to the studio, I tried it and it worked like a charm Fig. #5 – #10. I simply selected the bottom of the image with the Lasso Tool and hit Shift/F5. I thought I was done because I just want some cloud pictures as elements with other photos., so I tried it again. This time I hit Ctrl +J (Cmd+J for Mac) and created a duplicate layer of the original shot. On Layer 1 I did that CAF magic. Now for fun, I made a layer mask (FIG.6) and brought back the person walking on the sidewalk along with their shadow. This looked natural because all the lighting was the same!

This was looking pretty good, but something was missing. The story was almost there, this person walking in the clouds needed a destination or something, so I added a Moon. This planet was made in Photoshop using Flaming Pear’s LunaCell plug-in filter. LunaCell creates instant planets. Fractal, reality-based, or start from scratch to make strange new worlds. I got a couple of atmospheric moon already and just added one using the Blend Mode of Screen.

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By thinking of creating an image not fixing a photo, I was able to turn a gorgeous day in Washington, DC, from urban landscape into a Dreamscape. In part with the help and power of Content Aware Fill and a little personal vision.

The Dream Catcher

The final image with all of its new elements in place, ©Jarvis Grant

All images & rights. ©Jarvis Grant

 
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September 21, 2011

Nikon 1 System: Has Nikon finally got small right?

Filed under: Digital Tech,Innovation,Observations,Photography — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Jarvo @ 8:21 pm
Nikon1 Series

The Nikon1 Series Family of Products

Nikon has introduced the Nikon 1  camera system. Not to be out done by Olympus, Panasonic, and Ricoh, Nikon has produced a small sensor, mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera system. These cameras are targeting photography enthusiast who want to actually learn photography and step-up from their point & shoot camera. The system is also trying to woo pro photographers who want a serious camera with interchangeable lens that don’t  weigh a ton and are small & agile.

First there’s the Nikon J1. This 10 megapixel camera is design with the photo enthusiast in mind.  It’s got a bunch of pro features, yet its interface is closer to the familiar point & shoot model this photographer may be used to. It also has a couple of “dangerous” features! I consider a feature dangerous when the camera ports to be smarter than the human being using it. One such feature is , Smart Photo Selector. If you’re too dumb to choose which shot is best, the camera will make the selection for you! The subject’s head is down or turned from the lens? Hmmm…that must be a mistake! Let’s (the camera) delete it. Nikon marketing experts say, “With a single touch using Smart Photo Selector there are no more imperfect photos.” Yeah, right. Well, if you want it comes in different colors, like pink, with lenses to match!

Nikon 1 J1

Nikon 1 J1 in Red

Ok, next is the big brother , the Nikon 1 V1. Again this is a 10 megapixel camera with a few extra “pro” features. It has an electronic viewfinder, a hot shoe, Nikon i-TTL flash metering utilizing the Nikon Creative Lighting System, with both an electronic & mechanical shutter with speeds as low as 30 seconds, and the option of adding an external mic when shooting HD video. It looks to be quite interesting. At least on paper. Only comes in black, thank God!

Both cameras have the new Nikon CX sensor. This sensor is smaller that the Nikon DX sensor and the four-thirds senor. Yet, it’s bigger than the normal point & shoot camera sensors. This should up the ante on image quality without packing in a bunch of false megapixel numbers. At least for the time being. Both cameras also shoot HD 1920 X 1080/60i video with a HDMI output, but no HDMI cable in the box. They also come with Nikon’s low end viewer software which can “edit” stills and video. Hey Nikon you could have done a little better here. Like offer Adobe Photoshop/Premier Elements. Or offer a stand alone computer capture module. Oh well!

Nikon V1

Nikon 1 V1 in Basic Black

Still there’s one feature these cameras have that I think is really cool, The Motion Snapshot. With the Motion Snapshot, when you take a picture it captures a tiny video. It reminds of Star Trek Voyager, where they had digital picture frames that had just a little bit of motion to them. Pretty slick!

Nikon CX Sensor

The orange rectangle is the Nikon CX Sensor

Now, I’m a Nikon shooter. I first real camera was a 1965 Nikon F. I’ve always bought Nikon, until my first point & shoot Nikon. It was a piece of junk. Than I bought a second one a bit higher on the food chain, it was a piece of crap too. Both cameras just simply fell apart From that I said “Never again!”.  My final point & shoot 35mm camera was a Leica Mini-Lux Zoom. Now that was (and still is) a camera! Then I experimented. I bought some Nikon CoolPix for my school (Ellington School of the Arts in DC). Was not impressed. So now, I’m looking for an interchangeable small digital camera and this Nikon1  V1 could be it. But if Nikon has come up with this, Canon can not be far behind. Both Nikon and Canon, who are the traditional Camera Giants, are still playing technology catch-up with, the new kids on the block, Olympus (who’s not that new!), Panasonic, Sony and Ricoh. Hey, things are starting to get interesting!

 
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August 16, 2011

Adobe: Contemplating the Muse

Filed under: Design,Digital Tech,Innovation,Media,Observations — Tags: , , , — Jarvo @ 2:49 pm
Adobe Muse web site homepage

Adobe Muse web site homepage

Adobe has released the beta of their new web design application, Muse. This new Adobe app is yet another in its line of web design sans-code tools. Muse is totted to be a tool to, “Create websites as easily as you create layouts for print. You can design and publish original HTML pages to the latest web standards without writing code”. Similar to Adobe Catalyst for designing interactive Flash design without using ActionScript, and Adobe Edge  for designing content & animation using HTML 5 , Javascript, and CSS.  Muse is definitely worth a look see. In fact the whole Adobe Muse site was created using Muse. One other interesting note is that Muse is built upon Adobe’s AIR platform.

With all of this techno wizardry, there is something different with Adobe Muse brings to the party. This little piece of Adobe real estate, while still in beta, presents on its web site a tab for Pricing. What the tab delivers to you is Adobe’s new software subscription model. Instead of the usual flat rate, it offers you the choice of the “Month to Month Plan” or the “Yearly Plan”.  Now this isn’t new that new. Adobe has been pushing this idea for several months. Actual since the “release” of Creative Suite CS5.5. So, you don’t want to shell out $600 for Photoshop? Okay, you can rent it for $30 a month, which puts you a little over the “upgrade” pricing. This idea is not going away, and for some users it does make since. You’re only using Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat Pro in the Creative Suite? That’s about $30 bucks a month on the Year Plan OR $50 bucks Month to Month. Only need AfterEffects for a few months? That’s about $70 per month.Still if you do the math you’re a little better off buying the box. Still, it is a option, and once more people buy into the idea of software subscription, the prices should drop.

So what Adobe Muse offers to designers is a way to design for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, without mucking around with code. The interesting thing is that tools like this are actually training platforms too. As you begin to troubleshoot problems with your designs (yes believe it or not things can go wrong with software!) you’ll start picking up a little code handling here and there. Not a lot, but enough to understand what happens on the developer side of the equation. Now if there was only a tool for developers so they could understand that design is easy only after a designer creates a design!

 

 
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July 10, 2011

A Gigapixel Portrait

Filed under: Art History,Digital Tech,Media,Museum,Photography,Video — Tags: , , , , — Jarvo @ 8:53 pm

When I first started this project it was to create a 360 degree panorama of an art installation at the Hillyer Art Space in Washington, DC. The work, Ass Against the Wall is the work of artist Martha Jackson Jarvis. The piece was inspired by her trip earlier that year to Tajikistan, a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia, as an Art & Cultural Ambassador.  This was also the first time I use my Gigapan EPIC for an assignment. The original idea was to create a 360 degree pano for a QuickTime VR movie. However the final image/movie was huge! Even when I reduced the pixel count by 50% it was still pretty big, but it wouldn’t choke a user’s system. This is what I came up with. Click & drag inside the frame to view the movie panorama.

 

The thing about 360 panos is that they’re 360 degrees! So as the Gigapan did it’s thing we were in the final images. I wasn’t sure if it had finished, so when I leaned forward to check its progress, my movement was recorded. One thing that I did discover was that Martha was watching the camera’s movement with great interest. So much so that the camera captured her as if posing for a portrait. It looked pretty good, so I now thought of the image as an environmental portrait. We decided to make a poster for her artist talk at the gallery.

Ass Against the Wall Exhibit Poster

Well neither the QTVR movie or the poster really show the detail of this gigapixel portrait. Even the poster had to be scaled down so it could be printed on a 36 inch by 17 in sheet of paper. After I had submitted the landscapes mentioned in my previous post, Revisiting the Gigapan, I decided to upload the original 360 panorama (cropping me out!) to show it in its full glory, so to speak. Interesting thing about this “final” image is that when I was processing it, I still cut it back by 50%, so it’s still not the true full gigapixel image. Use a navigation tool to pan & zoom through the image below. You can also use your mouse wheel as well as click & drag to pan through the pano.

 
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