Colors are important in photography. But with digital photography, it is a long path from the light of this world to the computer. At the heart of the digital camera is the image sensor which records the image. Almost all digital cameras actually record image data with a complicated array of colored filters over tiny light-sensitive photosensors (more detailed information on Bayer filters is on wikipedia. Foveon sensors use a different technology but they have their own set of issues). At this point, more advanced models of cameras allow this image to be recorded in this “raw” format (we recommend always shooting in raw format over jpeg, but that’s another discussion).

Now, in its raw format, a photo would be unrecognizable. Complicated algorithms can process—the digital equivalent of darkroom developing—the raw file to create a jpeg file which is viewable by web browsers and printers alike. Part of the raw processing is determining the colors of individual pixels, or points, in the picture. Although engineers at companies such as Adobe have camera color profiles for most models of cameras, each specific camera may handle colors a little differently due to manufacturing tolerances. To ensure the best accuracy in the colors coming out of the camera, a standard color chart can be used. A popular color chart is the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, which a friend generously let me use on a recent shoot. This contains a number of colors which are very accurately printed.

After taking a picture of this chart, you have to tell the computer to analyze these colors. In the past, people used slow, complicated Photoshop scripts. I found that Adobe now provides a DNG Profile editor which will create a camera profile. I followed the directions on their tutorial, though I had to convert my Canon raw file to a DNG file (Adobe also provides a free converter program but you can also do this when importing photos with Lightroom).  This quickly and easily created a profile for my camera.  The last step was to move this profile into a location for Adobe programs to use, which on a mac is /Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles . That’s it! Now you can use the new profile in Lightroom or Photoshop as a starting point for your editing.

We look forward to sharing our photos of the trip!

We are also going to be getting our photos done as a birthday gift for Rich. Chris from www.chriscupp.com will be doing that shoot on our last day in Alaska.

We will also hope to meet up with local photographer David Jensen from www.alaskaportraits.com.

Also check out some fun Alaskan art work on etsy.

Speaking of updates, we updated this blog to WordPress 3.0 (Theolonius) as well.  There are a host of nice improvements, though I’m not sure what we’ll implement yet.  I think we might do something with custom menus, depending which theme we go with.  And the bulk updating of plugins will be nice too.

Also, I’ve been playing around with Facebook connect.  If you’re logged into Facebook, you can “Like” any of our posts now!  I might add Facebook commenting, but then it doesn’t work for those few people not on Facebook  As always, stop by our Facebook page sometime!

Shelby:

Holli:

Sometimes, a little direction can help.  For instance, one of my friends regularly holds photo challenges.   The most recent challenge was “The first signs of spring” (yeah, this was a few weeks ago!)  The reason this was a good idea for me is that I might not have taken spring-themed photos otherwise!

Here’s the photo that I submitted.  One of the restrictions was that we tried to get the photo as good in the camera.  This is difficult for me because I’m used to doing some post-processing on all of my photos (I could write another entry about post processing!) but actually this is another good exercise.  Though it may seem counter-intuitive, restrictions can be helpful.  They can force you to try something new, another angle or way of seeing things.

Here are some other photos from my spring outing (post-editing… I can’t switch all my processing style at once!)

One of the currently hyped features is video.  Since one of our cameras, the 5D Mark II, offers HD video recording, I felt compelled to at least explore this feature.  It is also interesting to note Canon has provided multiple feature updates for the video recording (including manual exposure control, manual audio control, 24fps frame rates, and improved audio quality), which is rare for a camera that has already been released.  Normally, companies only fix bugs in the camera.  They don’t include new features, because they would prefer you buy a new camera for those new features!  So it appears that companies are putting more resources into developing the video capabilities of their dSLR cameras.

First, the good of the video feature: the image quality rivals that of video cameras that cost over $10,000; it can record in as low light as candlelight; and there’s a wide selection of lenses available.  Done right, it looks spectacular.  You might have seen some video clips online that have already been using dSLR systems.  One TV show that we enjoy watching, House, has traditionally been recording all their shows on film cameras.  However, the filmmaking world is all abuzz that this season’s finale (airing tomorrow, May 17) has been filmed completely with Canon 5D mk II cameras!  Watch this episode to get an idea of what a dSLR can do.

However, it is not without drawbacks.  Here are a few:  the autofocus during video recording is slow an inaccurate. There’s no option to view high resolution (HDMI) output as you’re recording.  Videos show a jello effect when the camera pans, due to the nature of the sensor.  In fact, a much cheaper camcorder will be easier to use and provide better results for most home users.

I’ve concluded that while a dSLR is a powerful tool for a filmmaker, it’s not as ideal for home movies.  And when I started looking into filmmaking, I realized it’s a world apart from photography.  Films work much better when a team is involved, and the equipment costs skyrocket with additional gear for focusing, stabilization, lighting, and audio recording to start.  Video is nice to have as an additional feature for those times when you want to record a video; just remember that the dSLR is primarily a tool for recording still images now.