Photoshop Optimized Computer: Epilogue

Several weeks back, I wrote a series of three posts about a "Photoshop Optimized Computer". Those posts can be read here, here, and here. Just this last weekend I received a comment from photographer Mike Mundy (see his blog and website....great stuff) who said....

"It is probably time for a follow-up report on the computer . . . what worked, what didn't. And why didn't you get an Apple product, as everyone else seems to be doing? I have a feeling that Photoshop CS5 is going to be too much for my aging low-end PC to handle . . ."

So here is the follow up on what worked and what didn't.

1) Puget Systems Computers - This is the company that I decided to purchase a custom computer from, as I had discussed in Part 1. I couldn't be happier with that decision. When they say technical support responses within 24 hours, they mean it! I had several occasions to contact them and each and every time I got a thoughtful response in less than 24 hours from folks that obviously knew their stuff .

The computer came exceedingly well packaged with supplemental information provided by Puget Systems, including benchmark testing results, as well as all the spare parts and instructions from each of the individual components that were used for the build. In addition, they included the original Windows 7 OS disc as well as a system image/restore disc for the system as it was configured at the time of shipping.

There was absolutely no unasked for bloatware as you get with Dell. They made good on their offer to include certain free downloads and have them pre-installed. The only one that I had chosen was Microsoft Security Essentials, given the reviews stating that it was an excellent piece of software (from Microsoft????)....elegant in its simplicity and not a drag on the system (from Microsoft????). Not only was it installed, but the computer came with all current Windows updates as well as security essentials updates already applied, so the system was totally up to date and ready to go. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending Puget Systems!

2) Windows 7 OS - I like it. I like the way things are organized in libraries, I like the Windows system imaging, and I like the Windows search. Coming from Windows XP it took a little getting used to, but I now prefer it. The only part of the OS that I don't like is the portion that controls tablet functions. More on that in a second. I have had no problems finding drivers for my hardware and they all seem to function normally, save one.

That one, unfortunately, is my Wacom Intuos 2 graphics tablet. There is a Windows 7 driver for it...so, given the age of the Intuos 2, kudos to Wacom for that. The tablet initially started functioning normally, but soon started malfunctioning even with a system image restore to a point in time when it had worked. What do I mean by malfunctioning? When you boot up and try to use the pen, the cursor moves about a mm and then freezes. If you go to the tablet software by right clicking on the Wacom icon in the control panel, remove user presets, and then load the presets again it functions normally until you reboot. It has to be done again with each fresh boot. The whole maneuver literally takes about 20 seconds to do and you just have to do it once when you boot, but, nonetheless, I wish it worked correctly.

That said, I'm not quite sure where the fault lies. It could be the OS but could also be the motherboard USB controllers or the driver itself. Searching the internet, I'm not the only one with this problem. The workaround I describe is the result of Googling the problem. I did contact Wacom and they claim it has to do with a motherboard USB problem, but I am not convinced.

As I mentioned, the tablet functions of Windows 7 are also a bit odd. When you use a pen you get a distracting ripple effect as well as a small Windows Tablet interface. You can turn these off (and I did), but you have to do a bit of research to find out how....it isn't intuitively apparent.

Overall, I think that if one is going to venture into a new OS as an 'early adapter' there are always going to be some issues. I think I encountered a number of these issues (including the fact that I can't get Firewire or e-SATA drivers/drives to function correctly and, again, I'm not sure if this is related to the OS or motherboard) but overall I am quite pleased with Windows 7. I have the 64 bit version to prepare for the future!

3) Internal Components - All seems in order. Did I need the RAID 0 system for the scratch disk and files being worked on that I described here? I am not at all convinced that I did. The system seems so fast that even large files approaching 500 to 750 MB load into and save from Photoshop very quickly.......much, much faster than in my old system. In that system I could open the file and walk away for a minute or two. Not so anymore. I honestly don't see a huge difference between opening or saving the files from the standard Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Black hard disk compared to the RAID 0 system. I haven't timed it and there may well be a difference, it just doesn't seem all that significant in 'real life usage'.

A volume of the Raid 0 array is also being used as the primary scratch disk, as described here. I have not compared the speed of the RAID 0 array used as the primary scratch disk to the regular hard drive used as such, but perhaps it is of some benefit. These benefits might be further magnified if the RAID array consisted of more than 2 disks, but that would start to get even more expensive. Overall, however, if I were designing the system again, I might well pass on the RAID 0 array, which would have saved some cash and kept more internal SATA drive bays open.

I outfitted the computer with 12GB of RAM....it is quite fast. Had I not included as much RAM perhaps the effect of the RAID 0 array might be more apparent.

As you can see, I have not tested these issues in a quantitative fashion but am just commenting on my 'real world' usage experience. If anyone has more quantitative experience and wants to chime in on these issues I would be most appreciative!

4) Monitor - I sprung for a 'lower end' wide gamut Eizo monitor . Not at all cheap, but after using it am really amazed at the increased sharpness, saturation, and soft proofing ability that it offers once calibrated. The difference is dramatic and I wasn't using a bad monitor before (it was a LaCie CRT). I think it was a worthwhile investment. An alternative monitor which has gotten excellent reviews, can be obtained for significantly less, and which I considered is the NEC with integrated calibration.

5) Photoshop / Lightroom - I have the 64 bit versions of these running as well as the 32 bit version of Photoshop installed and have not run into any problems even though CS4 is not officially supported on the Windows 7 platform. I do wish that Nik Software would make all their plug-ins available in 64 bit versions. Viveza 2 is available in a 64 bit version, but Color Efex and Silver Efex are not, and it is a bit of a pain to use two versions of Photoshop. My PixelGenius, OnOne, Topaz, and Neat Image plug ins are all available in 64 bit versions and I have not had any difficulty with any of them.

6) Why didn't I purchase an Apple? I strongly considered it. I ended up with a PC because the price for a machine with similar 'power' seemed significantly lower to me and I already had multiple programs that were Windows 7 compatible that I did not want to repurchase in Mac versions. Also, despite the fact that Apples 'just work', I have read on various forums about problems that people are also having with the Snow Leopard OS.

So, that is the update on the new system.

Photography Book Ideas

Like many people who enjoy the art of photography, I also enjoy collecting photography books of all sorts.....fine art photography, photojournalism, essays etc. I don't think there are many photographers who don't also have a photography library. Sometimes, I will just get in the mood to buy a new photo book and start browsing or looking for ideas. I thought I might write about the sources from which I get ideas for book purchases and also ask anyone who might be reading this to contribute other ideas as to where they go to find out about photography books.

There are several sites that I use as information sources. Here are the ones that I use most frequently and enjoy the most:

1) Photo-Eye Bookstore: A great resource! Also, one can sign up for their e-mail newsletter, which comes about once a week. So, with no effort at all, you can have a steady stream of information about the newest quality photography publications.

2) The 5b4 blog...another great resource with book reviews.

3)Podcasts: A good number of photography podcasts, at one point or another, have book recommendations. In fact, I learned about my latest purchase, a book called The Printed Picture, from a recent LensWork podcast. In fact, the last three LensWork podcasts have been related to photography books.

I also look forward to Paul Giguere's Thoughts On Photography podcast. I purchased a real favorite of mine, Secret City, based on Paul's interview with photographer Jason Langer. In addition, every December or January he has an episode about his picks for the best photography books of the year. Granted, it will be eight or nine months until the next book review episode.....but the old ones from years past are still there for the listening. And the podcast is great, so don't just listen to the book review episodes!

4) Finally, I also get ideas from several photography magazines that contain book review sections. The three that immediately spring to my mind are Photo Life, B&W, and Color but, of course, there are others.

Writing this, it occurs to me that I don't typically peruse the websites of the prominent photo book publishers. Nor, and I guess this is a sign of the times, do I generally find photography books by browsing in bookstores. However, that may simply be because your typical brick and mortar bookstore generally has a very limited selection of these types of books.

So, what are your favorite resources for finding out about photography books?

Zone Plate And High Pass Filtration

I don't usually write many blog posts about Photoshop techniques, but have been asked a few times about my "Dreamscape" images made using the Lensbaby zone plate optic. The "Dreamscapes" series can be seen here. At any rate, the question I have been asked pertains to the sharpness of the zone plate images, and, specifically, how the images are made to appear sharper than a typical zone plate shot.

First, for those that may not be familiar with the term, zone plate photography is ,in some ways, similar to pinhole imaging. However, instead of using a pinhole to allow light into the camera, a series of clear concentric circles spaced at mathematically determined distances are used for this purpose. What this effectively does is:

i) markedly decrease the shutter speed compared to pinhole imaging, as the zone plate lets in much more light than a pinhole per unit time

ii) impart a unique glowing appearance to the highlights in the image and

iii) make the focus of the image even softer than the same shot made with a pinhole.

For a little more information about zone plates see here.

I very much enjoy the 'dreamy' look that the zone plate imparts, at least for some types of images. However, I have to admit that the images sometime do appear too soft focused for my taste, but, yet, the same image made with a pinhole doesn't quite yield the same effect. For this reason I have often added a 'high pass sharpen' layer to the image in Photoshop.

Here is an example of what it can do to a zone plate photograph (the smallish imagesin the blog make it a bit difficult to see, but I think you can tell if you look carefully...it is much more apparent on a slightly larger image)

Dreamscapes #1....No High Pass Sharpening
Copyright Howard Grill

Dreamscapes #1...With High Pass Sharpening
Copyright Howard Grill

The method is started by flattening the image. Now the image consists of only a background layer. Duplicate this background layer twice and click the icons to turn these duplicate layers off, making them invisible. Now click back on the background layer to make it active and go to the Photoshop filters and choose High Pass (Filter>Other>High Pass). You get a dialogue box in which you can choose a radius. Choose 75 pixels to start, but this is obviously a ‘jump off’ point for experimentation.

Your image will now look totally disgusting. Don’t worry….just click on the duplicate background layer which is directly above the layer that was just filtered to make it active and then click on the icon to make it visible. The image now returns to the way it looked before starting this whole thing because it is a duplicate of the original at 100% opacity lying on top of the filtered image. Now the fun begins. Change the blending mode of this layer from normal to overlay (or try Soft Light or Hard Light) and the image undergoes an interesting change.

Perhaps the effect is too much? That is why I added the second duplicate layer (which is not visible at this point) on top of the others at the start of the technique. Click on that layer to now make it active and click on the icon to make it visible. The image now appears as it did before starting. But turn down the opacity of this topmost layer to let the filtered look come through and see how you like it.

In this example, I think the technique really 'tightens up' the look and puts the focus squarely on the person without losing that dreamy zone plate look. This works best on simple images with strong graphic lines. But I find that zone plate imaging works best on those types of compositions anyway.

Seeing The Invisible

Part of the mystery, and joy, of photography is its ability to show us what our eyes can't see. Some of the sights that are normally 'invisible' to us that can be revealed with a camera include:

i) Motion over time - This, of course, can be revealed by photographing using a slow shutter speed. Not only can 'natural' motion be revealed in this way, but we can generate abstract images that can only be seen in the completed photograph by generating 'unnatural' motion by purposely moving the camera during exposure.

ii) Color - Our brain can 'neutralize' colors in order to achieve our own 'custom white balance'. For example, people are often amazed at the blue color cast seen in photographs that are taken in the shade or the color cast that results from photographing a white object located right next to a brightly colored one. The colors are there, it's just that our brains remove them for us. Sometimes these color casts are problematic for an image and, at other times, they can be used creatively to great benefit.

iii) Perspective - Changes in perspective that are related to the optics of a lens. OK, so this one really isn't something that is present in reality, but is related to the physics of the optics. Often these perspective changes can be used creatively, such as when making an object appear to be closer than it is by using a wide angle lens. These same lenses can introduce problematic distortions (like pincushion or barrel distortion). However, at times, even these types of distortions can be used creatively.

iv) Illumination- Only when it is truly 'pitch black' is there not enough light to make an image if you leave the shutter open long enough. Our eyes are only able to see non-additive 'real-time' photons while film or a digital sensor can keep capturing and adding photons to an image. More specifically, bright to us is a large number of photons at once while bright to film or a sensor can mean a large number of photons absorbed over a prolonged period of time. Thus, we are surprised when a long exposure taken in near darkness yields an image with far more subtle coloration, brightness, and detail than we could see with our bare eyes.

One of the reasons that I enjoy this photograph taken during a workshop in Provincetown, Massachusetts with Nancy Rotenberg, Les Saucier, and Don McGowan is that it contains all four of the above elements presented in a subtle fashion, without any of them overwhelming the other.

Herring Beach
Copyright Howard Grill
30 seconds at f18
Click For Larger Image

More specifically:

i) the smoothing out of the ocean water because of the long 30 second exposure, blending all the waves that occurred over the course of the exposure into a smooth misty appearance.

ii) the cool blue coloration of the water and sand is real and is a result of reflections from the blue night sky. We automatically neutralize this when we are present at the scene, but the photograph shows us what was really there.

iii) the interesting perspective, making the foreground pebbles look closer and the background land look farther away than they 'really were'.

iv) the scene was actually quite dark when I made this photograph, which, as I mentioned, required a 30 second exposure. It was dark enough that when hiking back to the car after making the image I had to make sure that I didn't trip over something and was glad that I was able to walk back with a friend who had a flashlight.

Lots of pretty beaches up there on Cape Cod!

Social Media For Photographers Guide

Lately, I have been trying to get a better understanding of how social media can be used to become part of a photographic community as well as to increase people's awareness of my photography and blog. I'm 52 years old, so the whole idea of on-line social networking does not exactly come naturally to me....however, very few of my non-photography friends seem to really have an on-line presence, so perhaps I am more technologically tuned in than I give myself credit for!

At any rate, wrapping one's arms around the whole social media scene can be a bit difficult and has led me to have sometimes conflicting opinions about it.

In many ways, the 'older versions' of on-line community have opened up opportunities that I never would have otherwise had. The ability to get answers to questions regarding photography and technology is truly amazing, be it from Yahoo groups, company sponsored forums, or message boards/mailing lists. Though we don't typically think of these as 'social media' they certainly, to me, seem to be a form of it. I do know that information is disseminated very rapidly using these media, allowing me to do things and solve problems much earlier than if I had to wait 'for the book to come out'. I would certainly not be able to solve very daunting hardware and software problems without these outlets.

But what about the 'newer' methods of 'Social Media'....Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc? My feelings are a bit more conflicted about these modalities. On the one hand, I feel they are great ways to become involved with a photographic community. On the other hand, sometimes I wonder about the 'you follow/comment/promote/award me and I will do the same for you' mind set. At times it seems to me that quantity may be put above quality.

But I am still very new at this and, as I said, am still trying to 'wrap my arms' around it all. In fact, I am trying out a number of these newer modalities. Hence, you can find both the "Follow Me On Twitter" and the "Follow Me On Facebook" buttons located on the right sidebar of this blog! One 'guide' that I did find useful if you are interested in exploring the new social media as it pertains to photography and photographers, is this free guide put out by PhotoShelter and Adorama entitled "Social Media for Photographers". You can download your free copy here.

Thoughts On Canon 1 Series Pricing

My primary camera is a Canon 5D MKII. At this point in time, I believe that the only significant difference between the 5D MKII and the far more expensive 1Ds MKIII is the robustness and weather sealing of the body as well as the accuracy/speed of the camera's autofocus mechanism. As one who mostly does landscape and macro work, the autofocus is not an issue for me as I tend to focus manually (using Live View with 10x mag) most of the time. Because of this I decided that, for my use, the price differential is simply far too great to merit ever again purchasing a 1 series camera for my use (assuming that the differences remain similar). Of course, I can only speak for myself. These differences may be significant enough to others that are traveling in far harsher conditions than I do or are doing people/action/event photography to merit the extra expense.

What exactly is the price differential? Currently the 5D MKII comes in at $2499 while the 1Ds MKIII costs $6114 (pricing from B&H). While the 5D MKII was a few hundred dollars more expensive earlier in it's life cycle, the 1Ds MKIII had been, as I recall, $7999 early on (and, I believe, at the $6999 level even when the 5D MKII became available).

I have always wondered about this price differential. Back when I was shooting film, I had worked my way up to a Canon 1V, which was their 'flagship film model', and the one on which the digital 1 series is based. A brand new 1V can still be had for $1650 (though I can't imagine that they sell many).

This is where, in my mind, the pricing issue comes in....and I would be glad to have someone more knowledgeable about the diffrences between cameras correct me if I am wrong here. My sense is that if you took the 'innards', which is to say the sensor and processor, of the 5D MKII and put it into the 1V body you would essentially have a 1Ds MKIII. Let's first assume that the sensor and electronics of the 5D MKII cost $2500 and the body has absolutely no value. Put that $2500 worth of electronic equipment into the $1650 body and you have a total of $4150. Since, in fact, the 5d MKII body does have some cost, if we were to get a rebate for not using it the price of a 1Ds MKIII should be significantly less than $4150, even if you add back in some cost for the development of a more advanced autofocus system.

Am I missing something here? Is my logic out of whack? I am quite happy with my 5D MKII, though I still wonder, more out of curiosity than anything else, how Canon justifies the cost of up to $6000 t0 $8000 for its flagship digital 1 series cameras? Obviously, Canon can charge whatever it wants to without worrying about me, and presumably the next 1 series iteration will have features and options not available on the 5D MKII, but still.......

Don't Fight Mother Nature

When out photographing, I have always found working with the prevailing conditions to be a far better idea than stubbornly resisting what is going on around me. Let me be more specific by using an example. If I were to go out with the idea of photographing wildflowers and find that it is a windy day, I am much more likely to return with interesting images if I decide to shoot using long shutter speeds in order to create abstract images than if I decided to 'fight Mother Nature' and insist on trying to get tack sharp images using fast shutter speeds and waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the wind to die down briefly. Sure, I might come back with a sharp image or two after the fight, but I would not have enjoyed myself, would have a feeling of frustration, and would have robbed myself of the opportunity to have tried something new.

Nonetheless, I recently found myself 'fighting Mother Nature' without really knowing that's what I was doing. When I finally realized that I was resisting what nature was giving me I had a much more enjoyable time and came away with a reasonable image or two. Let me explain..... In a park near my house there is a group of three trees. They are special trees, though I don't know what species they are. They are quite short, but have an aged appearance with contorted and twisted limbs. Truth be told, I don't have a very good 'relationship' with these trees. I find them fascinating and intriguing......even a bit mysterious. For a year or two I have intermittently gone to see the trees with my camera but have never taken a single photograph of them! I have never been able to compose an image that I liked despite my feeling that there should be a hundred fascinating images among their twisted and contorted limbs. There has always been a bad background I can't eliminate (the trees are right near a busy street) or the composition doesn't really express what the trees make me feel etc. Sometimes, in situations like this, you are defeated before you even try......having tried so many times you go in with a losing attitude and an adversarial position (yes, I know those trees can't really think....but why won't they let me take their picture???).

Well, on Friday I went back again. There was snow on the ground and I thought that perhaps I could somehow use that as a 'clean' background. Of course, it turned out to be a bright day, something that is a rarity during a Pittsburgh winter (November through March is mostly gray.....if you don't have seasonal affective disorder before you move here you rapidly develop it). Because the sun was shining, there were strong shadows on the snow. I was trying to compose images of the twisted limbs, but every time I thought I was getting something interesting the trees' shadows would clutter the background.

After continuing to circle the trees in order to try to get an interesting composition without a distracting shadow in the background, it occurred to me that I was fighting this way too hard. Why not accept the fact that the sun was there and that unless I came back another time the shadows were simply not going away? Why not work with 'Mama' and use what 'she' was giving me? Why not try to incorporate the shadows into the composition? In fact, why not make the shadow the main subject of the image since, over time, I had been having so much difficulty making an image with the trees themselves as the main subject?

So that is exactly what I did! Once I started accepting the shadows as part of the image instead of trying to eliminate them, compositions became much easier.

Shadow Tree
Copyright Howard Grill

Is this an 'award winning' image?? I think not, but it is the only composition that I felt intrigued enough with to actually make me want to push the shutter button.

After liking the way my prior HDR bare tree image looked, I decided to use the same treatment for this image. The contrast range, given the bright snow and dark tree, lent itself to making an HDR composite of 6 images which was then converted to black and white and toned using SilverEfex Pro.

Just A Few Minutes

One of the intriguing aspects of nature photography is the constant realization of how things change. This is most easily apparent when returning to favorite nearby locations at various times of year. But very frequently, things change much faster than that, and perhaps no time demonstrates that more than sunrise and sunset. The rapid change in light levels, temperature and subsequent wind makes a scene change so rapidly that photos that were taken just minutes apart can look as if they were taken on totally different days.

Such was the case when I was photographing in Oregon a few years ago. I had previously written a post about this image, taken at Haceda Beach:

Sea Stacks I
Copyright Howard Grill

A short while later the sun had dropped lower in the sky, offering this composition, with the orb of the sun placed squarely between the two sea stacks.

Sea Stacks II
Copyright Howard Grill

Finally, only minutes later, the sun had sunk completely below the horizon. The warm yellow/orange coloration of the sky and water was now gone, but the clouds began rolling in and the sky became a deep blue with the clouds painted red/pink by the sun below the horizon.

Sea Stacks III
Copyright Howard Grill

Changes. All in a matter of just a few minutes. Nothing like photographing sunrise and sunset to make you cognizent of the passage of time!