Opinion: Leave paper to the artists following Kodak's announcement, and have some fun with four new downloadable photography applications.I'm writing this with my G5 PowerMac roaring like a 747 preparing to taxi to the runway; I just hope the computer will survive the summer without a vacation! My nickname for this dual 2.5 GHz machine will forthwith be "Fanjet".
This week I have lots of "stuff" listed. Small pieces of software with specific uses. The names are Basiccolor and ColorEyes Display, Noiseware, Opanda PhotoFilter and Chromix ColorThink. Read the nutshell descriptions at the end of the column, then download: There are demos or time-limited versions available for everything listed below; some of it is even free.
Some of the listed items may get more exposure in this column, some will get discussed on my Blog.
I'll be thankful if you send in your opinions and recommendations for other "stuff" that may be of interest to the digital photographer.
But before you go and get the candy, please listen quietly to the lecture. Wait a minute while I put on my professorial gown.
Film is going away. Chemicals are going away. Perhaps you've all heard the Kodak announcement: They're deep-sixing black and white.
Microsoft moves adroitly on Raw images. Click here to read Edmund Ronald's column.
Actually, when you read the Kodak news, you see it's the photo paper that is going away first.
I can see it all around me, photography is changing into imaging. Viewing is done on a screen. People are taking electronic photographs that they are not printing.
Screen viewing is a trend that has been building for quite a while now. People are now spending more time staring at a screen than they spend with a book. Most of us do considerably more typing than longhand writing. Kids keep their diaries on their computers nowadays.
Now, the old-style viewing models we've been using have long been low-luminosity. Like paper and the rather dim reflective rendering of the cinematographic theater. Even on a classic TV, the light levels aren't that high, you can't really see it in strong light.
But now, when you walk into an office, sometimes the digital projection screen is the brightest thing in the room. LCD screens are no longer dim, they're readable in full daylight while rendering decent colors.
Today's flat screens are already sized like the pokey windows you see in old European houses. If we pursue the current scaling of size, then we can expect to see office and domestic screens the size of normal windows.
And if we pursue the current trend of scaling brightness by extrapolating from electronic projectors, then we should eventually see large and powerful directed-emission displays with the radiance of normal windows.
In my lifetime, I expect to see "screens" that can project real rays of "sunlight".
Color Management of a vacation photo may soon be about getting the viewer's suntan right.
As for other senses that in the future might complement visual rendering, let's not go there; this is still a photo column.
No, I don't in any way regret film. I feel comfortable with electronic imaging. Let's leave paper to the artists!
Next Page: Four new toys to bring a photographer joy.
Now, let's move on to the toys. I really need to let that computer cool off. There are just four items cited this week; each can be useful even for free. I've left the more geeky color stuff for last.
1. Photo Filter simulation: Opanda PhotoFilter is something I came across by accident, but I found the Web site appealing. It says: "Opanda PhotoFilter is a freeware of opandasoft. It includes more 100 types filters in it, they are all kind of color photo filter about Kodak/Cokin/Hoya."
Well, in spite of the strange syntax, coloring your photos is a nice way to goof around or boost yourself out of a creative rut. Did I say I like the price?
2. Noise Reduction: Imagenomic Noiseware is another noise-reduction tool for Mac and PC. I've had some good user feedback about this, but no time yet to look at it.
Try the demo and write me after you try it. This noise reduction business is really a matter of individual taste.
User testimonials are the best way to get a feel for a product's talents. Oh, and have you looked at Noise Ninja? Before this year it was the best game in Mac town, some users swear by it.
Noise reduction software keeps older cameras current. Click here to read Edmund Ronald's column.
3. Monitor Profilers: Basiccolor Display has officially updated to version 3.1, and ColorEyes Display is updating too. These calibration packages are superb with the latest generation of LCD displays. They sure worked for me. Go get 'em!
One innovative recommended feature here is L* calibration.
And, if you are using Photoshop, stay with a matrix profile. I've been told PS handles matrix screen profiles much better than LUTs. The demos of these packages are time-limited, but the profiles they make are not limited in any way.
4. ColorThink by Chromix. is written by color geek Steve Upton to make other color geeks happy. It's a tool to work with profiles. I believe it has zillions of functions, but for a beginner like me, its most spectacular use is as a gamut grapher.
The gamut of a device comprises the colors the device can effectively display. Now ColorThink lets you graph and compare gamuts in 3D to your heart's content, it can even make them spin till you get seasick.
You can compare gamuts by superposing them in 3D. But, wait, there's more! Just drag an image into the gamut display window and ColorThink will clearly show you the colors in your image that are out of gamut, i.e. which will be problematic to view or display. ColorThink will even display vectors to indicate how the colors in your image get remapped and displaced by a colorimetric rendering.
I guess it's time now to switch off the computer, before "Fanjet" gets tower clearance for takeoff. See you soon. Write me about your favorite toys, and don't forget to visit my blog!
Edmund Ronald's blog can be found at www.monitor-calibration.net.
Edmund Ronald has a Ph.D. in applied mathematics, but he is currently on a sabbatical as a photographer in Paris. He can be reached at photofeedback@gmail.com.
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