r_resnick

David - If you feel you need this, then go. I get all the "inspiration" I need from

the world around me and from visiting art museums and galleries as often as possible. This year I spent what it

would typically cost to take a photography seminar and flew to the Netherlands (where I had never been before)

and in one weeks time, visited nearly every major art museum in the country. I have always loved Dutch painting

from the classic period of the

17th century, but seeing them up on the wall, up close and personal, was nearly overwhelming. It was an

experience and enough inspiration to last the rest of my life. I am not rich either (and used an unexpected bonus

from work to pay for the trip) but this was far more helpful to me then any seminar. I maintain you can learn all

the technique you need by trial & error, dedication, and by immersing yourself in all the great artwork that has

come before. It's your eyes and the way you see that you need to train, not anything about the camera. Good luck

and don't listen to me or anyone else! Art is all about YOU.....

Well, my opinions have little connection to what I do for a living. That said, let me clarify my opinions. I think Carter is a decent photographer who has earned his position in the old world of gallery presented "fine-art." It's also ok to admire and be inspired by his work. But I think it is misguided to spend a lot of money for a seminar with him in the hope of learning some of his "magic." You'd be far better off using the money to buy a better lens or other equipment you need to realize your vision. Los Angeles is full of hucksters like Julia Dean who steal peoples' dreams and sell them back to them. It is people like her I despise.

If you're really curious about Carter (and have a lot of money to waste) you could take one of his many overpriced seminars - http://www.juliadean.com/2007summer/keithcarter.html

 

I'm always suspicious of people who put on these seminars for the idle and photographically challenged rich. I think they should just call it "We wise up chumps for a price."

Tony -

 

Your comments are correct in my experience except that I hve not had any better results with EPSON Enhanced Matte. You are also correct that the best chance you have at neutral B&W with this printer is with glossy paper. Or you can choose to print in "grayscale mode" in the print driver. This can still produce some nice prints but with a slight brown/sepia tint and with contrast/dmax range somewhat reduced.

 

The i9900 is capable of producing some of the best, most vivid color prints on fine art matte paper of any printer I have seen. But I have pretty much given up on trying to print B&W on the i9900 and am looking at picking up a second-hand Epson and using Piezography inks. Or I may wait until the Canon Pro9500 comes out next year.

 

If anyone is interested, I am currently getting some great color prints on PICTURE RAG 250 COOL TONE from Inkpress paper. www.inkpresspaper.com

Please see this example

http://www.pbase.com/polara/image/69777991

 

and 21 step wedge test file

http://www.pbase.com/polara/image/69777993

 

it was made from. The example image is a scan of 2 prints made of the 21 step

wedge test. The problem is easily seen in the top wedge. Anyone else ever have

this problem?

 

NOTES:

 

I use Canon Matte, Photo Paper Plus, and Arista Satin RC. This problem affects

all prints on all of these papers.

 

Problem IS NOT "color profile" related as it appears even when using PictBridge

to print directly from a camera.

 

Does not seem to be "head clog" related as Nozzle Check patches look solid for

each color.

 

I am using latest versions of printer firmware (1.05) and Windows print driver

(1.75a)

 

As seen in example, greenish cast goes away when grayscale printing is checked.

This is ok for B&W prints, but not for color prints.

 

Problem appears in varying degrees in all color prints containing dark gray tones.

 

Any help, suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

I have over 100 Pentax .PEF files from my istDS sitting in a folder on

my external USB drive. This is where I normally download all of my

images to. The images were taken last June and I have accessed them

dozens of times in the last six months in Photoshop and Raw Shooter

Essential. Everything was fine until last night when I went to access

them and saw that about 20 of the .PEF files were suddenly corrupted

in one of 3 ways �

 

1. Only the top half of the image displays. The bottom half is black.

 

2. The top displays but the bottom half has only bands of color noise.

 

3. The image won�t display or open at all in Photoshop or any program

capable of viewing RAW files.

 

More details:

 

� This �mystery corruption� is only affecting these 20 or so images

out of hundreds of RAW and JPG images on this USB drive. All other

files on this drive are fine.

 

� My understanding of RAW files is that they are basically �read only�

and cannot be modified by any photo editing or viewing program. Also,

the �Modified� date attribute on these files matches the date they

were taken.

 

� There are no other problems going on with my computer or drives. I

do not have a virus, spyware, worm, or malware infection, or any

hardware or OS related problem.

 

Has anyone had this problem or know how or if these files can be

recovered? Thanks.

In Photoshop CS, when working with an image with several adjustment

layers, is it always necessary to flatten the image before printing?

"This sounds like a strange deal and it might be too late for a boilerplate."

 

John - Could you elaborate? What's so strange? I have some pictures. Someone wants to buy them. I just need to capture on paper that:

 

1. All I am selling are the prints.

 

2. That no one may use the images for any purpose (other then to display on their wall) or make additional copies without my consent.

 

3. That I retain ownership of the images.

 

I am still making the final prints and nothing has changed hands yet, so I am still seeking a good answer here. I should mention that the dollar value of the deal is not enough to hire an attorney to draft a contract. I am hoping this can be simple enough to do on my own.

Is there anyone out there who has displayed/sold prints at a coffee house or small gallery? How did you do the deal?

 

Thanks

I am selling some prints to a store for a flat price per print. The

store will frame, display, and sell the prints at their own expense. I

will retain ownership and copyright of each image. If the store wants

more copies of the prints, they must get them from me and cannot

reproduce the images without my consent. The store owner has agreed to

all of this.

 

Now I need a document that has all of this plus any other protections

I need to protect my work. Is there a "boiler plate" contract for

this type of arrangement?

Photoshop 7 running in Windows 2000

 

I just upgraded to a very large monitor and am now running at 1600 x

1200 screen resolution. I have a lot more screen space to work in, but

now the font size of PS's menus and palletes such as the Layers,

History, File Browser are too tiny.

 

I've been able to enlarge all other Windows screen fonts so that the

menus in programs such as Word, Excel, etc. are bigger, but this

hasn't helped in PS. Is there a way enlarge font sizes of the PS

interface and menus? Thanks.

I am working with a scan of a B&W negative. The picture was shot

outdoors at night using a large Vivitar flash (think Weegee.) The

subject and foreground are nicely exposed and look great when printed

on my Canon i9900. The Problem is the background.

 

The light from the flash falls off behind the subject and there's

nothing there but a large field of black. There are a few nice dots of

light, but mainly there is no grain, no texture, just black. Is there

a way to create a mask based on the black level of this background

area, and then introduce some texture, a gradient, or something to

create some luminosity back there while not affecting the few lighter

details in this area or foreground areas that may have some smaller

black areas?

I have not scanned 4x5 but I have used the 4870 for the past month to scan dozens of 120 size B&W negs I shot some 16 years ago. I have to say that right out of the box, the results were stunning. Severly underexposed night shots are coming out with beautiful inky blacks and silvery highlights I could never have gotten in the darkroom. It has also been great with 35mm color and B&W. This is the best scanner I've seen and is the equal of all but the best high-end dedicated neg scanner. But don't take my word for it. Read Vincent's review at http://www.photo-i.co.uk/

 

Two more things -

 

1. This scanner comes with 2 software packages - Epson and Silverfast. Use the Epson software and throw the Silverfast disc in the trash.

 

2. Don't try using Digital ICE for B&W. It doesn't work and will waste hours of your time. Works like magic for color, though!