Goals And Deadlines

In my last post, I mentioned that I was going to specifically answer the questions I thought were important to consider when planning a photography project as they relate to my recently initiated "Botanical Blends" series.

However, before I do so I would like to add one more important concept to the planning stage of my project. This is likely important for anyone planning a project, but is particularly apropo for me, as I tend to spend too much time on any one image, making changes that I am sure no viewer will likely notice. This concept has to do with deadlines. I believe it is important to set a reasonable and achievable schedule for producing the project. This schedule will be different for everyone depending on their 'life circumstances' and available time to devote to the project. However, it does need to be achievable while allowing for completion of the project within a reasonable time period.

With that said, here are my personal answers, goals, and deadlines for "Botanical Blends":

Who is the intended audience?

For this project, given the subject matter, I define my audience widely. I believe it would include anyone with an interest in flowers and horticulture as well as nature. In addition, as a secondary audience I would include people that I work with and/or my patients, as I will likely have an opportunity to display prints at work and in my office.

How do I primarily intend to reach that audience?

The primary goal I hope to achieve is to have a display at a local botanical conservatory. Obviously, I can not be sure that the goal will be achieved as the decision to hang prints there is not one that I make. Thus, I need additional viable methods for getting the work seen. For this project, that would include hanging prints at work/office. In terms of other distribution methods for the project, I am considering a pdf publication (though I have not used InDesign or Acrobat before and thus this will have a fairly steep learning curve and will probably not be coincident in time with other distribution methods), as well as possibly making some 'give away' promotional type prints.

Are prints needed? How many? What size?

Since my primary, and at least one of my secondary methods of distributing the work is via display, prints will clearly be needed in larger sizes. My plan is to have prints matted and framed to 20x26 inches. Why that size? As I have made some flower images in the past, this size just looks right for display to me and I already have some frames in this size as well. It is also an efficient size, as it allows me to obtain two mats and backing boards from standard sized 32x40 matboard and foamboard. Given that I hope for a formal display in a conservatory, standard white matting might be best, but I still have not ruled out the possibility of black matting. The frames will be simple and relatively inexpensive standard, thin black metal.

The number of images needed is difficult to be certain of and obviously depends on how many worthy photographs I make. However, as an approximate goal I am contemplating 20-30.

What is my deadline?

This is a difficult question but, knowing myself, a very important one. As I mentioned above, the goal needs to be attainable but the project also needs to be completed in a reasonable period of time. In addition, I anticipate working on some other prints during this time and I suspect there may be some periods when I have very little time to spare because of work constraints.

I have come up with a deadline goal of four finished prints every month. I plan to aim for one print a week, but I know that there will be times when I am unable to work on the project and times when I will be able to devote more time than usual.....so it seems to me that a monthly goal will be more reasonable. If I keep to that deadline, I should have the project well in hand by 6 months.

I should add that I have many, many flower pictures that I have taken and not 'developed'. So the primary focus of project completion will be on the computer as opposed to actually taking the photographs. That said, it does take a good bit of time and experimentation to find a texture that works well with an image. Clearly, the starting point is an excellent botanical photograph, but that alone is not enough for what I am trying to do.

I decided to put this goal in writing in order to help me keep to it, and I will post images and my progress as I go along. Because the next month is going to be quite busy for me at work I am going to give myself a bit of leeway at the start and declare today as the formal start of the project even though I already have 1 1/2 images processed. By September 27th I therefore need to have completed four images.

Project Planning

After my last post entitled "Creative Paths.....Creative Accidents", Mike Mundy made a comment wondering about the final output/usage of the images I was making for my flower project (to which I have given the tentative title "Botanical Blends"). I believe Mike intended that to be more than a simple question, and rightly so! In fact, I had been thinking about writing a post regarding planning the project.

As one thinks about a potential photographic project, I think they need to have in mind a number of important questions:

Who is the intended audience (although sometimes the audience grows, there should still be a primary target group who you think would be interested in the images...this target audience can be defined in either a very broad or narrow way)?

How do you primarily intend to reach that audience? This might be through a show (again, broadly or narrowly defined....from a gallery or museum show to hanging images at a local coffee shop or even at work or in your home),a magazine, book, pdf, or even as give away prints.

What other distribution methods might assist in reaching the target audience as well as making it easier for people that might not be in the primary target audience to see the work if they find it interesting. This might include any of the previously mentioned methods.

Answering these questions before delving into a project is important for some very practical reasons. Knowing the answers can help with some very basic issues such as:

Approximately how many images should one's goal for the project be? The number needed for a gallery showing might be different from that needed to author a magazine article.

What size prints are needed? Again, this will differ based on where the images are being displayed and how they are being used.

Are prints even needed at all? Perhaps not, if the final project is a magazine article, pdf, or your website.

Do the prints need to be framed, and, if so, how? The location of a display might well effect whether one chooses classic white matting or not, how ornate or simple the frame should be, or if some type of display without frames might be possible. In addition, this will give some idea as to the cost (and time) one can expect to be associated with framing.

What other non-photographic skills might be needed? These might include the software skills needed for making a pdf, laying out a book, or making promotional items, as well as framing skills, artist bookbinding skills, calligraphy etc.

How might the project be marketed or advertised?

These are just a few of the more prominent questions that immediately come to mind (and I am sure there are more that can be asked), but which I believe are important to contemplate before proceeding with a project.

Having written a bit more than I had expected, I think I will leave for my next post the specific answers to these questions as they relate to my "Botanical Blends" project.

Creative Paths....Creative Accidents

Just when I had been espousing previsualizing what you want an image to look like in Photoshop, I had a creative accident. As I previously posted, I have been playing with the idea of black and white flower photographs combined with various textures that have also been converted to black and white. After having made two such images, I was having trouble creating a third that resonated with me.

In trying to put together a third photo, I had already converted a flower photograph to black and white and was trying out different texture overlays. None seemed to 'work' well and so I was quickly trying out several more that I thought might go with the picture. I hadn't yet converted the texture I was working with to black and white and went to turn off the texture layer in Photoshop, as it didn't look like it would go well with the picture. Instead of clicking the icon to hide the texture layer I accidentally clicked on the icon to hide the black and white conversion layer targeting the flower.

Tulips I
Copyright Howard Grill

Whoa! The image immediately sprang to life in an unusual way (though the texture is a bit difficult to see in this small blog image). An accident, to be sure.....but that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Trying this effect with several different flower photos and various textures, I found it much easier to generate color combinations that worked....and they seemed to work better than the black and white ones.

So now I find myself revisiting my original concept. When I try to clarify in my mind why I want to make images like this, I think it is because most people don't stop and notice the beauty of flowers in images because we are inundated with them. By changing the standard form with which we are presented flower images I wanted to give viewers the impetus to stop and pay attention. I now find myself questioning whether that goal is better achieved with the toned black and white images or with the color images that I discovered by a happy accident.

Deciding which creative path to take at a fork in the road really makes you examine what it is that you are trying to accomplish. And trying to figure that out seems like a wise thing to do.

Robert Capa's "Falling Soldier"

Sure, the issue as to whether Robert Capa's famous photograph "Falling Soldier" was staged or not is an old one. But that doesn't make the controversy any less interesting.

Copyright Robert Capa / MagnumPhotos

Jose' Manuel Susperregui has some new information and theories that suggest the image was staged. We may never know the answer, but it certainly makes for interesting reading.

Here is the latest from the August 18, 2009 New York Times.

Mural

I have always enjoyed taking pictures of wall murals. However, I have typically photographed only isolated small abstract portions of the murals. Usually these images have no hint of what the mural was actually a painting of and consist only of abstract splotches of paint that denote only color, tone, and shape.

When I was in Montreal about a year ago I saw a mural that I found interesting. However, instead of the usual abstract 'blotches' that I typically would take, I found myself drawn to a portion of the mural that was much larger than usual for me. It reminded me of Alice In Wonderland. A year later I still like it, though I am not quite sure why!

"Alice In Wonderland"
Copyright Howard Grill

Flower Images

In my last post, entitled 'Too Many Choices', I mentioned that I was going to post a recent image that was a result of using experimentation to try to achieve a particular result that I already had in mind.

Rudbeckia I
Copyright Howard Grill

I have enjoyed taking flower photographs for quite some time, but have not printed too many of them as it is hard to do original work when it comes to this subject. For some time, I have been struggling to figure out how to portray the simple form and shape that I see in flowers in a way that I find satisfying.

After thinking about it for some time, I realized that I wanted to emphasize the flower's form and so thought about a pure black and white portrayal. But this didn't seem to instill in the images the sense of life that I was looking for. I decided to try toning the monochrome image, and this moved the final photograph closer to what I was looking for, but it still fell short. Ultimately, I tried experimenting with adding textures to the image and this seemed to bring out what I was looking for.

I am curious as to what people think about this appearance, as I am considering embarking on a series using this approach.

Too Many Choices?

Photographs can be post-processed in a multitude of ways. High-key, low-key, highly saturated, black and white, tinted, duotone, combined with underlying textures.....and the list goes on and on. While the multitude of options certainly opens vast creative opportunities, it can also be daunting. It can be easy to become 'frozen' with indecision, in which case having all those choices actually becomes a hindrance.

As I was thinking about this issue, I realized that there is no 'right way' or 'wrong way' for an image to look. A photo can be successfully processed in any of many different ways and still look great within each different style. The trick is to know how you want it to look and, once that is accomplished, to be able to get the image to that endpoint.

I am not at all advocating that one should give up experimenting with different techniques. Such experimentation will build experience in order to help know what the options are when considering how you want an image to look. In fact, in my next post I plan to show an image that I made using just such experimentation. But I used the experimentation to try to figure out how to get to an end result that I already had in mind. Overall, it just seems to me, that, in order to avoid becoming 'lost' when starting on a creative journey, it is helpful to have at least some idea of what the ultimate destination might be.

Shutterbug Image

OK, I know it's not exactly LensWork, but I do have to mention something when I get a photo published. The last few months I picked up a subscription to Shutterbug to read some of the software reviews etc and noticed their "Picture This!" monthly themed feature. So I sent in images for two months in a row since I happen to have had photos that fit the themes. The first theme for which I submitted an image was "Monochrome". I got my issue yesterday and there it was, along with the others they had chosen. Not the worlds biggest deal, but it is nice to see one's image in print!

Reaching Out
Copyright Howard Grill

Sand Dunes

It does seem like it has been a while since I posted any photographs. This image is one I have been working on from my series of rock abstracts. It was taken using cross-polarized strobe lighting with a 180mm macro plus 1.4x TC.

Sand Dunes I
Copyright Howard Grill

Quick Quotes: Sam Abell

At the end of June I wrote a post about photographer Michael David Murphy's website "Unphotographable", which he calls a ‘catalog of exceptional mistakes. Photos never taken that weren't meant to be forgotten. Opportunities missed. Simple failures. Occasions when I wished I'd taken the picture, or not forgotten the camera, or had been brave enough to click the shutter.’

Sam Abell has some interesting thoughts about being without a camera when what might have been an interesting photograph is seen. He channels the 'anguish' of missing a shot into the energy needed to make yet better photographs.

"Above all, it's hard learning to live with vivid mental images of scenes I cared for and failed to photograph. It is the edgy existence within me of these unmade images that is the only assurance that the best photographs are yet to be made"

Sam Abell

More Thoughts On PDF Distribution

As I have mentioned in prior posts, I am intrigued by the idea of the distribution of photographic images by PDF. I have now finished the instructional DVD by Brooks Jensen, who has really championed this idea. If anyone is considering producing a PDF photography book and does not have experience with digital documents, the DVD is an absolutely essential resource and I highly recommend it! It turns out that for someone that is not well versed in the use of the needed software there is a somewhat steep, but clearly surmountable, learning curve.

While I do think that the digital distribution of images opens a major chapter in the history of photography, I also believe the viewing experience, as it stands today, is lagging behind the production technology. I suspect that this lag has had a significant effect on its adaption.

I myself have purchased several PDF photography books and also downloaded several photography PDFs from various sites. However, I have to say that I have not fully viewed them and certainly not viewed them in the depth that I would read or examine a printed publication. Likewise, I find that I don't look forward to or regularly read on-line magazines the way I read those that I subscribe to and which I can hold.

I am not really sure why, but it is simply a fact that I just don't seem to give such publications the same attention that I do a printed book. I can think of several reasons for this:

1) It is hard to curl up in bed with a computer.

2) It seems harder to 'get into' the mindset of in depth analysis in front of a computer as opposed to a book, at least for me....perhaps this is related to my age of 51.

3) I tend to feel more rushed or in 'working mode' on a computer and tend to feel more relaxed and in 'free time mode' with a book.

Now, before attributing my feelings to being unable to adapt to new technology, realize that you are reading this on my electronic blog. If anything, I tend towards being a somewhat early adapter. For example, as it relates to digital media, I have an Amazon Kindle e-book reader. In fact, I have the most recently released version with enhanced PDF handling. It is magnificent for reading novels. In fact, for the novel reading experience, I prefer it to hard copy books.

But that same preference doesn't carry through for me when it comes to reading PDF photography publications. In fact, while I have the first 40 LensWork issues on my Kindle from a LensWork DVD I bought on e-Bay (great deal...I think it was something like 20 bucks), I don't find reading them this way to be an enjoyable experience and have largely given up doing so. I also subscribe to LensWork Extended and, while it is a marvelous production, I find I don't read/listen to each and every one of them like I do when it comes to reading the hard copy issues.

I suspect a good part of why I don't prefer reading PDF photography publications on the Kindle is that the technology is still not up to snuff for handling such material. It still doesn't display PDFs all that wonderfully and the resolution/tonality is not fully developed. And, of course, there is no color yet (though that is being worked on as well). As I mentioned, I find that reading them on the computer is simply not comfortable or terribly enjoyable.

In essence, I believe that, at this point in time, the technology related to delivery is ahead of the technology related to usage. However, I am heartened by what I read is currently under development......thin sheets of light bendable materials that one can use to 'curl up in bed with' and read digital media and other technologic 'wonders' in development. So, while I currently think that, at least for my usage, the ability to enjoy PDF publications is not quite 'there' yet, I do think that they are coming and will be here fairly soon. I hope that a few years from now I can enjoy digital media in the same way that I can enjoy a book.

I am wondering what others think and have experienced when it comes to interacting with digital photographic publications.

Yet More On Megapixels and Diffraction

In my last post, I referenced a series of articles on the Luminous Landscape (here and here) which supplemented an even earlier post I had written about an article in Photo Techniques about the effects of diffraction when using sensors with high pixel densities.

In the comments section to yesterday's post, it was pointed out that I had missed another quite enlightening article on the subject by Ctein on The Online Photographer entitled "Why 80 Megapixels Just Won't Be Enough", which gives another viewpoint. Given that not everyone that drops by reads the comments, I thought it would be worthwhile to provide a front page link to that article as well. It is definitely worth reading the whole bunch of these, as well as the readers comments and author responses.

More On Diffraction In Digital Imaging

A bit of a short post today, but one that points out some interesting information. On June 12th, I wrote a post about an article that I had read in Photo Techniques Magazine about the role diffraction plays in digital imaging as it related to aperture and depth of field. That post can be read here.

As a supplement to that information, I would like to point out an on-line article written by Ray Maxwell entitled "Why Moore's Law Does Not Apply To Digital Photography", which was published on The Luminous Landscape website. In the article, Maxwell points out that for full frame 35mm sensors we are currently at the highest resolution or pixel density that can realistically be useful because of the diffraction properties of visible light. He also goes on to discuss, as was noted in the Photo Techniques article, that with the pixel size on the Canon 5D MkII sensor, diffraction limitations come into play by f11.

A very interesting and worthwhile read (that also contains some interesting links) and one that supplements and adds to the article I had previously mentioned.

Addenda: Between the time I wrote this post and put it on-line there has already been a rebuttal article written on The Luminous Landscape to the article I have been referencing. That article can be read here. You really have to read these....they provide interesting insights into where we are and where things might be heading.

Your Photo Tips Blog

This blog was recently featured on another photography blog called "Your Photo Tips", which is published by photographer Damien Franco. I hadn't heard of Damian's blog, but found it after Motivation was mentioned in a post of his.

Interesting, the way we come across things we hadn't known about. I was quite intrigued with Damien's blog and its wide variety of interesting topics. It has something for everyone and is one that is certainly worth keeping up with. I plan to read it regularly and added it to my "Favorite Blogs" list. So check it out, I think you will enjoy it!

More On PDF Publishing Resources

In my March 19th, 2009 post regarding PDF publishing of photographic projects, I wrote the following :


"In Brooks Jensen's recent Lenswork podcast, which one can listen to here, he extols the virtues of using pdf format e-books to enable photographers to reach a wider audience, while avoiding the fiscal constraints that are associated with publishing a physical book. I was intrigued by this, though I wonder if the constraints are as strong as implied given the newer methods of self-publishing associated with print-on-demand services available from companies like Blurb.

Nonetheless, I found the idea interesting and tried to search around the internet a bit for information about designing and producing a pdf photography book. However, I found very little out there. Now, I know very little about using Adobe Acrobat and suspect that my inability to locate information on this subject may simply be that what is required is a good general book about how to use Acrobat, as opposed to special information on how to create pdf photography books.

So, I guess I am hoping that perhaps someone out there might be able to provide some good resource books or websites on the topic of how to use Acrobat to publish photographic e-books....or at least some place to start obtaining a bit of background knowledge. Anybody want to make suggestions???? "



Though I did get some helpful responses to my query as to resources, there was still a void as to where to start.....particularly if the aim was not so much to learn InDesign or Acrobat as much as to learn what was necessary in order to focus on the type of publishing that a photographer would do.

Well, Brooks Jensen does it again!! He recognized that there is a relative void of information in this niche and put together a very solid training DVD on where to start and how to proceed. The DVD is a direct extension of the workshop he began giving on this subject.

Knowing the quality of everything that comes out of LensWork, I decided to purchase the DVD. At $79 it is a bit steep, but once one receives it, sees the quality of the information, the extremely coherent presentation, and the uniqueness of the product I can say that it is well worth every cent!!! The DVD can be purchased here.

I haven't yet finished the DVD, but am far along into it. It has exactly the type of information I was looking for and clearly is able to get one started making PDFs without any further training. It is also able to point one in the right direction in regards to where to obtain more focused information, if needed. To be more specific, it is not an InDesign training program but tells you what aspects of InDesign you need to know and provides a nice detailed overview of these parts of the program. Perhaps even more importantly, it carefully reveiews how to structure and design a PDF presentation.

Perhaps I will have more to say once I finish the DVD in its entirety. But I can tell you this.....if you have any desire to consider self publishing a photographic PDF and don't have a strong background in how to get the job done, this is clearly a superb way to start. I couldn't have hoped for a better resource. Thanks Brooks!!!

More Dreamscapes

I recently finished processing and printing the sixth image in my Dreamscapes series. I particularly like the ghostlike image behind the boy (though it may not show up that well in this small image format), which was caused by the child suddenly walking through the scene during the long exposure. I guess you can tell that it isn't a 'real' ghost because it also casts a shadow!

Dreamscapes #6
Copyright Howard Grill

In addition, another image from this series is going to appear in a "Self-Portrait"(yes, that is me at the end of the tunnel) themed show at The Silver Eye Center For Photography. The exhibit celebrates Silver Eye's 30th anniversary.

Dreamscapes #3
Copyright Howard Grill

While having any image shown at The Silver Eye is an honor, I do have to admit that this particular show is non-juried, with all members of the gallery invited to display one image. The show runs from July 8th to September 12th. Given the intriguing theme, it should be a really creative, interesting and enjoyable exhibit.

A Piece Of History

I suspect most people that have a passion for photography have at least a passing interest in the history of the medium and are probably aware of the different types of processes that have been used over time. Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, tintypes, carte-de-viste and many more. But have you ever seen any of these??? I never had.

I decided that it was worth my while (and a very small amount of cash) to own a small piece of history and experience some of these imaging processes for myself. So I took a trip over to e-Bay to see what was available. For about 20 bucks I bought 6 lovely tintypes (uncased), some with hand tinting, and 5 cabinet cards with the photographers name and location on the card as well as a few with the subjects handwritten name. They came in very nice shape and have a very interesting and unique appearance to them. It really is fascinating to hold these artifacts and see what photography looked like in its early years. It is also a bit eerie to see these subjects, now long deceased, staring at you from back in time.

These are not items that are eagerly sought after by high end collectors and this is reflected in their price. But I am very glad that I made these few purchases and plan to bid on a few examples of other historical photographic processes.

If the history of photography interests you, why not pick up a few samples from a bygone era for dirt cheap and take a trip back in time. It really is fascinating!

Epson 7900 - Epilogue

Several weeks ago, I wrote a series of posts (starting here) about my new Epson 7900.....my review was not particularly glowing because of a number of difficulties I was having with the machine. I suspect that I may well have left people with the opinion that I was not pleased with the printer and that I was sorry that I had purchased it. In fact, I received several e-mails from folks who were considering buying one. I thought I should write one final post to 'clear the air' about the machine and my personal experience.

It is true that I was quite dissatisfied with the printer as it originally functioned. I fully documented that in my original series. What I would like to make clear is that once I had the printhead changed (by an extremely knowledgeable and easy to deal with technician) and turned off the automatic nozzle check the machine has functioned perfectly.

Specifically:

I have always had difficulty in the warmer months with ink clogs. While I still do get them on occasion, I can say that I am getting fewer of them than I did with my 7600 and they seem to clear easily with just a single cleaning from the front panel. My problem with persistent clogs with green ink has totally resolved.

Since keeping the platen gap setting at normal, I am no longer getting the "zebra striping" that I described in my first series of posts. Why opening the platen gap wider seems to make things worse is not at all clear to me.

The output is absolutely lovely.

I really enjoy making prints on papers using the photo black ink. I also find soft proofing with these papers much easier than with matte papers.

I should mention that it does seem 'easier' to get 'mild' head strikes on the 7900 as compared to the 7600. I have to make sure that the paper is as flat as possible. With sheets I will gently bend them as needed before printing to get them to lie flat, and with rolls I will gently curl them in the opposite direction around a tube (a home made D-Roller) prior to printing. This may be because with the 7600 I kept the palten gap set to 'wide', which seems to cause problems with my 7900 and the papers I am currently using.

At this point I am very pleased with the printer and very glad to have bought it. In fact, I am thinking about selling the 7600. Do I wish that I hadn't had all my initial difficulty which necessitated two visits from a tech and replacement of the printhead? Sure. But I don't think that one can extrapolate from this single printer that there is a generalized problem. When it comes to technology I guess there will always be the occasional device that comes off the assembly line a bit out of whack.

One thing though, in several years, when the technology has jumped forward yet again, it is going to be very difficult to upgrade if Epson makes this beast any bigger or heavier!

Unphotographable

We have all had occasions when we see what would make a great image but, unfortunately, don't have a camera. An image lost forever......but is it??

Michael David Murphy doesn’t think so. In fact, he has his own website devoted to images that he experienced but did not have the opportunity to photograph. In his own words, his website called “Unphotographable” is a ‘catalog of exceptional mistakes. Photos never taken that weren't meant to be forgotten. Opportunities missed. Simple failures. Occasions when I wished I'd taken the picture, or not forgotten the camera, or had been brave enough to click the shutter.’

With his incredible descriptions the image can be clearly seen in our mind if not on paper. Perhaps the image is not lost.

High Pass Filtration

I usually don’t post information about Photoshop techniques simply because there is an entire universe of websites dedicated to Photoshop that are run by folks who are far more Photoshop savvy than I could ever hope to be. However, every so often I run across a technique that I find really interesting and so, on those occasions, a post about it seems reasonable. Such is the case with High Pass Filtration. Please don’t consider this to be the definitive ‘how to’ regarding this technique but, rather, a jumping off point to look into it in a more sophisticated manner if it seems of interest to you.

The reason I found High Pass filtration interesting is that while ‘surfing the net’ I have occasionally come across images that seem to have a somewhat ‘enhanced’ sense of reality that gives them a very three dimensional appearance. The effect seems somewhat similar to the HDR effect, but tuned down. When I have followed discussions about such images the photographer will often say, when asked, that the image in question was not processed with HDR software.

So, it whet my interest when I ran across a technique which, by description, seemed to be one way to generate this effect. It is done by using the Photoshop High Pass filter to increase contrast. I knew that this filter could be used for sharpening and, of course, contrast enhancement is a form of sharpening.

At any rate, here is a way to use this technique in order to see if it will achieve a desirable effect (plus I made my own little addition to what I read). Once the image you are considering using it on is complete, duplicate the image and flatten it, but don’t sharpen it yet. 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 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.

A few comments:

1) I have only played around with this technique a bit and found that there are some images that it truly enhances and others that it totally destroys.

2) If an image is found that would benefit from this technique, the entire process can obviously be performed within the original file by duplicating the entire image and placing the entire image on a new layer and working from there.

4) It really is difficult to duplicate this effect with curves....I tried.

3) With the image size being so small, and with the effect being toned down with the topmost layer blogs don't really lend themselves to really demonstrating the effect well…..so, if it sounds interesting, play around with it on your own images and see what you think. With that in mind I am posting one example. The only difference between these two images was the High Pass filtration step.

Pre High Pass Filtration
Copyright Howard Grill

Post High Pass Filtration
Copyright Howard Grill

IR

After planning for quite some time to have a camera converted to infrared, I finally got it done. I had my old Canon 1Ds converted for IR photography by LifePixel. They did a great job.

There are three IR filters that are offered by LifePixel: Standard Color IR, Enhanced Color IR, and Deep Black And White IR. Examples of the types of results that can be obtained with each of the three filters can be found on their sample image page. I personally do not enjoy the aesthetic of color IR, but do very much like the 'look' of black and white infrared imaging.....so I went with the Deep Black And White IR filter, which blocks most visible light. In addition, the camera's auto-focus is adjusted to the Canon 50mm f1.8 lens in the process.

So, I got the opportunity to take the camera out a few days ago. Of course, once an hour away from home, I discovered that I hadn't reattached the camera's "L Plate" used to mount it to my tripod. I had removed it prior to sending the camera in for conversion. I therefore had to experiment and play around with the camera hand-held. I wasn't trying to do 'serious' photography but, rather, just wanted to get a feel for what the results might look like.

Here is an example of what I am getting out of camera. The image was shot in RAW format with just a few quick adjustments in Lightroom to improve contrast.

Waterfall
Copyright Howard Grill

Diffraction In Digital Imaging

In the past, it has often been said that the rules of photography are the same whether one shoots digitally or using film. Certainly this is true when it comes to the art of composition, but when it comes to capturing the image there are certain technical aspects that are not quite the same.

The first one that comes to mind is the so called ‘expose to the right’ issue. Most people doing serious digital capture and that are shooting in RAW format are familiar with this concept. In short, most of the data and, therefore, detail that the digital sensor can capture is ‘located’ in the ‘brightest’ stop or two of the image. Therefore, the image should optimally be exposed such that the histogram is pushed as far to the right as possible, without actually clipping. While the image is now overexposed by conventional standards (and therefore this method will not work acceptably well in jpeg format), by shifting the exposure downward in the RAW processor the correct degree of brightness can be achieved and more detail captured than if the exposure had been ‘correct’ by conventional standards.

But you already knew that. What is more interesting is material that I recently read in the magazine Photo Techniques (which is a small magazine in terms of page numbers, but one that is well worth subscribing to). In the Jan/Feb 2009 issue, I learned that there may be significant differences with current digital capture when it comes to diffraction effects and depth of field.

Without going into detail (for that I strongly recommend getting the issue), I would like to provide a quote to whet your interest. In the conclusion of the article by Lloyd Chambers entitled “Diffraction: Resolution Taxed To Its Limits” Mr. Chambers states:

“As megapixels increase, diffraction will become the dominant factor limiting image sharpness, unless and until improved optical designs allow near-diffraction-limited imaging at apertures such as f2, f2.8, and f4. Such lenses are feasible, but will be larger, heavier, and much more expensive than today’s optics. When depth of field is a priority, ‘tilt’ lenses should be used in order to evade the diffraction/depth of field conflict.

To paraphrase an old maxim: f8 and stop there. That simple rule will maintain optimal or near-optimal lens performance and image contrast resolution with today’s DSLRs, while offering reasonable depth of field for many subjects. Stopping down to f11 or f16 is warranted with some subjects, but the contrast compromise should be kept in mind.”

Interesting stuff….the idea that with today’s high quality sensors and optics, diffraction plays a role much sooner (in terms of stopping down to achieve greater depth of field) than when using film.

I put some of this information to use with results that surprised me. I have previously mentioned and shown extreme macro-images I have made from slabs of stone. Though these slabs are flat in the general sense, they are cut with a saw and thus in the ‘macro’ sense are not truly flat. In order to maximize depth of field at high magnification (>1:1) I had been shooting at f16 and f 22. I recently tried shooting at f8 and f11 instead and found that the results were, indeed, sharper. And in this case the depth of field was still adequate with enhanced apparent sharpness. I now shoot all these types of images at f8.

Obviously, when shooting landscapes or other scenes where there are near/far objects that one desires to be in focus, there will be trade offs between sharpness and depth of field. However, it is worth experimenting with one’s equipment, or at least taking shots at a variety of apertures since, in many instances, the improved sharpness will be more desirable than increased depth of field with sub-optimal sharpness throughout.

There are definitely some interesting things to ponder here!

Carrying A Camera

I have always had the desire to keep a camera with me all the time....to have one available for those unplanned shots that good fortune presents as well as to constantly 'keep in practice'. I even went so far as to purchase a smaller, but high quality, camera in the form of the Canon G10. I have found good use for that camera when I am going somewhere special without my primary purpose being photography. In those cases, I know ahead of time that I might want to take some photos. However, I have also found that I don't use it all that frequently when I just have it with me but hadn't planned on photographing.

It just seems as if I need to be in a certain mindset to specifically go out and make photographs. A mindset where I know that I am giving my entire attention over to the idea of composing and thinking about photos. This surprised me because when I am driving around, such as when I am coming home from work, I will try to compose photos of what I am seeing out of my window in my mind. However, either I don't have the time to stop or, more likely, the image that I see in my mind's eye is not attainable because it is not possible to stop and take it from that vantage point.

I know some folks can always carry a camera with them and use it....but it seems difficult for me. Perhaps I have to try to do so more frequently. In the meantime, I hope that practicing in my mind, as I often do, is effective. I happen to run across this quote, which is what made me think about this topic:

I am always mentally photographing everything as practice.

Minor White

At least I can take some comfort that Minor White thinks there is benefit to doing so!

Camera Motion Abstracts

Time to get back to showing some actual images! A few weeks ago, I went out with a friend to photograph in a park that I hadn't been to before. At one point, after having been out for a few hours, the lighting became a bit harsh, so I started experimenting with making abstracts by purposefully moving the tripod mounted camera in the vertical plane. This is the sort of thing that one has to do many times over in order to get something that looks 'right'. This is one of my favorites from the series that I took.

Copyright Howard Grill

Alain Briot, who does a magnificent job with these sorts of images, has been writing a series about the aesthetic and technical issues surrounding this sort of image making on The Luminous Landscape. The two articles he has written can be read here and here

Another person who has produced amazing work using this technique is William Neill. Find his e-book "Impressions Of Light" here. Beautiful images and well worth the price of $15.

Quick Quotes: Ibarionex Perello

Ibarionex Perello, during one of his recent Candid Frame interviews, said, almost offhandedly:

"Living a photographic life doesn't necessarily mean going into business as a photographer."

Like my last post regarding what Brooks Jensen had to say about procrastination, it felt like this was being said directly to me. I suspect it has significant meaning for many whose passion is photography.

Procrastination

Brooks Jensen was talking to me....directly to me. Well, that's the way it sure felt anyway! I am referring to his recent 'Editor's Comments' in the current issue of LensWork. His thoughts were particularly apropos to me and, I suspect, to many other photographer/artists.

The basic premise of his essay was that perfectionism is at the root of the problem many photographers have with actually finishing a project and calling it complete. The project that is finished opens one's work up to critique and thereby the possibility that it is not 'perfect'. The incomplete project can, of course, still theoretically become perfect work by applying further effort. Ultimately, Mr. Jensen continues, we need to be able to distinguish between 'theoretically perfect and practically superb' if we are to break this cycle that leads us to procrastination. Not a procrastination borne of laziness, but borne of fear.

While he goes on to offer sources of motivation to complete projects, which are also quite helpful and insightful, I found that it was the portion of the essay which clearly defined the issue that really spoke to me. It could very well be a chapter from the classic book 'Art And Fear'.

For me, this essay was very important to read and think about (in fact, I reread it several times)....and just one more reason to subscribe to LensWork if you don't already do so.

Bill Jay : 1940-2009

Bill Jay, who I have written about several times on Motivation, passed away on May 13th. I never met or knew him, but absolutely loved to read his writing and look at his photographs of people. Most recently, I finished a wonderful out of print book of his that had been recommended to me entitled "Cyanide And Spirits". Many of the essays in that book can be found on his website, where he generously made all of his writings available to anyone who sought them out.

Brooks Jensen, the editor of Lenswork, is collecting anecdotes and statements from people that knew him and is going to be compiling them. I look forward to reading about Mr. Jay from those who knew him personally. The information regarding that can be found here. More information about Mr. Jay's life can be found on Mary Virginia Swanson's website here.

New Family Member

I am interrupting the blog to report that we now have a new family member.....an 8 week old kitten! It was adopted from a nearby shelter, having been raised by a foster family until it was big enough to move in with someone permanently. We don't quite have a name for her yet. She was named Nile by the family that was raising her, but I think we are going to rename her. I am voting for Cleo (as in Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile), but we will see what the kids decide.

It is unbelievable how small she is....reminded me of bringing my kids home from the hospital that first time. My oldest was holding the transport box ever so gently, carefully and flat while we were bringing her out to the car....I told him "well, now you sort of know what it was like the first time I brought you home in the car!".

Just a quick break from photography for the announcement...and yes, I know the picture is blurry. It was taken by my wife, via cell phone from the shelter.

"Nile"

Chuck Westfall Answers Canon Users Questions

I guess this is a bit of old news, but I still found it quite interesting and hadn't seen this blog/website before.

Chuck Westfall has been an executive with Canon for some time, both in the Consumer Imaging Group as well as with Canon USA’s Professional Products Marketing Division. Last November he agreed to field questions from folks like you and I. This blog has the questions asked as well as his repsonses. If you are a Canon user it makes interesting reading. Check it out here.

Pixel Peeping

I recently had the opportunity to learn firsthand how difficult meaningful pixel peeping can be. A friend let me use his Canon 5D MKII and I was interested in finding out how the native file sharpness compared to my 1Ds MKII. So I decided to get out my tripod and take the same shots with the two cameras and see how the RAW files compared. I knew there would be some difficulty in comparing the two images based purely on the difference in the number of pixels (16 vs 21 MP), but what I hadn't considered is what other issues might effect the comparison.

I learned a lesson as to just how difficult it can be to make such comparisons in a meaningful way, as each time I looked at a pair of images on the computer screen I thought of another confounding variable that might be affecting the results. The exercise pointed out to me how careful one needs to be when reading comments and evaluations on various internet forums, where perhaps everyone does not take all these factors into consideration when making such comparisons.

What follows are some of the confounding variables that I was able to recognize:

1) Metering: As it turns out, the two cameras gave different exposures despite having no exposure compensation dialed in for either. I hadn't considered the fact that different exposures meant different appearances to the highlights and shadows. Thus, the photo need to be taken in manual mode with the exact same aperture and shutter speed and not simply taken on aperture priority.

2)White Balance: Yes, the color balance of the two cameras was somewhat different and this can lead to different amounts of apparent contrast which appears to make sharpness differ. To make a fair comparison I had to do a custom white balance for each.

3)Focus: By far the biggest issue of all is the factor of how well the camera is focused. I don't have the greatest eyes in the world. I was very surprised at how different (at 100% viewing on the computer) several different manual focus shots were in terms of sharpness (I was shooting at a distant object at 200mm focal length to try to 'stress' the camera's resolving power). Many images were similar but some demonstrated quite a difference in sharpness despite coming from the same camera with repeat manual focusing. So one would have to take several shots and pick the sharpest one for comparison.

What about auto-focus? Despite using the center focusing point I was surprised to see that on the 5D MKII the sharpest area was not what was directly focused on. There was a bit of front-focus. We are not talking about a lot here...perhaps a few inches and I was using a Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS at 200mm focal length and f2.8. So one could not compare sharpness across two images if the exact same point is not optimally in focus in each image.

Not ever having used Live View before I really hadn't thought it would be that useful to me. However, it turns out that it is an amazing manual focusing aid. With live view, one can magnify the image 10x on the LCD and manually focus, watching the sharpness change right on the screen....amazing. It really is the ultimate focusing aid.

So I used Live View manual focusing on the 5D MKII and auto-focus (which seemed more accurate than my manual focusing without Live View) on the 1Ds MKII. Is this 'fair'? What if the 1Ds MKII had Live View? Would manual focusing using Live View provide better results than auto-focus? I don't know, and it is a theoretic question that was unable to be answered.

4)RAW Processing: I soon learned that to be fair about the comparison one should not process the RAW file in any way in Camera RAW or Lightroom as this will alter apparent contrast and sharpness. Likewise, sharpening in the RAW processor needs to be disabled.

5)Different File Sizes: As I mentioned, I expected differences based on the 16 vs 21 MP count. I found myself wondering if the two images might be more directly compared by upsizing the 1Ds MKII or downsizing the 5D MKII images? But wait....that would require interpolation, which would affect apparent sharpness, potentially making the downsized image appear sharper or the upsized image appear less sharp.

So what was my conclusion? The two cameras seemed pretty comparable, but I was amazed that the 5D MKII images looked at least as sharp out of the camera as the 1Ds MKII images despite the larger number of pixels. In fact, as one might have expected, the amount of detail seen in the 5D MKII images was greater with no apparent loss of edge definition (definition might have even been a tad better) given the higher megapixel count.

However, that was not the major conclusion that I arrived at from this exercise. What struck home the most is how difficult it can be to make these types of comparisons in an accurate and meaningful way. So beware the next time someone you don't know says that camera x produces images that are more (or less) anything than camera y. At least ask how the comparison was made and whether these issues were taken into consideration. For all I know, I might well have forgotten something obvious in the way I made my comparison.....believe me, I didn't figure out these variables that could affect results all at once!

Quick Quotes: Henri Cartier-Bresson

I love this quote, as it seems to get right to the 'zen-like' aspect of photographing:

"A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos."

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Epson 7900 Experience - The Finale

If you have been following this series of posts, you know the problems that I have been having with my Epson 7900. This post serves as a finale (well, pretty much) to these issues and how they have been resolved.

First of all, the issue regarding what I described as 'black scuffing', but which has perhaps been more appropriately called 'zebra striping' by someone else with a similar problem, seems to have been resolved. That problem was solved by a fellow that goes by the pseudonym 'pivozone' on The Luminous Landscape forums. He had a similar problem which was solved by simply utilizing only the standard platen gap, not the wide or wider ones. I thought that I had tried every setting there was trying to get this issue sorted out...but apparently I hadn't. Since I use a wide platen gap with all my fine art papers on my 7600, I had assumed that the same would hold true with the 7900. I must have simply started with the wide platen gap and adjusted everything else, because, as pivozone suggested, setting the platen gap back to standard made the 'zebra striping' totally resolve! Problem fixed. Why it was occuring with the platen gap set to wide, which was also intermittently giving me 'ghost images', is unclear to me as well as to the Epson tech.

Second, in regards to the head clogs and frequent automatic cleanings, the autop nozzle check and cleaning is now turned to off and I will print nozzle checks intermittently myself from the front panel of the printer. The auto checks do seem 'quirky', to say the least, but my machine diagnostics checked out OK. I am still having problems with frequent nozzle clogs in the green color despite multiple cleanings. It does not appear to be a printhead issue as the affected nozzles tends to change. More likely than not it is related to some small air bubbles in the line which will resolve. The tech thought a power clean would likely remove them and I made a call to Epson HQ and they are being kind enough, given the problems with clogs I was having, to send me a set of ink carts at no charge which will more than allow me to do the power clean.

I consider the major problem (black scuffing or zebra striping) solved! I do have to say that the prints are really stunning and I can now print in black and white as well.

My next post will have nothing to do with the Epson 7900!

Epson 7900 Experience - Repair Scheduled

I hadn't really planned to write so many blog posts about my Epson 7900.....but then again, I also hadn't planned on having problems printing on third party media with it either. I do hope that anyone else who might be having this problem will be helped by reading about what is going on with my printer. "Aldberg", in response to this post from a few days ago also reports a fairly similar problem with his 9900, and he has gone through three of them thus far.

To briefly continue the story, I received a package from Epson with a new printhead and capping station as well as a sub-assembly board in the mail even though they hadn't mentioned that they were going to be sending me any parts. The Epson tech is coming from a fair distance away on Wednesday. I spoke with him on the phone and he seemed genuinely concerned. I was heartened by his comment that one should be able to print on any third party media with these printers...which is not the response I was getting from Epson Central.

I will report back on Wednesday as to what happens.

Epson 7900 Experience - Tech Support Response

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the major problems I have been having with my new Epson 7900 has been what I described as 'scuffing' of the deep blacks on third party media. This consists of lighter, whitish, linear areas of lower ink density in the direction of printhead travel. Since I wrote that, I have come to realize that the problem exists when printing all solid colors in the Epson color driver as well as with black and white images using the ABW driver.

I contacted tech support and spoke with someone who seemed quite concerned about the issue. In fact, he requested that I send him sample prints demonstrating the problem as well as a few sheets of media for him to test. I did this, and, for consistency, also sent the actual files that I had printed from Photoshop for him to use. I will admit that it does appear that this problem does not seem to occur when I print on the Epson media that I have. It has, however, occured with every third party paper I have tried including Ilford Gold Fibre Silk, Harmon Gloss FB AL, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta, and Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta....all very popular media that have undergone extensive reviews on multiple websites with reportedly superb results.

I was contacted very promptly by the person I spoke with after he received the material I sent. In fact, he could easily see what the issue was on the samples that I sent, though it was not immediately apparent to him what the cause was. He did not think the problem was caused by head strikes. Now here is the part that I find disturbing. He was able to print the files that I sent on his Epson 7900 using the same media that I sent with NO evidence of scuffing at all. My immediate conclusion was that if the same paper and same file that is giving me a problem is coming out perfectly on his printer, then there must be a problem with mine....issue solved!

Needless to say, things are not so simple. He stated that this was his initial conclusion as well, but that he was told by the other agents he was conferring with that this was not the case. Their conclusion was that since the problem does not seem to occur with the two Epson papers I tried (Luster and Exhibition Fibre), that the problem must be in either the third party media or with the printer settings. He agreed with me that it wasn't the media, as it doesn't seem possible that I would have gotten four separate medias that were all defective. I had already tried changing the platen gap setting, the paper thickness setting, the high speed on/off setting, the drying time setting....in short, every setting there is, but to no avail. So I said 'fine, tell me the settings that you have your printer set to and I will set my printer to the same setting and we will see if that fixes it'....logical, right? Apparently not so!

I was told that each printer is different and that a specific setting on one printer might not yield the same effect on another (though I have always been told that the profesional printers are built to very tight tolerances). I told him that I didn't think he himself actually believed what he was telling me. There was a sort of silent aquiesence and hethen said that this is what the support staff he was working with felt was the case. They were going to send me various Epson media to see if the problem occured or could be reproduced by me on the various Epson papers. As an aside, he told me that his best guess would be to reduce the paper feed by about -2. I told him that on my 7600 I had printed on many different media and never had to change the paper feed. Nonetheless, I gave the change in paper feed a shot and, needless to say, it made no difference at all. If anything, the output looked even worse.

I understand, to some degree, where Epson is coming from in that they do not feel a need to support non-Epson papers. However, this professional grade printer is widely used to print on third party media and the media I have been using are extremely popular and certainly not obscure. If their printer could not consistently print on third party papers I doubt they would sell as many of them as they do. The fact that their printer does not cause the problem seems to indicate to me that mine does have a problem which they are not acknowledging.

However, all is not yet lost. When I discussed with the support tech that I have been having a recurrent problem with nozzle clogs despite multiple cleanings he did offer that this was not normal for a new machine and was an indication to have a service rep come out to the house. He did say that while the only objective problem that Epson would support is the nozzle clog issue at this point, if I asked the rep to do so they would be able to perform full diagnostics on the printer and make any repair required if something were to objectively test abnormal. However, they could not directly address the third party media issue despite the fact that they agreed that the prints I sent clearly demonstrated a problem.

We will see what happens when the rep comes out. I am hoping to have them come to check the machine early next week. The saga continues, but, to be honest, I am not really pleased with the way things seem to be shaping up......

Epson 7900 Experience - Problems

I know that I mentioned in my last post that I was going to wait a bit before once again writing about the Epson 7900 printer I recently bought. However, I have run into a few glitches that I wanted to mention.

The first glitch seems fairly unusual and does not seem to have been reported previously. It involves black and white printing via the Epson Advanced Black & White Driver. Black and white printing, with the ability to easily change from matte to photo black ink without much waste, was one of the main reasons for my purchasing the printer.

However, I have run into a real problem. In areas of deep black I seem to be getting ‘scuffing’ of the ink resulting in relatively wide linear areas where the black ink is intermittently lighter in the direction of printhead travel. To be sure, they are not terrible in that you have to actually hold the print under a light at an angle to see them. However, as a professional and pricey printer, this should not occur. This problem has persisted despite opening the platen gap to its widest setting and increasing the paper thickness setting in the driver. It has also used up a great deal of my time as well as media etc, trying to make changes that might cure the problem. In trying to do so, I also have been getting head strikes and, in fact, I even wonder if the scuffing is, in reality, a gentle head strike.

I finally called Epson tech support today and have to say that I was very impressed with their handling of the situation (thus far). The person I spoke with did not try to explain it away or simply say to just use Epson paper. Since he had not heard of this problem before, the support person gave me the Epson Fed-Ex account number and asked me to send him sample prints that demonstrate the problem and will also accept a few sheets of the media I have been using to see if he can recreate the problem at his end. He spent a good deal of time with me on the phone and seemed genuinely concerned. Everywhere I look on the web, superb results have been obtained with the various media I have been working with and so I do wonder if there is a problem with the printer.

I also seem to have a problem which has been well reported on multiple internet printing forums. The issue involves the automatic nozzle check system. This is a system which automatically checks to see if the head needs to be cleaned and can be set to perform the check either before every print, intermittently, or never (turned off). There have been numerous reports of the printer performing very frequent cleanings that take 5 or 10 minutes to complete and wasting ink in the process.

I did mention this to the Epson tech and he said that the check did take 5 or 10 minutes, but that just because it says ‘cleaning’ on the LCD panel does not mean it is actually cleaning and using up ink. He said that the printer is actually slowly checking the ink two colors at a time by firing small amounts of ink which it electrically charges from the nozzles into a grid. It sounds like a feasible explanation. However, in thinking about it, I realized that even when I had the printer set to check the nozzles before every print it doesn’t seem to go through the ten minute cleaning cycle every time, which I would expect to occur if his was ‘the answer’. Sometimes the panel said it was doing the check and then went right to printing a few seconds later without doing what the panel says is a cleaning cycle. At any rate, I now have the automatic nozzle check option turned off.

So I have hit a very frustrating road block or two along the way here. I will report back as to what I am told after Epson has a chance to review the prints that I send them.

Addenda: Since I have written the above I have tried using the color driver to print color images with a large amount of pure black (flower against black background) and have found the exact same problem with third party papers despite a wide platen gap and thick media setting. I believe I see a trace of the issue with Epson papers as well. Will see how Epson responds.

Epson 7900 Experience - Printing

I suspect this will be the last of my sequential posts about the new Epson 7900, with plans for scattered additional posts about it as I become more facile with using the machine.

The 7900 is up and running and I can make some general comments to start with.

1. Printing is definitely faster than with the 7600; the printhead is much larger

2. Printing is far quieter though one could not call the overall machine startup etc quiet (not that this is a significant consideration for me).

3. I love the automatic head alignment...fast and easy.

4. I like the new automated method of loading for cut sheets very much. You simply rest the sheet in the slot, where it is supported from below, and make sure the side of the sheet is at the alignment marker on the side and press a load button. No more worrying if the sheet is going in perfectly parallel to the printer.

5. While the new 'spindle free' loading of roll paper is also nice I do worry a bit about the locking mechanism of the roll holder as it does have a feel or sound to it like it could break after a good deal of use...we shall see.

But what about printing? In short, the prints are absolutely superb. To be sure, I have never used photo black or semigloss papers before, so it is difficult for me to make a comparison in that regard to the 7600, and I have not yet changed out to matte black. Nonetheless, the prints are really gorgeous.

One thing that I have noticed is that the 'canned' 7900 profiles are quite good, as are the profiles I have downloaded from third party paper manufacturers. It seems the paper and printer companies are getting serious about these. I can also say that it seems, at least to me, that it is far easier to softproof and make a really nice print on the semigloss type papers that use photo black ink than it is on the matte fine art printers. I presume that this is because of there being less compression of the dynamic range and increased reflectance form the surface of the paper.

There are now two issues to work out and which I will report back on in the future. The first is what papers to use for printing with photo black in both color and monochrome as well as learning to use the Advanced Black and White mode driver to make black and white prints. Lots of experimentation to follow!

Epson 7900 Experience - Setup

I have had a million things to do lately, so I haven't managed to spend as much time with the 7900 as I would like to. In fact, I haven't printed anything just yet, but I have gotten it set up. I had originally planned to purchase the printer later this year but did so at this time to be sure to get the Epson $500 rebate which "ended" 3/31/09. Why is the word "ended" in quotes? As I suspected, though I don't see it on the Epson website at the moment, I have heard that the rebate period has been extended (I believe until May)! However, as I don't yet see that on their website there is a need for confirmation....I heard it on a printing newsgroup.

So, on to setup. My son had a few friends stop by and as soon as they stepped in the door I grabbed them to help me hoist the printer up on the stand. Though it wasn't quite clear to me from the pictures in the instruction book exactly how it would sit on the stand, it actually was quite easy to get it up, in, and sitting properly to be bolted to the stand. Once on the stand two things stand out: 1) it really is quite sleek and modern looking in design and 2) did I mention that this thing is HUGE!

The first step was to charge it with ink. This was really quite simple and is the first time the machine has actually been turned on. It takes a few minutes to charge and all the while it makes quite a number of different futuristic sounds. At one point I actually thought the phone in another room was ringing. It was only when I walked out of the room that I realized that the soft ringing sound was actually coming from the back of the printer.

One thing bears mentioning. The printer comes with 110 ml ink carts for priming and a good deal of ink is used in the process, as is a portion of the maintanance tank. Want to replace those 110 cc cartridges? Lets see, Shades of Paper doesn't have them, B&H doesn't have them, Adorama doesn't have them.....nobody has them. They all carry the 150, 350, and 700 ml carts, but no small 110's. Whats that you say, nobody has them because they aren't manufactured for sale! For heaven's sake, you would think Epson would at least give you regular ink carts....even the 150 ml ones, which are the smallest they regularly make.....with the printer. But no, they special manufacture 110 ml carts to ship with the printer to prime it. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!!!! You buy a printer of this caliber and they short you on the ink that comes with it to get you to purchase more ink sooner than later!

Here is a little hint for Epson....anyone that buys a 7000 series printer is a) serious about digital imaging and b) going to be buying a lot of ink. The little bit extra ink sale you get by supplying less ink with the printer, while it earns you a few more bucks, doesn't exactly give the consumer a warm, fuzzy feeling. I think supplying 150 ml ink carts would be good public relations and remove the appearance that you are out to get the consumer as soon as the box is opened.

Yes, it probably is a trivial thing in the big picture, but it does make you feel like they went out of their way to get you, especially when you have to order that full set of 11 replacement ink carts at once. Yikes....it's like liquid gold.

Next, on to the driver installation. I didn't bother with the one on the enclosed CD as it was out of date. I downloaded the most recent printer driver and it identified the attached printer and installed without a hitch.

The next step was to check the firmware version and, noting that it was outdated, install the new version. While the driver installed seamlessly, the firmware update had a few little hitches. Perhaps hitches is too strong a word....a few quirks might be more accurate. Let me cut to the chase. Bizarre as it might seem, you MUST have paper loaded into the printer in order to do the firmware update. The first three times I tried, the software updater failed to communicate with the printer. It was only after I found a Word file that downloaded with the new firmware version (and installed into the same folder as the firmware file on the C drive without telling the operator that there was even such a file to explain the error statements) that I figured that out. It seems a bit counterintuitive, but that was the problem. Once the printer was loaded with paper, the firmware updater recognized and communicated with the printer and the firmware was successfully updated. Even upon finishing the update there was a quirk in that,though the printer panel stated that the update was complete, the software updater said the update was still ongoing until I tried to close it, at which point it said the update was complete.

One more little piece of information about this process that was also not intuitive. When checking the firmware version on the printer panel to ensure the update took place, I found that although the firmware version changed, it hadn't changed to the version number indicated by the firmware update file. The first several letters and numbers were the same, but the rest of the numbers were different. It was only after checking the same hidden Word file that I learned that the firmware version displayed on the printer panel was not supposed to be the same as the downloaded file number.....hmm, well then why make them so similar with the first several letters and numbers being exactly the same? Seems like a little common sense might have made it a bit more user friendly.

Nonetheless, despite the few little quirks I note above, the setup was reasonably quick and painless. The next step is to more carefully go through the manual and learn how to fine tune the settings for various paper types, do an auto head alignment, set the printer utility preferences and see how it prints!

As an aside, I am really looking forward to having those head alignments done in an automated fashion, as doing them manually on my 7600 really made me crazy. It used to take me 30 or 40 minutes and make me crazy looking at those patterns with a loupe and deciding which one looked best.

Epson 7900 Experience - The Delivery

Let me first set the scene. We live in a very architecturally typical house for Western Pennsylvania. That is to say that it is 1) very old, 2) has three floors, with the third floor being relatively small, and 3) has a normal sized staircase to the second floor but an extremely narrow, winding staircase from the second to third floor. My wife and I have our study up on the third floor and that is where I have my computer and do my printing. That was the destination for the 7900.

So, after three days of trying to making sure it was delivered in a liftgate truck, and with the freight company stating that they knew nothing about that each time, I finally got it delivered. Why a liftgate truck? The printer is delivered on a wooden pallet with the shipping weight being over 320 pounds.

After the truck puts it on the sidewalk the next question to the driver is.....well, how do I get it into the house? Lets see, there are two small steps, a walkway, and then about eight or nine steps up to the front door. The truck delivery guy is supposed to just drop it and not move it up any steps. Luckily, there were two things working in my favor. First, this was his last delivery of the day so he wasn't in a huge rush and two, he was an extremely nice guy and willing to help. So we got my 16 year old son who is probably stronger than I am and the three of us, using a dolly and a bit of ingenuity, managed to get it into the front door. I probably would have freaked when I heard the underlying wooden pallet crack a bit had I known that there is no bottom to the box and that the printer, in Styrofoam protectors, sits directly on the pallet.

But it got in safely and after giving the driver a nice tip the unpacking began. After all the documentation, stand, inks, parts etc are removed you are left with the printer on the pallet with lots of Styrofoam protection. Despite knowing from the Epson website that the printer weight without the stand is about 190 pounds, those were just numbers to me, and it didn't sound all that heavy for multiple people to handle. I had anticipated it being about the size and weight of my 7600, which I got upstairs to the third floor with the help of only one other person back in 2004. The biggest probl;em with the 7600 wasn't its weight (though it was heavy enough), but, rather, the difficulty in manipulating it around a narrow, tight, winding staircase. We did it, but just barely.

Having removed the surrounding box, the shock set in! The 7900 makes the 7600 look like a toy. It is MASSIVE! I don't know how much the 7600 weighs but it has to be significantly less than the 7900. I immediately knew this was going to be a problem, and a big one!

I called my good friend (the same one as back in 2004, only then his 17 year old son and my 16 year old son weren't big enough to help) and he came over with his 17 year old son (one's age is driven home when it becomes apparent that your kids are stronger than you are). This was going to be a job for 4 people with my middle child, at 14, giving some directional guidance and assistance as well. Getting it to the second floor was going to be a piece of cake. Wrong! This 190 pounds is spread into a huge sized object which is heavier at one end and not all that easy to grasp (though there are areas designated for hand placement they are flat and smooth and not recessed with a grip). It was so difficult just getting it up to the second floor that it required a rest before the toughest part of the journey which was to come.

The path to the third floor was looking very tenuous and perhaps even a bit fraught with danger both for the printer as well as for us. First we tried getting it through the doorway horizontally, but because the stairs are actually to the left of the entrance there was no way to get it to the stairs that way....it was too long and the fit was too tight. Now, the printer obviously comes with no ink installed and with the printhead locked in place. I had asked tech support about turning it on end to carry it and they indicated it should be OK. So we had to flip it up on end and the four of us tried to get it up the stairs taking breaks every few minutes. This thing is extremely heavy and huge in size, making it difficult to maneuver in anything but a straight line. This was going to be a 'one stair at a time' journey.

Partway through I actually gave up and told my friends that there was simply no way in the world it was going to make it up and that it looked like I went a bit too far this time. I was prepared to leave it in our second floor bedroom and run an Ethernet cable down. My wife, who was watching this whole fiasco even agreed, as she thought there was bound to be an injury if we went any further. But my buddy and his son said they weren't prepared to quit just yet and lo and behold we made it around the tightest curve in the staircase with the printer on end with only one minor injury to my son's hand. With a final effort we made it up the remaining stairs and through the opening to the third floor (I had removed the door before we even started as it opens into and partially blocks the stairwell).

So there it sits on the floor of my study. I still have to build the stand and then get it lifted onto that. Needless to say, it took a few bumps and bruises on the way up but everything is locked down in it with no ink etc....so I am sure it will work just fine.

So, if one is thinking of purchasing one of these do be aware that it is quite different in size and weight from the 7600. As a matter of fact, the first thing my friend said when we finally put the 7900 down on the floor next to the 7600 (after glancing at the 7600 and then back at the 7900) was "That old one is just a baby compared to this one!" It really is a beast of a machine....however, it really is a beautiful sight to behold!