|
Digital Darkroom
Like many professional
photographers, I have made the decision to work only in digital
form. The hassles of using film are no longer necessary, in my
opinion. Sure, there will always be a use for film in some form, but
by and large, the recent technological advances in digital
photography have made it much easier to produce quality images
without the hassles of film.
The first time I
saw the images produced by the Nikon D2H, I knew it was time. Time
to switch camera brands and to sell all my 35mm equipment in the
process. The images produced from my 4.1 MP D2H were twice as good as the ones from my
6.1 MP camera from another manufacturer. Nikon has solved the
dilemma, at least for me, and now that I have the 12.4 MP D2X it
has only get better.
Still, digital photography has its own nuances, just as film does.
In my opinion, however, they are more easily overcome. The content
of this page gives a brief overview of my digital workflow and how I
have my "Digital Darkroom" set up.
Equipment & Software
First of all, lets talk computers. I have two that I actively use.
One desktop
system that I use for my image editing and other processor-intensive
tasks. I also have a laptop that I take with me in the field which
is moderately configured to allow for a basic short-term warehouse
for my images while I am on the road. It also allows me to do basic
image editing and uploading files to the web site from the field.
Both of these computers were purchased from Dell. I have had a
long-term relationship with Dell. In fact, every computer I have
ever owned (except the Commodore Vic 20 I had in high school) was
purchased from Dell computer. They are great workhorses and have
never let me down. I highly recommend them.
Next lets talk printers. I always
use Epson. Their print engine technology and "micropiezo" ink
delivery system are
 unmatched,
in my opinion. Even the lower-end of their desktop printers deliver
stunning print quality. I use two of their printers, one desktop, a
Stylus 900 Photo, and one wide-format, a Stylus 7600 Pro, a smaller
version of the 9600 Pro which is used by many professional print
houses. The desktop printer is used for basic document printing as
well as printing initial proof prints on 4x6 or 5x7 paper. Once I am
satisfied with the print, I then move to my wide-format printer
where I produce the final prints.
I also have a scanner, also made
by Epson, but since I no longer work with film, I no longer use the
scanner as part of my routine workflow. It is an Epson Perfection
3200 Photo scanner and does a very nice job for basic scans of
prints, negatives and transparencies. I would not recommend it for
production work, however. A Nikon Coolscan would be your best choice
for a home alternative.
I use several different brands of compact flash cards. Mainly
SanDisk and Lexar. I originally purchased SanDisk CF cards because
of the price. But, I would highly recommend the Lexar cards with write
acceleration technology if you can afford them. And, the prices on all
CF cards is dropping rapidly so the discrepancy in price is quickly
narrowing. I currently own three 2GB cards and two 1GB
cards. This gives me a total storage space of 8 GB without having to download a single image. With my laptop in
the field with me, I have never had a problem with running out of
space to take more images... and I shoot liberally! I have also
added a Nikon Coolwalker to my list of gear with a 30GB hard drive,
giving me even more space to store images while in the field. Since the
addition of the D2X to my arsenal, I will be adding more 2 GB CF cards
in the near future.
As far as software goes, I use
several different programs which are outlined below:
-
Adobe Photoshop CS2 - Full-featured image editing package.
-
Nik Multimedia Sharpener Pro for Inkjet - Fine-tunes the
image sharpening process; necessary for razor-sharp
enlargements.
-
Nik Multimedia DFine - Reduces noise caused by various
sources, such as reciprocity failure on long exposures and for
those times when fine-tuning of the exposure is needed after the
image has been reocrded.
-
Nikon Capture - This software converts Nikon RAW files to
another editable format but it does much more as well. It allows
fine tuning of the RAW images.
-
Nikon PictureProject/Nikon View - These are not this most feature-rich
image management software programs but are sufficient for my
workflow and were free with my camera!
Back to top
Workflow
Here is the basic
process of my digital workflow from capture to print:
- Once the image has
been captured to the CF card, at the end of the shooting
session, I download the images to my computer and to the
Coolwalker. I have a
PCMCIA card for this purpose when using my laptop, and an
ordinary card reader when using my desktop. Typically, I'm
in the field during this process so I use my laptop 90% of
the time. The images are sorted and stored in directories on
the hard drive grouped by trip and major location. I have my
camera set to record RAW images to give me the most latitude
in enhancing the image in post-processing, primarily for
increased dynamic range.
- At the end of a day of shooting, I
will separate out the images I think are promising. I will
then go through and make basic edits of these "selects" and
size them for the web. If at all possible, I upload these
images to my web site for immediate review by anyone who may
be interested.
- Once I return to my
office after a trip, I copy the entire directory structure
of all the "selects" from the trip over to my desktop
computer for long-term storage and full editing. Then I
immediately burn them onto a DVD for archiving and backup
purposes. This DVD goes
into a file cabinet until I need them. I never delete an
image unless it is totally unusable... you never know.
Before I do any of the editing of the "selects", I
re-examine the "rejects" to see if I may have missed
something or was being overly critical in the field. Taking
a look at things with a fresh eye never hurts.
- Once I am satisfied
that I have selected all of the usable images I need, I begin the editing process of the RAW files.
Initial adjustments are made with Nikon Capture and the file
is saved as a TIFF file.
- This TIFF file is then further edited
in Adobe Photoshop CS. Most of the time, the initial
adjustments in Capture are all that is necessary, if even
that, but occasionally I will fine tune even further in
Photoshop. Mainly, all I use Photoshop for is to resize the
image, and sharpen it using the Nik Sharpener Pro plug-in, or
reduce the noise using the Nik DFine plug-in. Any conversion
to black-and-white would also be done in Photoshop.
- The basic steps I take in Photoshop
are: reduce the noise if necessary, brush out any dust marks
that may have crept onto the image, make any fine-tune
adjustments to color, contrast, tone, etc, then save the
image as a master copy. Then I will resize it to various
sizes, sharpen it and save the resized image as a copy to a
separate folder appropriately labeled for the print size. By
saving a copy, I retain my master file so in case something
were to happen to the resized file, I wouldn't have to go
through the entire editing process again.
- Generally, I make a 4x6 or 5x7 proof print
from the master file to get an idea how it is going to look
once printed. From there, I make any adjustments that are
necessary and make further proofs until I have a print that
I am satisfied with... this usually takes two or three bites
at the apple. Then, using a profile created for my specific
wide-format printer, I make another proof print in the
final production size. Usually no further adjustments are
necessary but occasionally, I have to tune it a bit because
of the differences in profiles from one printer to the
other.
- Once I am satisfied with the
full-size proof, I rip out several copies of the print at
various sizes. The prints are then allowed to bond/cure overnight
and then they are packaged and set aside where they remain until shipping.
This is the basic gist
of my current workflow. I am constantly refining this
process, however, and as I do, I do my best to keep this
page updated. If you have any questions about any part or
would like more specifics, please feel free to
email me and ask your questions.
Back to Top
Tips & Tricks
I will be adding some
tips and tricks for the various software programs I use in
the near future. Please check back.
Back to Top
|
 |
