Fill Light

As my DP1 RAW files aren't read by Aperture I process them in the manufacturer's software SPP.  This does a very good job as might be expected but is painfully slow and it's not really a program for managing large numbers of images.  SPP does offer some additional adjustment capabilities though, one of them is Fill Light.  Other programs have fill light capabilities but they're different.

The Fill Light adjustment has both positive and negative capabilities.  Positive fill light approaches a somewhat HDR effect.  Negative fill light adds a dream like quality to images, it's fun to play with.  The impact is most pronounced around the lightest part of the image.

Ohio Wheat

I was driving some back roads in southern Ohio this summer.  One of them ended in a wheat field.  I didn't expect wheat in Ohio.  Once again the clarity of this DP1 lens astounds me.

various manipulations

It's been 3 months since I updated this blog.  This is due to several factors: I'm evidently quite lazy; I've been busy this fall; and, I'm not at all certain about the nature of this (or any) blog.

A blog is perhaps just a journal or diary but if that's true then why electronically publish it?  

I originally had the idea that the DP1 being a new type of camera this blog might be of use to some considering one or starting to use one.  I believe that this has been true.  But then why continue to publish repeats of the same information if not for ego reasons.  OK, ego, I guess that's good enough.

Having used the camera for over 8 months I have started to understand it and the software enough to experiment.  I will post some examples here and on future entries.

I have recently returned from a photo trip through parts of the American South West.  I learned more about my personal style of photography (and the DP1) than I had expected.  I will post some pictures on future entries.

Regarding manipulation.  I have always been interested in platinum / palladium images.  These seem to convey an additional presence not found in other printing methods.  As reference I would point of course to the work of Alfred Stieglitz.  This process requires a large negative to be contact printed onto paper which has been treated with a platinum / palladium substance.  The work is expensive if nothing else.  It also requires the ability and the place to work with chemicals, light boxes and of course large negatives.

There are many people presently using this method and producing quite stunning work.  I point to 2 whose work I own and enjoy, Beth Dow and Dalton Rooney.  Beth has arranged to have some of her work professionally prepared, copied (?) and printed digitally, the result is that I can afford some...thank you Beth.

Dalton Rooney is an exceptional photographer from Brooklyn who recently started to experiment with the process and sold a few of his first works for next to nothing, probably not enough to cover expenses.  I have one and just love it.

With an increasing understanding of my DP1 and a love of B&W and platinum photography I have decided to see if I can put something together digitally.  This is my first attempt.

I like the color image, the yellow is very delicate. I also like the almost monochrome background but wish it were a bit less in focus.  I wondered if background manipulation would add to the 3-D impact of the flower.  I am terrible with Photoshop.  Fortunately the few tools I needed to use were quite intuitive.  I outlined the flower with a magnetic lasso inverted and applied a blur filter.  Changed image to B&W and added toning in an attempt to match the color I see in platinum / palladium prints.  I need to do more with yellow.  The color is very hard to get correct.  I am also thinking about bringing some of the leaves into focus.

SPP vs ACR

SPP

ACR
SPP
ACR

Like many people I was quite excited to learn that the new version of ACR has preliminary support for the DP1 files.  What this means to me is support for my images in Lightroom.  The SPP RAW developer does a great job...one image at a time.  It also is just a RAW developer and has no real cataloging capabilities.  After spending the last 2 years with Aperture I have really come to appreciate the convenience.

Sadly I have to report that so far I have found ACR lacking, although the images do appear to be about 90% identical.  The 2 images I used to test the programs each have very delicate tonalities and it is here that I find ACR to be lacking.  It is in the rendering of subtle tones that the magic happens I think.  Without this the perceived 3-D effect is missing. 

I have no real expectations that the subtleties will show properly here but I will do my best to describe them.

Approaching Storm beach picture.  SPP image shows substantially more low grey clouds in an almost 3-D rendition, ACR does not.  This is perhaps  "Micro contrast" but I can really see that there is an altitude difference in the clouds.  This is somewhat lacking in the ACR image. Also, the SPP image contains more colors around the brightest part of the sky than the ACR image.

Olympic Mountain sunset picture.  It is here that I immediately see the difference.  The sun's disk is completely blown out on the ACR image where the SPP image shows delicate cloud cover.  Also, the ACR image is starting to show that horrid bright yellow ring around the sun.  This is something I NEVER see when observing sunsets but that digital cameras almost always do.  I was quite excited to find that the DP1 didn't show this ring...now here it is again.

To be fair there are some things I like better on the ACR image.  The noise in the dark areas of the sunset picture are more controlled and much easier for me to accept.  The ACR image also seems to have a bit more mid contrast but that could be an illusion from the increased saturation the image displays.

So I guess I won't be spending the money for Lightroom just yet.

some more Reds and DP1

Here is another example of Foveon and red.  I'm not sure why I'm posting yet another example, perhaps because it's so easy to deal with and there seems to be a never ending discussion about this.  

I made 2 quick adjustments to this image, one of them Vignetting.  I would have made this adjustment to the image regardless of sensor; darkening the edges a bit keeps the image together somehow and focuses the attention on the roses.  I have darkened the edges of my (B&W) prints long before I ever knew there was an actual term for this action.  First time I heard vignetting I was thinking about a vinegar salad dressing.

The other adjustment was to "Fix" the red as pink phenomenon I notice with the DP1.  The steps for this in Aperture (and probably in other programs) are just about as easy as it gets.

Aperture has a Color Correction Tool.  When selected it opens a loupe and turns the cursor to an eyedropper.  Clicking on the offending color selects it.  The adjustment sliders are Hue, Saturation, Luminance and Range.  Hue is the fixer.  I select the red and simply click the slider to the right (towards yellow).  I have found that 10 or 11 clicks usually do it.  Saturation and Luminance are self descriptive and Range allows me to adjust the sensitivity of the color selection from "Razor sharp" to "Broad brush."

I used the AML-1 close up attachment and grabbed a couple of quick shots.  I had no time to properly work this scene but the colors are what I was looking for.

a DP1 Workflow

My current workflow is to review my images with SPP.  If I find some I like I process as 16 bit tiffs and save / manage the tiffs in Aperture.  I have wondered if perhaps it might be better to process all of the images as lower res JPGs with the thought being to go back and work the best images later.

This question is similar to the one I face when scanning film.  Should I do quick low resolution scans and re scan the selects later or should I spend more time determining which are the best.  I have compromised with the film scans in that I scan most images as medium resolution JPGs and occasionally re scan certain negatives later.

I am relatively certain that I will remain with my present system for my DP1 images until Aperture or Lightroom is able to process the RAW images and then will not use SPP again.  I have a suspicion that Lightroom will support the DP1 relatively soon and that Aperture will never support the DP1.  This is sad as I have come to be quite comfortable with Aperture and also sad because it will require the expenditure of more multiple hundreds of dollars.  I am having some serious doubts about this whole RAW thing...seems as though there is ALWAYS another program that needs to be purchased.  When do the benefits start to accrue again?

Well, if I do change to Lightroom I will once again be able to avail myself of the wit and wisdom of Scott Kelby and crew...that's a plus.

all creatures

After tropical storm Hanna blew bye I found this beautiful creature in the garage.  After posing for a few photographs she went on her way.  In search of breakfast perhaps.

I attached the AML-1 close up lens to the DP1 and used the Nikon SB30 small flash.  Exposure took a couple of tries. At 1/8 power and f11 I got pretty good exposure, but she was in a rush and so I was too.  Focus was a bit more tricky.  I couldn't remember exactly what the focus range was for the AML-1 and so tried to keep the camera about 11 inches from the small snake.   Out of about 15 shots I got these 4.  I needed to apply edge sharpening on all 4.  The others were either dramatically overexposed or most often out of focus.