Like many traditional photographers, I have an extensive collection of B&W fiber and RC prints. Some of these images are very important to me, but I haven't been able to use them in my daily work because they haven't been digitized and cataloged on my computer. I'm changing that now.

This project began with a piece that I'm working on for Macworld Magazine. I like to write my "How To" articles while I'm actually doing whatever it is I'm writing about. So I pulled a number of my favorite B&W prints, scanned them on a very nice Canon 9950F scanner, then went about organizing the images and cataloging them in iPhoto 6. This has been a very satisfying project, and one that I will continue for months to come. I'll be sure to let everyone know when the Macworld article comes out so you can read every step of the process.

I chose this image of a San Francisco cigar shop for a reason. During a recent visit to the city, I noticed that the shop was gone and there was another business on this corner. I had visited Marquard's many, many times over the years, and was sad to see it go. This photo now means a great deal to me because it reminds me of things I experienced during those times in the past.

If you find this topic interesting, let me know and I'll put together an audio show and more written details about the system I use for digitizing my old prints.

Technorati Tags: photography, technique, tips

With last Thursday's announcement that Konica Minolta will be withdrawing from the camera and photo business, I was wondering if their recent partnership with Sony will carry on the Maxxum/Dynax lens mount. In a separate release last Thursday, Konica Minolta stated:

"...on March 31 2006, Sony will receive certain assets from Konica Minolta PI that are necessary for the development, design, production and so forth of digital SLR cameras compatible with Konica Minolta PI's Maxxum/Dynax lens mount system. Sony will accelerate development of new digital SLR cameras based on and compatible with the Maxxum/Dynax lens mount system with a view to marketing these models this summer."

Looks like Sony will soon be releasing DSLRs with Maxxum lens mounts. Just for the record, there are 16 million Maxxum/Dynax lenses in use now, all of which should work on the new Sony DSLRs. This could be an interesting evolution of the Minolta tradition.

Technorati Tags: camera, equipment, photography

Adobe's Camera Raw 3.3 plug-in and DNG Converter is available for download. This latest version supports 17 additional cameras (and a total of 113 camera models).

New cameras supported include Canon EOS 5D, Canon EOS 1D Mark II N, Canon EOS 20Da, Fujifilm Finepix E900, Fujifilm Finepix S5200/5600, Fujifilm Finepix S9000/9500, Kodak EasyShare P850, Kodak EasyShare P880, Mamiya ZD, Nikon D200, Olympus E-500, Olympus SP-310, Olympus SP-350, Olympus SP-500UZ, Pentax *ist DL, Pentax *ist DS2, and Sony DSC-R1. The Adobe Camera Raw 3.3 plug-in requires Photoshop CS2, Photoshop Elements 3.0 or Photoshop Elements 4.0

I've just tested the new plug-in with .CR2 files from my Canon 5D, and it works wonderfully.

Technorati Tags: photography

I wanted to test the new Canon 24-105mm IS L Zoom Lens, which I'll write about in more detail in a later post. Fortunately for me, there was a break in the rain up here in Northern California, so I mounted the 24-105mm on my Canon 5D and dashed off for a walk. I'm lucky because I have some great walking paths that provide lots of wildlife and vistas. A while into my stroll, I noticed a tempting shot and scampered up this slight grassy rise to capture a scenic with horses feeding in an open field.

After recording a few frames, I pivoted around to step down from the grassy rise and return to the trail. In mid-step, with right foot in the air, I noticed a snake curled up right where I was going to plant my foot. I awkwardly redirected my landing spot to the left of the snake so as not to cause harm to either of us. Because it was cold, he continued to watch me with a wary eye, but not move.

Since I managed to avoid stepping on him, I then took a short series of frames with the new Canon 24-105mm lens. He continued to watch me until I backed away and went about my business.

I pass this tale along because it was a good reminder for me to watch my step while shooting. I tend to get absorbed in what I'm doing, sometimes forgetting about my surroundings. This can be dangerous in nature.

If you have a anecdote along these lines, please share it with others in the comments below. In the meantime, beware of snakes in the grass...

Technorati Tags: photography, tips

iPhoto 6 adds some terrific options to Apple's digital shoebox application, including better handling of Raw files, ColorSync management, and a non-managed library choice. Today I want to give you a brief overview of how Raw file editing has evolved in this latest release.

First, let me describe how Raw file management worked before in iPhoto 5. If you had Photoshop selected as your external editor, double-clicking on a thumbnail from a Raw file in iPhoto 5 would open a Jpeg interpretation of that Raw file in Photoshop. You could edit this Jpeg and send it back to iPhoto by saving in Photoshop. If you wanted to work in Camera Raw, you had to drag a thumbnail from iPhoto 5 on to the Photoshop CS icon on your Dock (this worked only if you haven't edited the file previously in iPhoto 5) or export it as "Original" and open that file in Camera Raw.

After editing in Camera Raw, you would click the open button to move the image to Photoshop where you could save it in any format you wished, or just hit save and choose your format there. You could then add the edited and saved PSD, Tiff, or Jpeg back to your iPhoto 5 library as a new image.

In iPhoto 6, you now have the Use Raw files with external editor option in the Advanced Preferences pane (iPhoto > Preferences > Advanced). Using this option changes your workflow considerably.

When the "external editor" box is checked, your double-click on a Raw thumbnail opens that image in Camera Raw (if you have Photoshop CS selected as your external image editor). Now, as far as I can tell, you can't "roundtrip" the changes back to iPhoto 6 just by hitting the "Done" button. But you can save to another format and import the edited Tiff, PSD, etc. back into iPhoto 6. So even though it doesn't technically "round trip" your Raw edits, this new method does save you a step... and is a welcomed improvement.

What's interesting though, is that iPhoto does remember your Raw adjustments made in Camera Raw. If you double-click the thumbnail again, it opens it in Camera Raw with your previous settings in place. [Update from a reader: it's actually Camera Raw that remembers your settings. Thanks Rafa]

If you want to edit your Raw file in iPhoto using the Adjust palette, you can go back and change the preference. But I prefer to leave the preference setting as it is and simply Option double-click to switch to iPhoto's editor, or CTRL-click on the thumbnail and choose either "Edit in a separate window" or "Edit using full screen." In my testing, I seemed to be working with the original Raw data using these options, opposed to building upon any instructions I've added using Camera Raw.

Now, if I uncheck the Use Raw files with external editor option, iPhoto 6 behaves just as it did in iPhoto 5 -- I'm working with a Jpeg interpretation of the Raw file, and my changes are saved back to iPhoto 6.

There's more to discover here, but I hope this gives you a good start with the editing options for your Raw files. If you would like my overall initial take on this application, take a look at iPhoto 6 First Impressions.

Technorati Tags: photography, technique

One of the great things about travel is taking advantage of the high vantage points that hotel windows provide. Usually I'm enamored with shooting at twilight, capturing the last light in an inky blue sky while building lights begin to illuminate the foreground. But one morning, I left the curtains open and was reminded that dawn light adds new dimensions to cityscapes.

This shot of Glide Memorial Church was recorded at 7:45 am from the 12th floor of the Hilton across the street. A few hours later, everything had flattened out and there wasn't a good shot in sight.

Captured with a Canon Digital Rebel XT through the hotel window, 1/30 @ f-4.5, ISO 100.

Technorati Tags: camera, image, photography, technique, tips

LightZone was demoed at the recent Macworld Expo and caught the attention of many photographers. It is a "designed from the bottom up" image editor that protects your original files and only associates editing instructions to it. This is a popular (and welcomed) approach also embraced by Apple's Aperture and Adobe's Lightroom.

Even though LightZone has an image viewer and file browser, its real appeal is how it analyzes your pictures then displays the shapes and densities of the tonal zones for easy editing. This visual approach should feel very natural to photographers.

LightZone is currently a Mac application that requires OS X 10.3.9 or later. A Windows version is coming soon. You can download a demo and try if for free for 30 days. If you like what you see, LightZone can be purchased for $249.

Technorati Tags: image, photography, product review

For my recent Inside Aperture Power Tools workshop that I led with Scott Bourne at Macworld SF '06, I compiled class notes to accompany the workbook. I promised the class that I would make those notes available online. I'm also offering them to everyone in The Digital Story community.

These notes are in PDF format (5.8 MB download -- 30 pages). Topics include importing images into Aperture, comparing and rating, editing tools, vaults and backup, exporting images, and printing. In part, I'm releasing these notes because there are many misconceptions about Aperture, such as limits on export configurations (based on the presets Apple provides that are totally editable). I think that publishing good information is the best way to help photographers understand the potential this application presents.

My copresenter, Scott Bourne, also has lots of great tips on his site, ApertureTricks.com. He has, for example, a goodie I submitted about using the DigitalColor Meter utility to read RGB values in Aperture (thanks Joe for this one!).

If you're using Aperture, or want to learn more about how it works, please download the "Inside Aperture" PDF (5.8 MB). Feel free to share it in its entirety, but please don't take out excerpts. If you have questions, post a comment here or write me directly. And most importantly: enjoy this wonderful application!

Technorati Tags: notes, PDF, photography

"I was walking in the little Sardinian town of San Sperate, well known for its "murales" or wall paintings and came across this scene outside a coffee shop," said Nina Contini Melis. "Several people playng chess at a table in the courtyard, who seemed to be perfectly in proportion to the painted scene on the side of the coffee shop. I decided to turn it into BW because I liked it better that way."

Nina used a Nikon 70S to capture this interesting juxtaposition shot.

If you have an interesting candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. If we publish it, you'll receive an ultra cool custom carabineer keychain.

Technorati Tags: candid, photography

Looks like the iPhoto engineers have been having coffee with the Aperture guys. iPhoto 6 has not only adopted Aperture's full screen editing mode, but you can "compare" up to eight images onscreen at once while doing so. Clearly, iPhoto is becoming one of the premier consumer apps on the Mac platform.

In full screen mode, you can view your images without the distractions of the user interface, enabling you to concentrate on the image itself. If you want to edit the picture, activate the Adjust palette (Apple did not rename it the Heads Up Display as in Aperture) and tweak brightness, contrast, temperature, etc. And if you're not sure which image in a series is the best, put it along side your initial favorite in full screen mode and compare it. Once you figure out which one is the best, mark it as a favorite.

When you consider that you also get One-Click Effects, Photocasting, greeting cards, calendars, RSS publishing via iWeb, and a performance boost, iPhoto 6 seems like the deal of the year. How much does it cost? Only $79. Oh, did I mention that you also get iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb? Yup, still $79 for the whole collection. Apple calls the package iLife '06.

You can buy iLife '06 right now at the Apple Store. Shipping is free.

Technorati Tags: photography