John Paul Caponigro will release three new training DVDs through Acme Educational next week. Orders placed before the release date will save $10.00 off the $59.95 list price. Having spent a week with JP in the Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop that he teaches with Mac Holbert, I can personally recommend the tools and techniques that you’ll find on these three disks. JP’s earlier disks, ‘Drawing With Light: 21st Century Dodging & Burning‘, ‘Color Management in Six Simple Steps‘ and ‘The Art of Proofing‘ are also favorites in my studio.

Details on each disk are listed below. To get the pre-order pricing at Acme Educational, click here. To see the many other great resources on JP’s site, click here.

Black & White Mastery

Black & White Mastery will unlock the amazing power of digital color for you and your images.

You’ll discover what’s unique about black and white images, identifying a number of unique black and white palettes that will give you a wide range of options for crafting a black and white style that’s best for you and your images.

You’ll learn how to convert color to black and white with ultimate precision and flexibility. You’ll know which methods give you the best result and when to choose a simple or a complex solution. You’ll find out how to adjust the resulting tonal relationships with unprecedented precision. You’ll understand how to adjust your images selectively to further enhance your images. You be able to add color back into your black and white images (subtly or dramatically, uniformly or selectively) to add unique expressive dimensions.

In addition to processing Raw digital files, you’ll also learn how to scan analog originals (film and print). Finally, you’ll learn easy ways to make prints of your black and white digital files either with the latest inkjet technologies or by making digital contact negatives for printing with historic processes.

Most importantly, you’ll learn to see and think about black and white images in new ways which will open up a vast world of visual possibilities for you. Put this new perspective to work for you and your images today.

introduction:

• b&w is unique
• how gray is gray
• b&w expanding definition
• unlimited palette
• b&w signature style
• b&w seeing in
• color is b&w – trichromatic separation
• b&w strategic overview
• b&w scanning
• b&w prep for conversion
• b&w many ways
• raw
• b&w adjustment layer
• dual adjustment layer
• triple adjustment layer
• channels as layers
• simulated infrared
• b&w global contrast
• b&w local contrast
• b&w adding color – multi-tone
• b&w adding color – curves and overlays
• b&w adding color – restoring original color
• b&w adding color – handcoloring
• b&w inkjet printing – 2 ways
• b&w film

Photoshop Color Strategies

Photoshop Color Strategies will help you take your color skills to the next level. True mastery of color requires not only knowing how to use the various color tools available to you, but also knowing how to choose between them, when to apply them, and why to apply them to achieve specific color effects. You’ll learn to isolate the three essential components of color (luminosity, hue, and saturation) and control them with unprecedented precision. You’ll learn about important optical effects that affect the way you and your viewers see color and learn to put them to work for you. You’ll learn new ways of thinking about color that will help you see and produce a wide variety of color effects. You’ll discover strategies for identifying and creating successful color palettes. You can combine all of this new knowledge to craft your own unique artistic signature style. Put the unprecedented power and precision of digital color to work for you and your images now.

introduction:

• color r/evolution
• color is black and white
• memory
• optical effects
• color types
• successful palettes
• association
• side-by-side
• infinite variations
• color tool survey
• editing strategy
• blend modes
• selectivity
• light filled
• increase and decrease luminosity
• reduce hue contrast
• increase hue contrast
• reduce saturation
• increase saturation
• neutrals
• atmospheric perspective
• night
• inversion
• transpose color natural match color
• transpose color synthetic gradient map

Photoshop Color Tools

Learn how to use the color adjustment tools in Adobe Photoshop CS4 to achieve unprecedented control of your images.

Find out which tools are the go to tools (the ones you¹ll use everyday), which are exotic (the ones for exceptional images), and which are redundant and/or too limited (the ones you can forget about).

Make every adjustment tool more precisely target specific components of color (hue, saturation, and luminosity) using blend modes and easy to use selections / masks that allow you to target specific hues or luminosity values.

introduction:

• hsl
• color management – 6 simple steps
• monitor histograms
• editing strategy
• color tool survey
• blend modes
• raw conversion
• shadows / highlights
• channel blending
• levels- b&w points
• curves
• high pass contrast
• selective color
• saturation & vibrance
• photofilter & overlays
• match color
• b & w adjustment layer
• select by color range

Epson Stylus Pro 7900

Epson has officially unveiled the newest generation of their 24- and 44-inch pigment-based, inkjet printers: the Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900. [True confession: my inner-geek gets all tingly at times like this.]

My initial assessment is that the Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 offer a slate of great innovations that focus on three goals – finer print detail, faster print speed and expanded color gamut. Among the new technologies are:

• a new MicroPiezoTFP™ print head that spits out incredibly small droplets more accurately and more rapidly.
• the new UltraChrome HDR ink set [my favorite feature] – which now includes orange and green inks. Way back in the Photoshop 2.5 era, Pantone invented Hexachrome by adding O and G to CMYK. I’m very interested in how far this new ink set will expand the color gamut of Epson’s pro printers. For more about color gamuts, read the PixSylated article on Simple Truths About Color Management.
• automatic black ink switching [my second favorite feature] – just five words on this… “thank you” and “it’s about time”.
• high-capacity ink cartridges – 11 individual ink cartridges are available in 150, 350 and 700ml capacities. Let’s see, 11 inks would be: Photo Black, Matte Black, Light Black, Light Light Black, Cyan, Light Cyan, Vivid Magenta, Vivid Light Magenta, Yellow, Orange and Green. [No word of a partridge or a pear tree from Epson, yet.]
• optional built-in spectrophotometer – the Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 can be ordered with a built-in X-Rite ILS20 spectrophotometer. For color-critical work, this new SpectroProofer™ technology will automate the creation of color profiles.

My Conclusion: we’re gonna have to get a really big Christmas tree this year.

Check out the Epson Stylus Pro 7900 site here.

Check out the Espon Stylus Pro 9900 site here.

Epson Stylus Pro 7900 / 9900 Press Release

EPSON AMERICA ADVANCES PROFESSIONAL INK JET PRINTING WITH NEW EPSON STYLUS PRO 7900 AND 9900 PRINTERS

24- and 44-Inch Printers Feature All-New Epson UltraChrome HDR Ink Technology Offering Creative Professionals Unmatched Color, Quality and Performance

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Oct. 23, 2008 – Representing a level of technology unprecedented in Epson’s history, Epson America today announced its next generation of professional ink jet printers – the 24-inch Epson Stylus® Pro 7900 and the 44-inch Epson Stylus Pro 9900. This Epson Stylus Pro series incorporates Epson’s latest achievements in photographic ink jet technology, including Epson’s MicroPiezo TFP™ print head with new Epson UltraChrome® HDR Ink technology, to deliver a higher level of print quality, increased performance with speeds almost twice as fast as previous models, and the widest color gamut ever from Epson Stylus Pro printers.

“We continue to innovate, refine and expand the limits of professional ink jet printing with every new introduction of an Epson Stylus Pro printer,” said Mark Radogna, group product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson. “The Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 printers truly redefine what’s possible from ink jet printing, offering creative professionals a superior printing solution. The new Epson Stylus Pro series is poised to dramatically redefine commercial, flexographic and package proofing, as well as professional photographic and fine art printing.”
Based on unique high-density pigment chemistry, Epson UltraChrome HDR ink technology offers all-new Orange and Green inks, and when combined with Epson’s innovative AccuPhoto™ HDR screening technology, delivers the industry’s most advanced ink jet printing technology. The result is greatly enhanced photographic print quality with exceptionally fine photographic blends and transitions, and highly accurate highlight-to-shadow detail. In addition, Epson UltraChrome HDR offers excellent print permanence ratings for color and black-and-white prints and outstanding short-term color stability for a broad range of mission-critical proofing applications.

Also new to the Epson Stylus Pro series is an optional high performance, in-line spectrophotometer for commercial proofing applications. Developed by Epson in partnership with X-Rite®, the SpectroProofer™ incorporates a high performance X-Rite ILS20 spectrophotometer for extreme measurement accuracy. When driven by the latest front-end RIP software, Epson’s SpectroProofer can automate virtually any color management process in today’s printing workflows.

Whether producing sellable color or black-and-white photography, fine art reproduction or producing color accurate commercial and flexographic proofs for client approvals, the new Epson Stylus Pro series offers a range of features and next-generation technologies that allow creative professionals to produce their vision without compromise.

Key features and benefits include:
·         Ten-Channel, High-Precision MicroPiezo TFP Print Head: Produces a maximum resolution of 2880 x 1440 dpi and variable-sized droplets as small as 3.5 picoliters with highly accurate dot shape and placement to greatly decrease print times while optimizing photographic quality; latest ink-repelling coating and auto nozzle verification technologies virtually eliminate clogged nozzles
·         Automatic Black Ink Switching: Both Photo and Matte Black ink cartridges are installed simultaneously, enabling the printers to automatically utilize the optimal black ink mode to deliver maximum black density for the chosen media; auto-sharing black ink channel on the MicroPiezo TFP print head ensures a fast and efficient switch that is managed via the front control panel
·         Epson PreciseColor™ Manufacturing: Evaluates and adjusts each printer’s performance at the manufacturing stage, ensuring consistent color output from printer to printer and print to print, eliminating the need for internal calibration devices
·         Epson ePlaten™ Media Loading Technology:  Simplifies the roll and cut-sheet media loading process with automatic media loading, movement, skew adjustment, and tracking, including electronically controlled roll media back tension and automatic roll media rewind upon release
·         Professional Media Handling: Handles virtually any media type, roll or cut sheet, up to 24- and 44- inches wide via a unique straight-through media path; a printer and driver-based media identification and synchronization system ensures error-free media use
·         New Rotary Cutting System: Includes a durable rotary cutter for use with roll paper capable of cutting virtually any media type, including most canvas and fine art papers, in less than two seconds
·         Intelligent High-Capacity Ink System: Features 11 individual ink cartridges available in 150, 350 and 700 ml capacities with “on-the-fly” ink cartridge replacement for increased productivity; pressurized ink cartridge technology ensures reliable ink delivery at all print speeds, while dramatically reducing the physical size of the ink cartridges
·         Easy-to-Use Front Control Panel: High-resolution, 2.5-inch, color LCD offers improved viewing of printer status with a simple button layout for all navigation and basic printer functions

Epson Stylus Pro Series and myEpsonPrinter.com
The new Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 are compatible with myEpsonPrinter.comSM, a unique Web-based printer information and management system that is currently available for free while in beta. The site enables commercial printing professionals to monitor print jobs and consumables virtually in real time, including tracking ink and media consumption, managing printers at remote locations, robust reporting, and intelligent support, allowing Epson Stylus Pro printer owners to manage their Epson printer investment. For more information visit www.myEpsonPrinter.com.

Availability, Service and Support
The Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 will be available in November 2008 through authorized resellers for $3,995 and $5,995 (MSRP) respectively. They are supported by a standard Epson PreferredSM Limited Warranty, a one-year program that includes toll-free advanced telephone access Monday through Friday and usually next-business-day on-site service in the unlikely event of any hardware failure. Optional Epson Preferred Plus Service Plans are also available, offering one or two additional years of protection.

About Epson America Inc.
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transactions terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.

Hardware & Software For Tethered Shooting

Like many shooters, you might be surprised to learn that you already have all (or most) of the gear needed for tethered shooting. [In a future post, I'll give you the details on how to set it up.]

• Digital SLR – Virtually any DSLR with a data port and external control software can be used for tethered shooting.
• Lightroom – Built by Adobe from the ground up for digital photography. In the past six months, it has become the backbone of my digital workflow.
• Data Transfer Cable – Most DSLRs come with a data transfer cable (although I’ve since purchased longer and more robust cables).
• Software for Camera Control (“Capture”) – This is the software by which your computer can actually control the camera’s settings. Canon provides Canon EOS Utility with their DSLRs. If you’re a Nikon shooter, you’ll have to get Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 [30-day trial here]. If you’re an Olympus shooter, you have to get Olympus Studio [30-day trial here].

How You’ll Benefit By Shooting Tethered Into Lightroom

• Precise Evaluation Of The Exposure – Even if you’re shooting RAW, the histogram on your camera’s LCD is still derived from JPEG data (think “close but not perfect info”). If you’re exposing so that the histogram is as far as you can to the right without clipping highlights, the LCD on your camera still might be too conservative. The histogram in Lightroom is built on the RAW data and is far more accurate. It’s also a heck of a lot easier to see. Further, you can use the exposure slider in Lightroom to determine the correct exposure setting for your camera. When evaluating a test image in Lightroom, if you slide the Exposure setting up .66 so that the histogram hovers just below the threshold of highlight clipping, you should open your aperture by 2/3 of a stop (as in open from f/8 to f/6.3) for your next test shot. Shoot again and evaluate the new histogram.
• Seeing The Exact Point Of Focus – If you’re shooting for minimum or selective depth-of-field, such as with macro or food photography, it’s far easier to immediately view the image on a large monitor rather than the camera’s LCD. Being able to zoom in to 100% moments after the image is made is a great help. I’ve joked that shooting tethered is like strapping a huge magnifying glass to the back of my camera.

Power-Chimping (above) or Tethered Into Lightroom (below)

• Evaluate The Gamut of  Color-Critical Subjects – If you’re creating color-critical images that have to fit into a reduced color space (like CMYK for the printing of catalogs and magazines), tethered shooting enables real-time, soft-proofing during the shoot. That’s a fancy way of saying that if it’s really important to get the exact shade of your client’s red dress to print, during a tethered shoot you can determine if its vibrant colors fall within the printable range of CMYK colors. [For more info on color management, read this post.]
• Create Job Specific File Names – Forget about names like “_MG_0319.CR2″. It’s easy to configure Lightroom to automatically rename your files as they come in. “Client_Date_Subject_0319.CR2″ is far easier to understand in the days and weeks after the shoot. Renaming the files at the time of capture assures consistency throughout the shoot.
• Add Detailed Copyright Data – Lightroom will embed complete copyright and contact information as your images are imported. Yes, you can do this later… but, having it done automatically as the images come in is more efficient.
• Append Job Specific Keywords On The Fly – Lightroom will append specific keywords as the images come in. This is very helpful on long shoots where you’ll likely want to view groups of images by subject, set number or another criterion for a quick evaluation.
• Immediate Data Redundancy – Most DLSRs will record the image to the camera’s card and simultaneously send the data down the cable. So, even on a field shoot, with nothing more than your camera, a cable and a laptop, you can have immediate data redundancy.
• With Tabletop Work, Tethered Is Far More Comfortable – If you’re shooting tabletop or some other static set where the camera is bolted to a tripod, you can save your back by driving the camera from your desktop rather than from behind the tripod. Once the frame is composed, you can change the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, metering pattern, etc. from your keyboard.

How Shooting Tethered Into Lightroom Benefits Your Clients

• Client Confidence – If your art director and client are on set, you can keep them at a distance by tethering into a long cable and configuring Lightroom to show each capture as a single, high-resolution image on screen as they come in. That way, they can see the images without standing over your shoulder.
• Closed Workflow – When shooting tethered on location or in your studio, your clients will view the images on your calibrated monitor rather than on their (often lousy) office monitor. This is invaluable when matching colors to products is critical.
• X/Y Comparisons – You can ease your client’s frustrations with sensory overload by presenting only two image candidates at a time and have her choose one of the two. Then bring up another image for comparison and have her choose the best of those two. For clients who are not professional photo editors, this is a very easy way to select the hero images.
• Keep Track of Client Selects – Get your client’s approval and flag her selects before the set is struck. Being able to quickly pull up a gallery of client selects will help you and your client maintain image consistency over a long shoot.
• Create Web Galleries… Quickly – With Lightroom, it’s easy to create and upload web galleries. Your client’s associates (or her clients) can review progress of? the shoot via web galleries – while the shoot is still underway.

Tethered Shooting Is Not So Great When…

• The Subject Is Running - There are maximum lengths for cables (USB = 80′ with active extensions, Firewire = 120′ with powered hub). If your subject is moving beyond the range of the cable, you’ll have to make your computer rig mobile or you’ll have to limit your range of shooting.
• You’re Shooting Faster Than The Camera Can Transfer Data – If you’re shooting like a machine gun, it’s probable that the camera won’t be able to transfer the data fast enough. In this situation, it’s possible to do your test shots (for exposure etc.) while tethered, uncable and then shoot to the camera’s card.

The big deal about Firefox 3, from a photographer’s viewpoint, is that it has color management capabilities. If you’ve not read my post Firefox 3 For Photographers, you should check that out as well. It’s important to understand that while Firefox 3 has color management in the code, the feature is not activated, nor is it even easy to get to.

Why Wasn’t Color Management Activated In Firefox 3?

As much as photographers would like to think that Firefox 3 was created just for them, it’s important to remember that each generation of the program must respond to the needs and wants of millions of users around the globe. In the eye’s of Mozilla, there weren’t enough ICC-profiled images on the web to make it a priority – especially since activating color management slows Firefox 3 down. (Some say the performance hit is in the range of 10-15% slower).

Here’s what the Mozilla press department sent to PixSylated on the matter.

” Our graphics guys were thrilled to include ICC support in Firefox 3, but didn’t want to turn it on by default as the number of pictures using the profiles is still slim, and it has a slight impact on performance when enabled. Sadly, as is sometimes the case, the change request to add a preference for this feature in the options fell through the cracks, and missed the deadline for translation into the many languages that we ship. We hope to have the option included in the next version of Firefox.

“In the meantime, using the Add-on to add the preference to Firefox, or flipping it in about:config are options for those who do a lot of ICC photo viewing with their browser.”

Two Ways To Activate Color Management In Firefox 3

There are two options for activating color management in Firefox 3. One is to change settings in the about:config file within Firefox 3’s code. The other is to use the Color Management plug-in that does this for you.

If you’re comfortable throwing digital switches, changing the about:config setting is pretty quick. You just have to be certain that you’re changing the correct setting (otherwise your Firefox will suddenly morph into an early version of Internet Explorer). Rob Galbraith did a superb job describing how to change the about:config. Click here for that page.

If you’re happy to let someone else do the heavy lifting, download the Color Management plug-in here. It’s still considered an “experimental” bit of code, so you’ll have to register as a user to get it. Registration is free and takes just a minute.

I’ve run the plug-in for several days now without any hiccups. If you’re on a Mac and would like to learn how to run both Firefox 2 and 3 simultaneously or Firefox 3 with and without color management simultaneously, click over to Firefox 3 For Photographers and scroll down to the section on MultiFirefox.

The third generation of Firefox was released on June 17th with more than 8 million downloads during the first 24 hours [a world-record according to Mozilla, the non-profit that orchestrates the worldwide development of this popular web browser]. As of this writing, less than a week after the launch, the download count has exceeded 17 million.

What’s so cool about Firefox as a web browser? First, it’s a global, cooperative effort (available in 45 languages). Second, it’s open source (meaning that anyone can create widgets and plug-ins to add special functionality). Some of my favorite plug-ins for photographers are listed below. Third, it’s free (but donations at Mozilla and plug-in developer sites are always welcome).

As a modern photographer, chances are that you’re using Firefox right now. According to the digital bean counters at PixSylated, of 15,000 people who have visited this site during past two months: 46% use Firefox, 28% use Internet Explorer and 23% use Safari. So, if you’re not using Firefox (yet), your neighbor probably is.

What’s so cool about Firefox 3? Well, the folks at Mozilla say there are thousands of improvements. Among the biggies, for instance, I can now bookmark a site with one click on the navigation bar. Also, the zoom-in command (Cmd+ / Ctrl+) now enlarges images as well as text — a feature much appreciated by my old-school eyes. Web pages also seem to load faster. For a list of the major features in Firefox 3, click here. Also, check out the detailed Field Guide To Firefox 3.

So, if you’d like to download Firefox 3 right now, click on this button. We’ll wait for you to come back. Oh, and you should read all the way to the end before you install it.

Photographers Rejoice – Color Management
Now in Firefox, sort of.

The coolest feature, in my book, is that Firefox 3 has the ability to use ICC-profiles embedded in web pix. This means that if you’re looking at my commercial portfolio site with Firefox 3 and you have a profiled monitor, you’ll see the color very close to how I see it — because I embedded the sRGB profile in my images when I prepped them for the web.

Again, Firefox 3 “has the ability” to use color management. It’s not automatically turned on as a preference. Further, the the plug-in that drives it is still marked “Experimental” (aka: “beta”, a four-letter word). To make sure that you understand it might be a bit buggy, you have to register on the Firefox site as a user before you can get the color management plug-in. The registration is free and takes just a minute. To make it easy on yourself, install Firefox 3 and use it to access the plug-in page for the download. That way, it will install automatically into Firefox 3 (but keep reading before you break away to do that).

While not a perfect solution today, I think that Firefox 3 with the color management plug-in opens a new frontier for photographers on the web. Knowing that my friends and clients can see my web pix with colors that come very close to the colors on my screen will be a big leap forward… even if we have to take a bunch of baby steps to get there. I’m betting that in a few months all of this will become a stable and standard part of the Firefox browser.

Update: Read my June 24 post on Color Management In Firefox 3 by clicking here. It includes an alternative way to activate color management in Firefox 3 as well as Mozilla’s explanation of why the feature was not activated in the first place.

[Hear the chant in the distance? It's the fans of Safari who are saying that their favorite browser also has color management capabilities. True. And, I'm a big fan of Apple. Emotionally, however, I'm tied to the Firefox community when it comes to surfing. Safari is worth having around, especially since it's also available for PCs. It certainly is better than IE.]

Firefox Plug-Ins For Photographers
and Their Friends

Previews – A personal favorite for Firefox 2 and 3. Lets me take a peak at the content of a web link in a preview window without clicking on the link. If I like what I see, then I make the click. Detailed info on the Previews website.

PicLens – One of the most popular Firefox photography plug-ins is ready to go in Firefox 3. Too many cool features for this blurb. Get more info at the PicLens website.

VisualBookmarks – Creates bookmarks with a thumbnail and full-sized preview of a web page. Very helpful for remembering sites of various photographers. Currently works with Firefox 2. No word on a Firefox 3 upgrade. Hope it’s coming.

AutoSlideshow – With a single click, generates an image slideshow of all the images on a web page or images linked to/from a web page. Helpful when you’re mindlessly wandering around Flickr late at night and just want to stare at the screen. Works with Firefox 2. No word yet on a Firefox 3 upgrade.

FotoFox – Facilitates selection and uploading of images to sites like Flickr and SmugMug. Update coming for Firefox 3.

How to run both Firefox 2 and Firefox 3…
on a Mac.

If you plan on experimenting with color management in Firefox, the PixSylated recommendation is that you keep your Firefox 2 in place while you get used to Firefox 3. I’m all gung-ho on the new version. But I want to be sure that I’ve got an instant fall-back in case something gets buggy during the next few weeks. Yes, I have my essential backups and external disk images. When it comes to working on the web, however, I need to keep my workflow moving forward (plus I like instant gratification).

The other reason to run both Firefox 2 and 3 is that not all of my favorite plug-ins have been upgraded to Firefox 3. Be forewarned that if you accept Firefox’s offer to upgrade automatically, after Firefox 3 is in place then the ashes of Firefox 2 will drift away. This is not a problem if you are using only “Recommended” Firefox 3 plug-ins and staying out of the “Experimental” candy store. My son, Tom, found out the hard way this afternoon that many of his favorite Firefox 2 plug-ins are not yet functional in the new version. He decided to uninstall Firefox 3 and reinstall Firefox 2 on his… Dell laptop.

Fortunately, as a Macista, I’ve come upon a great solution that enables me to keep Firefox 2 in place while I continue to customize Firefox 3. Once, I’m convinced that my configuration of Firefox 3 is stable and all of my favorite plug-ins are available for the new version, I’ll say “sayonara” to Firefox 2 with a great amount of respect.

If you’re on a Mac, you need to know about MultiFirefox. It allows you to open multiple versions of Firefox at the same time. Installation and activation is a breeze. (If you’re on a PC, click here. As far as I know, there currently is no way to simultaneously run two versions of Firefox on a PC. Please comment if you know of a solution or work-around.)

Here are the steps I followed to create my skulk of Firefoxes and open them simultaneously via MultiFirefox. (Remember this is for Macistas. PC folks will have to… ?)

1. Downloaded Firefox 3, but did not install it in my Applications folder.
2. Closed Firefox 2.
3. Renamed “Firefox.app” to “Firefox2.app” in my Applications folder. I right-clicked on the file name, went to “Get Info” and changed the name in the “Name & Extension” box.
4. Installed Firefox 3 from the .dmg file I downloaded.
5. Repeated step 2 so that the new “Firefox.app” became “Firefox3.app”. So I have both “Firefox2.app” and “Firefox3.app” in my Applications folder.
6. Installed MultiFirefox.
7. Started MultiFirefox and followed the prompts to create a new Firefox profile, which I called “Firefox 3″.
8. Restarted MultiFirefox, choose “default” as the Profile and “Firefox2″ as the Version. Hit “Launch Firefox” and Firefox 2 opened.
9. Returned to MultiFirefox, chose “Firefox 3″ as the Profile and “Firefox3″ as the Version. Hit “Launch Firefox” and Firefox 3 opened.
10. Smiled at the fact that I had both versions of Firefox running simultaneously. I then sent the developer of MultiFirefox a few bucks through the “Donate” button on his site to say thank you.

Is your inner-geek wondering if you can also create two instances of Firefox 3 – one with the color management plug-in active and one without? The answer is yes. After following the steps above and installing the color management plug-in, I installed Firefox 3 a second time from the .dmg file, changed the name to “Firefox3np.app” (as in “No Plug-in”), created a “FirefoxNP” profile through MultiFirefox and once again thanked the plug-in’s creator as I simultaneously looked at web galleries with and without color management. [If you want to run two instances of Firefox 3, be sure that you've created a unique profile for each instance.]

Finally… Is Firefox 3 secure?

As is common with newly launched software, a report surfaced within hours of the launch of Firefox 3 that the program has a security issue. (The timing of the announcement plus the fact that the security hole existed through the many months of public beta and that it also exists in Firefox 2 is fodder for the cyber-conspiracy forums.) I’m not alarmed and continue to trust the Fox completely. The source of the publicity, Digital Vaccine Labs, noted “Not unlike most browser based vulnerabilities that we see these days, user interaction is required such as clicking on a link in email or visiting a malicious web page.”

So, if you’ve learned to surf the web safely, Firefox 3 should be no more vulnerable than any other browser. Just remember that when you’re on the web, you should not take candy from strangers…

It’s always fun to watch the waves of new digital technology pound on the shore of established workflow. On June 3rd, Nikon announced the introduction of Capture NX 2 — the second-generation of its innovative approach to RAW processing. Simultaneously, Acme Educational, the brainchild of Vincent Versace, announced the release of the 2-DVD set “Unleashing The RAW Power of Capture NX 2“. So, you can get a headstart on your NX 2 workflow by getting the disks from Acme now at an early-bird price {details below}. Nikon is slated to start shipping NX 2 around June 20th.

Just as Lightroom brought a new interface to Adobe’s approach to RAW processing, Capture NX uses an equally intriguing, yet competing, approach. At the heart of Capture NX are Control Points – essentially a set of sliders that you drag to the point of correction. Think of Control Points as a heads-up display on the windshield of a jet fighter… your controls are right at the point that you want to watch.

For those not familiar with Capture NX, CaptureNX.com is the place to go for an intro. You’ll find flash demonstrations of Caputre NX’s innovative Control Point interface. You’ll also find the link to download a 60-day trial version of Capture NX 2.

New to Capture NX 2 are:

• Support for dual monitors
• Selection Control Points – enabling functions such as Sharpness and D-Lighting to be applied to limited areas
• Auto Retouch Brush – removes dust specks with a simple brushstroke
• Workspaces – set up your workspace based upon the current task at hand / Browser, Metadata, Multi-purpose and Edit are presets. You can also design custom workspaces.
• XMP Label / Rating Support
• Simultaneous Opening of Multiple Settings
• Shadow / Highlight Adjustments

As mentioned above, Acme Educational has begun shipping the 2-DVD set “Unleashing The RAW Power of Capture NX 2″. For those quick on the draw, you can save $15 by ordering now. Once Nikon starts shipping NX 2, estimated to be around June 20, the normal (and still a good value) Acme price will be $59.95. So, calculators at the ready, the early-order price is $44.95.

Unleashing The RAW Power of Capture NX 2

Disk One is affectionately called “Pixel Bootcamp 2.0″. You’ll find a dozen chapters covering every nut and bolt that makes up Capture NX 2. Even advanced photographers who think they have their head completely around the world of RAW processing will discover many useful nuggets to add to their workflow.

Disk Two “From Here to There In Less Than Eternity” covers advanced image editing workflows. Of special interest to fans of infrared photography are three chapters: Standard IR, Enhanced IR and Deep Black IR. And, this being a Versace production, new material on black & white is also included.

In the world of fine art photography, it’s often hard to figure out where the image capture ends and the printmaking begins. Many photographers begin visualizing the final print before their finger hits the shutter button. Others won’t begin to see the potential of their images until they’ve spent several hours in front of a computer monitor. The important point here is to understand that the process of creating a well-crafted, fine art photograph is a continuum and not a series of disconnected steps.

I attended The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop in Santa Barbara last fall. So, I can personally attest to the fact that investing a week in FADP is an amazing way to catapult your printmaking skills forward. It’s a total immersion program — like Berlitz for photographers.

The headliners, Mac Holbert and John Paul Caponigro, are master digital printmakers who continue to advance the leading edge of the craft. FADP is about sharing. Mac and JP are willing to share every bit of knowledge that they possess. They balance group presentations with one-on-one time to keep the flow moving.

As a bonus, you never know who will drop in… Henry Wilhelm gave an insightful presentation on the longevity of digital prints at the beginning of our workshop. Vincent Versace sat in as “an assistant” and punctuated the week with many of his unique insights into the world of photography and digital printmaking. Larry Baca, a pioneer in the field of color management, provided one-on-one tutorials and created custom profiles for each student.

Many of my fellow students were newsworthy photographers from both the commercial and fine art worlds. Adventure photographer Chris Noble sat next to portraitist Gregory Heisler – both just in front of me – giving me the bird’s-eye view of the works of these amazing photographers. The cross-pollination between classmates and the resulting network of new friends is an asset that remains long after the end of the week.

Unlike 9 to 5 workshops, FADP keeps the lab open late every night so there is plenty of time to practice your new skills. The generous support of Epson makes this workshop an incredible value. FADP sells out fast. So if you are thinking about attending, stop what you’re doing and enroll today.

FADP has two sessions scheduled for 2008.

• July 20–28, 2008 / Hallmark Institute of Photography, Turner Falls, MA

• October 26-31, 2008 / Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, CA

One final thought. Figuring out which printer to buy for your studio is one challenge. Figuring out how to get it to print your vision again and again is a completely different challenge. Attending FADP will help you accomplish both.

If you’re looking to take your Photoshop skills from the ordinary to the extraordinary, check out the interactive DVDs produced by Acme Educational. The brainchild of Vincent Versace, the Acme gang also includes John Paul Caponigro, Mac Holbert, and Lee Varis.

Do these names sound familiar? You may have attended their sessions at Photoshop World or read Versace’s Welcome to Oz, Caponigro’s classic Adobe Photoshop Master Class, Holbert’s insights in Nash Editions, or Varis’ innovative Skin. While I always enjoy spending time with a well-crafted book, I learn best when I’m seeing, hearing and doing – all at the same time. This is why Acme shines.

The benefit of Acme’s interactive approach is that you can:

• switch freely between watching the instructor and checking out what he’s doing on his computer monitor
• study when you want to / stop when you need to
• get the instructor to repeat himself until you get the point
• follow along in Photoshop on your own computer

Acme’s most recent offerings include:

• Versace: Capture NX2
• Caponigro: The Art of Proofing
• Caponigro: 6 Simple Steps To Good Color Management

Stay in touch with Acme’s latest by subscribing to the Acme mailing list.

Let’s start with the following. I think you’ll recognize it as irrefutable proof about why it’s important to know at least the basics of color management.

Huh? O.K. Stick with me and I’ll lay it out for you.

First, take a look at the following nothing-special-about-it-snapshot of some geraniums. While not a great photo, it is a great stepping stone towards an understanding of why your photos look lousy. Really.

The most important truth in color management – the fundamental truth that all digital photographers cannot escape – is that our eyes and brain can distinguish many more colors than our cameras can capture. The second most important truth in color management is that our cameras can capture more colors than most monitors can display. And… the third most important truth in color management is, you just guessed it, that our monitors can display more colors than our printers can print.

Let me also add, since I’m on a roll, that there’s no direct link between the cost of a printer and the range of colors that it can print. As you’ll see in the graph at the end, my Epson 3800 inkjet can print a wider range of color (say “gamut”) than a multi-million dollar commercial printing press.

A color space is like a box of crayons. It describes a gamut (think “range”) of color. Like friends, it’s important to choose your color spaces carefully. ProPhoto RGB is the huge color space into which you should be converting your RAW files when opening them with Photoshop or Lightroom. (Yes, our digital devices today can only use a fraction of the colors in ProPhoto RGB. But, converting your RAW captures into ProPhoto now will assure that you’re keeping your color options open for future technology.) Adobe RBG (1998) is a more moderate space and is the space your DSLR camera should be set to – unless it has ProPhoto as an option. sRGB is smaller still and is typical of the color gamut of most sub-$1500 monitors.

Of course, my inner-photographer wants to see these concepts as a graph. The yellow box below shows the vast range of colors in the ProPhoto color space. The blue box contains all the colors within the Adobe RBG (1998) space and the cyan box all those within the sRGB space. You’ll note that Adobe RGB (1998) and sRGB can show about the same range of reds and magentas. You’ll also see that Adobe RGB (1998) can show a few more yellows and blues and loads more green than sRGB.

If you choose to work in a color space that’s too limited (like using sRGB for capture or Adobe RGB for RAW conversion) you are literally throwing away crayons that you otherwise could have used to render subtle differences of color in your photos. Onward.

So, here is the truth about why your photos look lousy. They have colors that won’t show up on your monitor and colors that can’t be printed. Remember the nothing-special-about-it-snapshot of geranium? The green dots in the graph below represent all of the colors in that photo. The orange line represents the gamut of colors that can be displayed on my calibrated NEC 2090UXi monitor (a 20″ desktop LCD). You’ll note that there is a large blob of green dots that extend outside of the orange line at the upper-right corner… meaning that there’s a large number of red and orange shades in the photo that my monitor is not able to display. So right out of the gate, I’m not even able to see many of the colors that my camera recorded. Out-of-gamut reds and oranges with a geranium. Humm… my photo is beginning to look lousy already.

You need to plug a real monitor into your laptop. If you want your photographs to be taken seriously, you have to get a “real” monitor. Here’s a graph that compares the gamut of my stylish MacBook Pro 17 to my NEC 2090UXi. The sad reality is that my laptop monitor is worthless when it comes to making critical color decisions. It just doesn’t have enough crayons in its box. When color matters, I haul my studio monitor with me – especially when shooting for clients on location. [Look for more in an upcoming post on "Shooting Tethered Into Lightroom".]

Your printer and paper make a huge difference as well. Can your favorite printer/paper combo show all of the colors in your photo? Maybe. Maybe not. The graph below compares the gamut of my geranium photo (green dots) against the gamut of my three favorite Epson papers coming out of my Epson 3800 – Ultra-Smooth Fine Art (pink line), Premium Luster (cyan line) and Exhibition Fiber (purple line). For the geranium image, Ultra-Smooth Fine Art absolutely would be the wrong choice because most of the important reds and oranges won’t show at all (check out the large blob of green dots outside of the pink line). Premium Luster shows all but a handful of the reds (just a few dots outside of the green line). Exhibition Fiber (using the free Pixel Genius profile) is able, but just able, to show everything (all of the green dots are within the purple line). In terms of showing the full gamut of colors in the geranium photo, Exhibition Fiber would be the best Epson paper for printing this image on my E-3800 (as if I would actually want to print such a handsome image… not).

Here’s the detail from the upper right corner showing that the gamut of Premium Luster is a tiny bit smaller than Exhibition Fiber when it comes to geranium reds.

You have to be very careful with CMYK. When it comes to having your photos printed in books, magazines or catalogs, your heart will be broken again and again by the limited gamut of the commercial printer’s Cyan Magenta Yellow and blacK. (Remember CMYK is a 4-letter word.) Despite the fact that we see images printed in CMYK countless times each day, it has the smallest gamut of all the crayon boxes we’re discussing. As shown below, the vast majority of the important colors in my geranium snapshot cannot be reproduced on a commercial CMYK press (note the huge blob of green dots outside of the green line). Yes, I hear the uber-geeks shouting that there are alternative ink sets to CMYK, like Hexachrome and such. But, unless you’re self-publishing and paying the printer, you’ll be stuck with good ol’ CMY and K. If you are handing photos off to a commercial printer, your photos will greatly appreciate the time you invest in the study of color management.

My photo looks lousy and it’s not my fault! (Or is it?) There’s no arguing with the fastest thing in the universe. As Einstein may have said, “physics is physics.” I can’t make my monitor show a wider gamut of RGB than it’s capable of showing. I can’t get a redder red on a commercial CMYK press than 100% Magenta mixed with 100% Yellow. If I can’t extend the gamut of the monitor or printer, then I have to optimize my photo for the gamut in which it will live forever. For instance, when photographing a subject that has ultra-saturated colors, I know that I’m in for some extra work back in the studio – skillfully massaging pixels with Photoshop so that at least the essence of the image is portrayed in the smaller gamut of my intended printer/paper combo.

One final graph. If you were baffled by the graph at the top and have read this far, I bet that you now can interpret the graph below. Consider it to be the photographic proof that the resources on color management listed below are worth checking out.

Learning About Color Management

Books

Real World Color Management by Bruce Fraser, Chris Murphy and Fred Bunting

Color Management For Photographers by Andrew Rodney

More Color Management Books – at Amazon

DVDs

Six Simple Steps to Good Color Management – new DVD by JP Caponigro, available through ACME Educational

Online

John Paul Caponigro’s website – check out the Downloads page for free tutorials

Kelby Training – on-demand tutorials from the folks who invented Photoshop education

National Association of Photoshop Users – access to NAPP’s online tutorials is worth the price of membership alone

Lynda.com – 24/7 on-demand tutorials for a wide range of digital topics

Workshops & Seminars

D-65 Workshop – lives up to it’s slogan “Digital workflow, not workslow.”

The Fine Art of Digital Printing – spend a week with JP Caponigro and Mac Holbert at FADP and you’ll no longer think of “Color Management” as a four-letter word

Photoshop World – offered spring and fall by NAPP. You’ll find many seminars on color management and sit in large rooms filled with fellow photographers who are as baffled eager to learn as you.

Santa Fe Workshops – week-long workshops in beautiful northern New Mexico