NEWS
dpreview has unveiled a comprehensive database of camera and lens features to enable different models to be compared side by side. This complements the excellent reviews, user forums and other information about digital photography available on the site.
There is a revolution going on in the world of computing. In just two years, 10 billion software Apps have been sold for smartphones. They have been popular because they are simple to find, buy, download, maintain and use, opening up computing to a much wider audience. This contrasts with the traditional desktop and laptop computer world where the opposite is true and huge input of time, effort and expertise is required to use and maintain the technology. Mums can handle Apps.
Apps for iPhones, iPods and iPads have 90% share of the market and have generated $2Bn in this short time. They tend to do just one thing but are tested for compatibility and are secure. A major disadvantage of the current model is that Apple maintains a strictly closed monopolistic environment but I suspect that the advantages of simplicity and usability will outweigh these concerns and the Apple App model will rapidly become the way in which most software is purchased. Microsoft have announced plans to create an App store although it won’t be soon. I could also imagine a new generation of cameras to which third party Apps could be downloaded to supplement the in-build functionality.
CANVAS BLOCK MOUNTING
I demonstrated the Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap system for making canvas block-mounted prints. It seems like a well-designed system with self adhesive wooden stretcher bars reinforced by archival glue. The kit I used included A3 Monet Canvas. Colour profiles are available from the web and the only problem I had was getting the canvas through my Epson R2400 printer. I finally had success after holding a damp paper towel on the feed roller (big grey rubber roller at the right hand edge of the paper hopper) and pressing the Paper Feed button a couple of times. Some people have had to tape a sheet of paper on the leading edge of the canvas.
NON DESTRUCTIVE EDITING (NDE) OF IMAGES
Editing images with software such as Photoshop is an evolutionary creative process. Some things go well and others don’t. The aim of NDE is to enable mistakes to be rectified without having to start again from the beginning and also to prevent cumulative damage to the image data caused by repeated processing.
Why not just use Undo? Version 1 of Photoshop appeared in 1990 with just a single undo and stayed that way for eight years but in 1998 multiple undo’s (or History States) were implemented and Elements currently has 50 by default. The problem is that 50 brush strokes can quickly wipe out all previous data and all history is lost when the image file is closed. The well-known adventurer Mike Hynes has upped the limit to 200 (Edit>Preferences>Performance>History States) but at some point your PC will grind to a halt as the available memory is consumed.
Here are some of the most important NDE tools in recent versions of Photoshop Elements;
LAYERS
First introduced in 1994, Layers was the first and most basic NDE tool. Some tips for using layers to good effect are;
- always copy the Background layer and keep it unchanged as an ‘insurance’ layer of last resort
- balance the flexibility of layers with the increase in file size that they bring – especially image layers
- rename layers to remind you of their purpose, perhaps also indicating those that are not visible or that use a blending mode
- always save your working images as .PSD files to retain all layers and other editing information. JPGs cannot contain layers.
- an additional merged layer containing all visible layers can be created by making a new blank layer at the top and then Ctrl+Alt+Merge Visible. This is called Stamp Visible.
ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
Applying Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, Brightness, Contrast etc directly to an image layer has a permanent impact on the quality of the image and multiple uses on the same area causes cumulative damage. By comparison, a single Adjustment Layer can be tweaked endlessly without cumulative damage. Furthermore the position in which the sliders were previously put, remains visible.
LAYER MASKS
These come in two flavours; Adjustment Layer Masks and Image Layer Masks. The mask indicates which areas of the accompanying adjustment or image to hide or reveal and sits alongside it in the layers palette.
In an Adjustment Layer Mask, the adjustment is effective where the mask is white and hidden were it’s black. Grey areas are partially hidden depending upon the shade of grey. By selecting the area of an image that needs tonal adjustment before choosing a Levels Adjustment Layer, for example, a mask of that area is created automatically. This is a very common use of Adjustment Layer Masks and many such layers may be used on small areas of an image.
In a Image Layer Mask the accompanying image layer is revealed where the mask is white and transparent where it is black. Grey areas are partially transparent depending upon the shade of grey. In effect, the mask is making a temporary hole in the image layer to reveal the layer below. Note that Image Layer Masks were not included in Photoshop Elements prior to Ver 9 but they can be added for free from here.
The great benefit of Layer Masks is that they can be re-edited as often as required to change the shape of the areas that they describe or maybe to soften or harden an edge. The masks can be painted with the brush tool, softened with the blur filter or modified in many other ways. Shortcuts for the use of Layer Masks are;
- Shift + click on the Layer Mask thumbnail to switch it on or off
- Alt + click on the Layer Mask thumbnail to see the actual Layer Mask full-screen
- Ctrl + click on the Layer Mask thumbnail to make a selection from the Layer Mask
- key D to set the foreground and background colours to the defaults of black and white
- key X to switch between foreground and background colours
CLONE STAMP
When used directly on an image layer the Clone Stamp tool permanently changes the image data and so is regarded as a destructive tool. However in the tool bar for the Clone Stamp is a box called Sample All Layers. By creating a new transparent layer and cloning with the Sample All Layers box ticked, the cloned image will be created in the transparent layer instead of the source layer. The result of this is that the cloned changes to the image can be partially or fully erased, moved or changed in other ways at a later date.
The same principle applies to the following tools; Healing Brush, Spot Healing Brush and the Blur, Sharpen and Smudge tools all of which have a Sample All Layers option.
More Non Destructive Editing techniques next month.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 11th May 2011 in the Large Barn Hall. **NOTE CHANGE OF DAY, WEEK AND VENUE**
Cheers, Steve Brabner.