d'artiste : Matte Painting Review

d'artiste - Digital Artists Master Class: Matte Painting, with Dylan Cole, Alp Altiner and Chris Stoski; ISBN: 1-921002-16-6
Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou, March 2006
Published by: Ballistic Publishing
Requires: N/A
MSRP: US$55.00 (soft slipcover edition)

I've long had an appreciation for special effects-based movies and epics, including impressive productions like Star Wars, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet. These movies impressed me when I was a younger, and as I grew older my appreciation didn't wane but only increased with my exposure to the crafts that came together to allow films like these to come into being. The fantastic vistas often portrayed in the amazing productions were often being nothing more than paintings.

Now let me apologize for that last statement. I said "nothing more than paintings" but in reality, the craft of Matte Painting is one of the most challenging and also can be one of the most rewarding when things come together as planned. In the early days, mattes were often used as scenery fillers to create scenes which would have been too expensive to recreate just for a film. They have evolved into something which allows the use of computer-generated virtual sets and imagery digitally blended with live actors to recreate fantastic scenes as well as everyday environments.

This book, like others in the d'artiste series primarily features the work of three artists who work in the industry, in this case: Dylan Cole, Alp Altiner and Chris Stoski. These artists have worked on movies such as Daredevil, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. They also produce conceptual and finished art for games and books.

Matte painting, it seems, is an obsolete term according to Dylan Cole who insists that it’s more relevant to call it virtual environment art. Personally, I don't care much for the trend in revisionism that we see occurring far too often these days. It is apparent though that the modern matte artist is doing a lot more than just painting. The use of 3D tools and photo imaging applications has changed their world and ours irrevocably. Many matte artists also work as pre-visualization or concept artists, giving shape to and bringing to life the vision of the storyteller during the pre-production phases of movie making.

d'artiste: Matte Painting is an excellent example-based tutorial book which takes you step-by-step through the process of creating some amazing scenes. Each tutorial demonstrates that matte artists need an amazing grasp of spatial relationships and dynamics, light, color, mood and atmosphere.

The examples from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, The Lord of the Rings and also The Tower of London were excellent (not in the least because they're so familiar to me). Watching how the artist built up the scene using their preferred tools and the way the critical decisions were arrived at helps to expand one's appreciation of the art and also demonstrated ways by which I could improve my own work. Each tutorial is followed by a gallery showcasing the works of artists invited by the featured artist. Pretty much all of the work presented in these galleries is inspiring stuff. This book may not be an obvious choice for review, but as someone who works in Photoshop and who often uses 3D to create illustrations for my design work, I really appreciated the showcased work. I learned several new things, which in anyone’s books is always a good thing.

Cons: I'd like to see a few hands-on tutorials with a CD containing the associated files. The lack of general availability of the title is also an issue, but it's somewhat forgivable considering the specialized nature of the subject.

Pros: Well presented with excellent production values. The artists presented in the book are all top notch. d'artiste: Matte Painting is aimed at the artist who is interested in the art of bringing imaginary worlds to life. It explores the world of matte painting as seen through the eyes of current masters of the art. It showcases scenes from both real and imagined worlds, demonstrating just how effective matte painting can be. If you are thinking about becoming an imageer or just want to improve your abilities when it comes to working with your photos and composite images, or even if you just like collecting books about the art of movie making or fantastic imagery, then this book is for you. Highly recommended.

This book can be purchased directly from the ballistic publishing book store.

This review has been reproduced in its entirety from Kickstartnews.com

Gordon Parks Dies

Another Photographic great passes. Gordon Parks, director and photographer dies at the age of 93. He is know for his contributions to Life magazine and as the director of the movies "Shaft" and "The Learning Tree" among others. Parks was a modern day Rennaisance Man who wrote, composed music, made films and was a prolific photographer. His life and career should serve as an inspiration for all creative souls.

AKVIS LLC release Noise Buster 1.1

AKVIS LLC today announced the release of AKVIS Noise Buster V.1.1 for Windows and Macintosh. AKVIS Noise Buster is a photoshop compatible plug-in which is designed to reduce noise in digital and scanned images. The results are quite impressive and at $49 US for the download version quite reasonable. Noise Buster reduces both luminance and color noise on images without substantially affecting other aspects of the photo. The Download a trial version here.

Buying DSLR Lenses

One of the most commonly asked question I've been asked about Digital Cameras is dealing with lenses. Which Lens, what range and how much. If you are buying a lens for film this is still a tricky question but for digital this is further compounded as it all depends on your sensor size. When it comes to the size of lens to get this factor will greatly affect the effectiveness of your lenses focal length ... as many of you are aware a 50mm lens isn't always a 50mm lens. This is due to the fact that many Digital SLRs have sensors which are about 1/3 smaller than 35mm film. This is referred to as a Focal Length Multiplier or more correctly an FOV (field of view) Crop.

This smaller sensor is why when buying a lens you have to pay a lot of attention to what its intended use is. Many cameras have an FOV Crop of 1.5 or 1.6 meaning that a 50mm lens will in essence be the optical equivalent of a 75 or 80mm respectively. Buying the right lens is crucial ... many photographers who are starting out with digital cameras will buy the lenses which are bundled with the DSLR.

Major bit of Advice #1 - Don't buy digital lenses unless you plan to sell on your lenses with the camera when you upgrade (unless of course you upgrade to a camera which will be compatible with your lenses).

My recommendation is that you buy lenses which are designed for full frame sensors especially if you want to focus on landscapes and portraits. This kind of buying will ensure you have full use of your lenses when you upgrade to a full frame based DSLR. My basic assumption here is that most photographers will eventually seek to upgrade to full frame sensors at some time in the future.

Major bit of advice #2 - When you decide to upgrade and can afford it - upgrade to a full frame sensor based camera ... currently only Canon have cameras such a sensor based on the 35mm frame size. Remember this though, your lenses will only be compatible if you buy with the future in mind.

In Canon EOS based DSLRs there are two lens types available: EF and EF-s type lenses. EF-s type lenses are designed specifically with a handful of Canons D-SLRs in mind and these lenses are not interchangeable with earlier models or full frame or 1.3 FOV Crop based models because of the depth of their rear optical elements. Using an EF-s Lens on an incompatible unit will most likely damage the Camera. This is one reason why I usually recommend buying an EF based lens.

Major bit of advice #3 - Do your research...
There are many ways to do this and besides the most obvious which is to go to a store and try out the lenses directly (which requires that you know what you are doing) there are some excellent resources online for getting some preliminary answers.

Basic Lenses to aim for -
50mm 1.4 or lower for standard and lowlight shots.
A 24mm for wide angle shots,
A 100/105mm for portraits and for an added bonus ensure it has a macro capability
A decent zoom lens in the 70 or 80-200 or 300mm range f4 will do to begin and if you can afford it better.

Bear in mind that you have to consider the FOV Crop

For excellent lens reviews try DPReview and Fred Miranda.

Where to buy ... See #3
There are many merchants out there who provide excellent service and who have been around for a while. Sure you can save £5 or more with some site or other but far too often these are fly-by-nighters who will abscond with your and lots of other peoples money ... so do your research and look for sites which will provide you with near instant feedback to your questions ... a site which will respond in 48 hours is just so much crap and if you run into a problem with the kit you will most likely not hear from them at all ... Don't buy from ebay unless the seller has a decent and long time track record and a lot of positive ratings.

In the UK, I've bought from Jessops and believe it or not Amazon.

You can also try other suppliers like Warehouse Express and Pixmania.

You can also vet dealers or check prices by visiting Reseller Ratings, Kelkoo or Pricegrabber.

Last thing I want to cover has to do with Brand versus third party lenses … I can only say here, that if you can afford to buy L series glass stick with Canon Lenses. Likewise with Nikons best glass. However if you, like many, are on a budget then by all means look at the Lenses produced by Sigma and Tamron for your Camera. Many of these have been reviewed at sites like DPReview and Fred Miranda already mentioned above.

I hope this has been useful …

For some excellent technical articles and info -
Steve Hoffmann's Nature and Lanscape Photography.

For an Excellent Reference of Digital and photographic Terminology visit DPReview.

Corel release Painter IX update.

Corel have released Painter IX.5, an update to their excellent natural media digital art application Painter IX. This update which is available for free to registered users of Painter IX requires the prior installation of IX 9.1 before you can update.

Corel list the follwing new enhancements to Painter:
- Photo Painting Palettes - The new Photo Painting Palettes, including the Underpainting, Auto-Painting, and Restoration palettes, work together to help users kick-start the process of creating a beautiful hand-painted work of art from a photograph
- Support for Rosetta running on Intel-based Macs - Customers running the latest hardware from Apple can enjoy working with Corel Painter and their Wacom® pen tablet, including support for the Wacom Intuos® 3 and the 6D Art Pen
- Eraser Tool - Conveniently located in the toolbox, the new Eraser tool erases any medium on the canvas
- Rubber Stamp Tool - The Rubber Stamp tool makes it easy for users to set up point-to-point cloning. Located in the toolbox, this tool lets users set a source and destination reference point, enabling them to clone within an image file or between different areas of separate image files
- Cloner Tool - Conveniently located in the toolbox, the Cloner tool provides immediate access to the last-used Cloner brush and brush variant.
- Corel® Paint Shop™ Pro Support for Windows users - Users can now open Corel Paint Shop Pro files (versions 9 and X)
- Send to Corel® Photo Album™ for Windows users - New integration makes it easy to send files to Corel Photo Album, helping customers manage their images and paintings
- In addition, new customers purchasing Corel Painter IX.5 will also receive 11 hours of lynda.com training videos on 2 CDs

Corel Painter IX.5 also incorporates all the enhancements introduced in the Corel Painter IX 9.1 update including the Art Pen Brush Pack, which leverages Wacom 6D Art Pen technology, and dual monitor support on Windows.

Update your Painter today ... if you dont already own it and are an artist working digitally you should think about getting it today.

Visit Corel for more info...

PMA 2006 coverage

This years PMA is now up and running and as usual, the coverage of announcements, technologies and products is coming hard and fast from many of the Digital Imaging and Photography sites. Some of the best coverage is coming from the following sites:
DPReview - read more here.
Steves Digicams - read more here.
Imaging Resource - read more here.
Luminous Landscape is taking a more personal approach reporting only on stuff which catches his interest - read more here.

Canon Announce New Printers

Canon has introduced two affordable, new photo printers aimed at professional photographers and advanced amateurs . They are the PIXMA Pro9000 a 13 x 19 inch printer featuring a 6,144-nozzle producing 2 picolitre drops and using 8 dye-based ChromaLife100 inks and the PIXMA Pro9500 which is also a 13 x 19 inch printer. the Pro9500 uses Canon Lucia pigmented inks for maximum print life. There are 10 colours in all, including three neutral inks - Photo Black, Matte Black and Gray - as well as Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Photo Cyan, Photo Magenta, Red and Green. Visit Canon for more info on these printers.

Canon also announced the large format "imagePROGRAF IPF5000". This A2 (17-inch) desktop printer combines a high-density twin print head and FINE (Full Photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology designed to produce professional-style prints at unparalleled speeds with outstanding archival image quality. Visit Canon for more info.

Epson Announce 2 New Pro Scanners

Epson Epson announced the Perfection V700 Photo and Epson Perfection V750-M Pro scanners. The usints are billed as the first scanners for photo studio applications that offer capabilities typically found in high-end commercial lab scanners but at an affordable price. The also both feature Dual Lens System. The Pro version also features a new fluid mount accessory which allows photographers to perform wet scans on a flatbed scanner, which is especially valuable for enhanced scratch removal and grain reduction from black and white film.

The Epson Perfection V700 Photo and Epson Perfection V750-M Pro both incorporate the Epson Dual Lens System, which enables super resolution (6400 dpi) scanning of 35mm, 2 ¼”, and 4”x 5” medium format film. The other lens allows for 4800 dpi scanning and allows for high resolution transparency and reflective scanning.

“These scanner models deliver the kind of quality that typically could only be found on commercial lab scanners for a much higher cost. We’ve included these advanced features so that photographers have both maximum control and the ability to get the best results in-house, at a very affordable price.”

The Epson Perfection V700 Photo has many of the same impressive features as the Epson Perfection V750-M Pro including super resolution 6400 dpi film scanning, the Epson Dual Lens System, and 4.0 Dmax. This scanner is ideal for anyone who has relied on a dedicated 35mm film scanner, but wants greater flexibility for scanning larger film formats. With the Epson Perfection V700 Photo, customers can scan 35mm, 2 ¼” and 4”x 5” medium format film with a built-in 8” x 10” transparency unit, as well as prints and documents. Customers also get a wide variety of high quality film scanning capabilities for well below the cost of a dedicated film scanner.

The Epson Perfection V750-M Pro is the flagship scanner at the top of the Epson Perfection line with up to 6400 dpi optical resolution and its unique fluid mount accessory. For many years, wet mount film scanning has been a professionally recognized method for reducing scratches, grain and optical artifacts such as Newton Rings. Wet mount scanning is especially valuable for black and white film, since other scratch removal technologies, including Digital ICE, are not effective on monochrome film. By offering this unique accessory with the Epson Perfection V750-M Pro, customers can now achieve wet scan results with a flatbed scanner.

In addition to the fluid mount accessory, the Epson Perfection V-750M Pro also features new High Pass Optics that further optimize image quality by using anti-reflective coatings on the CCD lens and a new high reflection mirror. Another valuable time- and cost-saving feature offered with both scanners is Digital ICE™ Technologies, a powerful tool for automatic removal of scratches and dust from film, and many surface defects from reflective prints. Both scanner models can achieve an optical density (Dmax) of 4.0, allowing for high dynamic range imaging and the ability to capture fine shadow details. They also feature Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and FireWire connectivity for fast data transmission.

My thinking is that we've now got capabilities with our home and studio system configurations which would have cost hundreds of thousands, 10 years or so ago ... crazy but great. For more info on these scanners visit Epson.

Samsung announce 3 new cameras

Samsung introduced three new cameras yesterday, the first one is the GX-1L, which is a D-SLR which is basically just a rebadged Pentax *ist DL. This follows suit with the anouncement several weeks back of their GX-1S, which is the is a rebadged *ist DS2.
The second digicam is the fixed-lens Digimax L85 and is the first camera on the market to support HDMI (which is a method of connecting to a HDTV set). The third model is the compact Digimax L60. for more information visit Samsung USA.

Nikon announce Capture NX

Capture NX is the first software release from Nikon featuring Nik Software, Inc.’s patented U Point technology. As a successor to the previously released Nikon Capture 4 software, it provides the digital photographer with more powerful tools for exploring and working with NEF, JPEG and TIFF files. The new software is scheduled for delivery during Spring 2006.

New products from Canon and Nikon

This has been a busy week so far with plenty of new products from Canon and Nikon. Canon have announced many new models today. The Canon EOS 30D is first with its 8.2 megapixel sensor and many feature which come from its full frame bigger brother the 5D. It features a large 2.5 inch display and also supports the EFs lenses which it bigger brothers don't. Also announced are 2 new lenses and the PowerShot S3 IS and the PowerShot SD700 IS, PowerShot SD600 and SD630, PowerShot A700 and A540 all of which feature 6 megapixels. The 4 megapixel PowerShot A420, A430 and A530 complete Canons new product announcements.

Nikon announced 7 new digital compacts, including the ultra-slim Coolpix S5 and S6, both of which feature 6 megapixels, the Coolpix P3 and P4 which feature 8.1 megapixels and Nikon’s VR (Vibration Reduction) capability. The Coopix L2, L3 and L4 complete the line up and 6, 5 and 4 megapixels, respectively and all feature a 3x optical zoom and 2.0-inch screens. Nikon have alos announced the AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens the world’s first macro lens to offer reproduction ratios of up to 1:1.

PMA looks like its going to be an interesting time...

Corel announce Paint Shop Pro X offer

Corel Corporation today announced an amazing 20% discount on Corel Paint Shop Pro X. This offer will run for one month from 15 February to 15 March 2006. Customers can purchase Corel Paint Shop Pro X and receive 20% off the standard SRP (£85) or 10% off the upgrade SRP (£41) - all prices exclude VAT.

This offer will also be showcased as part of their presence at the Focus on Imaging show in Birmingham from 26 February to 1 March 2006. If you are attending the show visit Corel at stand S7 to learn more about Paint Shop Pro X and its capabilities. For more info on the offer visit Corel.

Nik Software and Nikon Announce Collaboration

Nik Software, Inc. and Nikon have entered in a relationship which includes an investment by Nikon in Nik Software and technological collaboration between the two companies to develop and distribute digital photographic software and imaging technologies. It should be interesting to see how this develops and at what level NIKs tools will be associated with Nikons product lines. For more information please read the press releases from Nikon Corporation and Nik Software.

ACDSee Pro Discount Offer

After my recent review of ACDSee Pro at kickstartnews.com, ACDSee were kind enough to offer readers of my review 15% off the purchase price. To take advantage of this offer, follow this link to digital river and download a discounted version of ACDSee Pro today.

Adobe Release Lightroom Public Beta 2

Adobe has posted the Lightroom Public Beta 2 for Mac this is Adobes RAW Photography and workflow and application for professional photographers. This public Beta is a Universal Binary, which means it contains it will run natively in on Macs running PowerPC or Intel processors. You can get Lightroom here.

Imagine Publishing Acquires Digital Photographer

Imagine Publishing issued a press release announcing their acquisition of Digital Photographer and 19 other titles from the Receivers of Highbury Entertainment. I was recently distressed at the apparent disappearance of a title which I thought was one of the best digital photography magazines on the market. So I did some digging, after getting no joy from my emails and phone calls, I came across this press release from Imagine which cleared a few things up.

Imagine Publishing was formed by some of the former staff of Paragon Publishing who Highbury acquired in 2002. The titles in Imagines acquisition include Digital Photographer, Advanced Photoshop, Play, Powerstation, Games, iCreate, X360, Digital Camera Buyer, PDA Essentials, Web Designer and Windows XP made Easy.

I look forward to seeing what they do with Digital Photographer and Advanced Photoshop. For more information visit Imagine Publishing.

Update: Imagine publish a press release detailing their plans to honour existing subscribers of the titles they intend to publish ... more detailed information can be found in this press release.

Nik Multimedia, Inc. becomes Nik Software, Inc.

Nik Multimedia, Inc. producer of the excellent plug-ins Nik Sharpener and Color Efex Prof have announced that the company has changed its name to Nik Software, Inc. Nik has unveiled its new corporate identity keeping the familiar “Nik” and replacing “Multimedia” with “Software” to reflect the company’s focus on software development for the digital imaging market. Read More...

The Week That Was - 12-02-2006

Fuiji Film cuts 5000 jobs
After a series of cut-back announcements from many of the film companies due to the shrinking market in film, Fuji are the latest company to announce staff reductions. For more information check out the press release here

Lexmark to cut 500 UK jobs
Lexmark have announced the phased closure of their Rosyth plant in Scotland. The phased closure is expected to begin april with approximately 500 redundancies and completed by year end 2006. Lexmark employs approximately 700 people at this facility.

The closure of the facility is attributed to redundant capacity, higher running costs in comparison to Lexmark’s other facilities, and fact that to maintain the facility there would have to be an expensive cycle of investment in new technologies.

iView MediaPro updated to v3.0.2
iView MediaPro for Windows and Mac has been updated to v3.0.2. The new version adds RAW support for cameras and backs from Panasonic, Leica, Sinar and Mamiya. The update also fixes a number of bugs and features speed improvements in scrolling and searching larger catalogs. For more info and to download the update visit iview-multimedia.com.

Photo Mechanic updated and updated again.
Camera Bits has posted Photo Mechanic 4.4.1.1 for Windows and Mac, a maintenance release of the pro photo browser that fixes bugs which caused crashing in v4.4.1 released earlier this week. Visit camerabits.com for the update and more info.

Have you visited the OpenRAW Survey?

So you might be wondering why I ask, well, you see it's like this ... I, like you, love photography and digital imaging. The problem with RAW is that it as a format suffers from being tied to the manufacturers survival. What OpenRAW is about is an initiative to make us as photographers less dependent on the manufacturers and to provide us with open standards and the tools we need to be able to access the images we have taken with our cameras for now and in the future. With film, we weren't tied to the manufacturer and we could mostly take our films anywhere to get them developed, however, with RAW, we could be held hostage by the whims of the manufacturer or worse still if the manufacturer goes belly up or decides to stop support, lose access to our images in future OS's due to the failure. So, if you care about your photos for now and in the future, add your voice and make your opinion count by completing the OpenRAW Survey.

Alien Skin releases Exposure

Have you ever wanted an easy way to correct or modify your photos so that they look like the kind of photos produced using different kinds of film. Have you ever wanted to recreate the look of Kodachrome®, the range of Ektachrome® or even the Rich colours of Velvia®. Alien Skins latest release, Exposure, does that and a whole lot more besides. With exposure you can apply the look and feel of many real world photographic effects and characteristics found using specific film types.

In their own words "Foremost a film simulator, Exposure is based on the detailed analysis of real world film stocks. A photographer can now quickly and easily evoke the vivid colors of Velvia®, the rich blacks of Kodachrome®, or the sensitivity of Ektachrome®. Exposure includes presets that emulate the warmth, softness, and realistic grain of dozens of real world film stocks, both color and black and white. Plus, any preset can be the starting point for a signature look, adjusted to suit a particular subject, or applied to a batch of images using Photoshop Actions. Exposure adds realistic grain separately to the shadows, mid-tones, and highlights of an image. Unlike other digital products, Exposure does not add simple, harsh noise to an image. Instead, Exposure models the size, shape, and color of real world grain. Exposure can even mimic the pronounced grain of films such as Ilford® 3200 Delta, as well as the discontinued Ektachrome EES and GAF® 500."

"Collecting color, dynamic range, softness, and grain controls in one plug-in, Exposure simplifies workflow. Photographers can now master one easy-to-use tool. Streamlined color and saturation controls warm/cool with a single slider while preserving skin tones or preventing oversaturated reds. Exposure makes gamma correction and contrast changes less intimidating by adding high level contrast, highlight and shadow controls to curves editing."

"Exposure includes several, additional features that address the needs of photographers. Exposure reproduces key studio and darkroom effects such as cross processing, push processing, and glamour portrait softening. Exposure encourages non-destructive editing, allowing users to render an adjusted image as a new layer in Photoshop. Exposure's advanced preview system includes an optional, split screen preview in addition to a before/after button. Exposure pairs unlimited undo/redo with fast rendering and lets photographers zoom and pan using Photoshop style keyboard shortcuts."

This looks to be a great addition to the toolkit of many a digital photographer and I'm going to get my hands on this to try it out, I'll be interested in seeing how it compares to Nik Multimedia's Color Efex Pro and DFT's 55mm ... I'll report back on the results. Visit Exposure at Alien Skin for more information.

Digital Film Tools Releases Snap for Photoshop.

Digital Film Tools have released Snap for Photoshop. Snap is an easy to use interactive image cutout tool which uses a coarse to fine editing approach that first looseley cuts out an object and then allows you to refine the boundary by a more selective process. The extracted object can then be combined with another image or manipulated in Adobe Photoshop. Snap provides instant visual feedback by snapping an editable curve to an object's boundary by using unique graph-cutting and segmentation algorithms. DFT calims that accurate results are achieved in a shorter amount of time than using existing tools and techniques. Visit DFT at their website for more info.

OpenRAW Launches Survey

1/31/2006 For Immediate Release — RAW Survey launched: An International Study of the Experiences, Requirements, Preferences, and Concerns of Photographers regarding RAW Imaging Technology.

On January 31, 2006, the OpenRAW initiative launched an international survey on its Web Site to collect information about the experiences, requirements, preferences, and concerns of digital photographers and other interested parties regarding RAW imaging technology — a concept that many writers are comparing to a "digital negative".

RAW Technology Issues
As the digital properties of RAW image files have become better understood, many digital photographers have embraced RAW technology as the best means to obtain maximum image quality for themselves and their clients. However, during the past year many photographers, photo archivists, and others involved in digital imaging have become concerned about the absence of a robust, common standard for RAW image file formats. Faced with a proliferation of proprietary RAW format— often different for each successive camera model from each camera manufacturer— imaging professionals and devoted amateurs have experienced significant disruptions in their digital image workflow and limitations in their choice of software tools.
This expansion of the sheer number of proprietary RAW formats and the adoption by camera manufacturers of the practice of encryption to conceal information stored in RAW image files have increased fears about the viability of RAW formats for the long term archiving of photographic material. Some manufacturers whose cameras produced proprietary RAW files have already gone out of business, with unknown consequences for future access to those images. Many photographers are concerned that RAW files from current camera models may not be accessible in the future when those models are discontinued.

Why a Survey?
Although these topics are being discussed in many photography forums, we have very little systematic information about the experiences, requirements, preferences, and concerns of photographers regarding RAW imaging technology. One thing is clear— many photographers and archivists believe that camera manufacturers are making important decisions about RAW image technology with little or no input from the people who buy and use their equipment or who are involved in the preservation of photographic works. The OpenRAW survey will give photographers and other interested parties an opportunity to have a voice in the further development of RAW imaging technology.

The online survey questionnaire will be available for eight weeks beginning on January 31, 2006. The date was chosen to coincide closely with the 168th anniversary of an address by William Henry Fox Talbot to the Royal Society of London in 1839 describing a process of "photogenic drawing" (the collotype) based on a paper "negative" that would permit unlimited copies of an image to be made.

We encourage everybody with an interest in RAW image formats to visit the OpenRAW website at http://openraw.org/survey/ and to complete the survey questionnaire, which will take approximately 10-15 minutes. All responses will be kept completely anonymous and confidential. The OpenRAW organization and survey have no connection with any business or commercial interest. The purpose of the survey is to give professional and amateur photographers a means to express their requirements, preferences, and concerns which will be made available to camera manufacturers, software development firms, and other key participants in the digital imaging industry.

Results of the survey will be reported at the OpenRAW Web page. We believe good decisions by the digital photography industry should take account of the needs, requirements, and preferences of the photographers who make their living or pursue their artistic vision through this medium. We will share the survey results widely in the hope that the future of the craft will benefit.

For more information please visit the OpenRAW web site: http://www.openraw.org/
The OpenRAW survey sponsors:
Juergen Specht, photographer and founder of the OpenRAW initiative or@openraw.org
Calvin Jones, statistical research consultant ccj@stat-eval.com

Adobe Release Camera Raw Version 3.3

Adobe have officially released Camera Raw plug-in for Photoshop CS2. It can be downloaded from Adobe's download servers Download Servers. Support for the processing of RAW files from 17 new cameras has been added since v3.2, including the Canon EOS 5D, EOS-1D Mark II N and EOS 20Da, as well as the Nikon D200. There have also been noticeable improvements in the rendering of fine detail. JPEG, TIFF and PSD files saved directly from the plug-in will now also contain caption metadata in both XMP and IPTC formats, instead of just XMP as before.

Milestone Week

This week has been a busy one for the world of Protography and Digital Imaging. Canon celebrated the production milestone of shipping their 30 millionth EF lens, no mean feat for a system less than 20 years old. Konica-Minolta annouced their withdrawal from the camera and photo business ... Sony being the beneficiary of a substantial portion of their digital photo technology assets and technologies. Zeiss officially announced the introduction of a range of "ZF" lenses, which are compatible with Nikons F mount. This was also the week that Samsung launched their first D-SLR, The 6 megapixel. GX-1S features a 2.5-inch screen, ISO 200 to 3200, an FOV Crop of 1.5x and a Pentax AF lens mount.

Briots View - Luminous Articles

Alain Briot lives and works in the heart of Southwestern Arizona. He has spent much of his time there producing wonderful images of what is one of my favourite parts of the world. Although born and educated in France, Alain moved the U.S. in 1986. He moved to Peoria, Arizona, in January 2003 from the Navajo Reservation, at Chinle, Arizona, having spent 7 years there. As said at Luminous Landscape "These locations allow him access to the Sonoran Desert and to new photographic opportunities. Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly and the Grand Canyon are his backyard, and he explores them in depth with an artist's eye."

I can identify and be only a little envious, as I hope one day to go on a photographic tour of the region. He began his studies in photography in France, and then received his Masters degree from Northern Arizona University, where he is currently working on his PhD. The Tutorials at Luminous Landscape are excellent and provide some wonderful insights into aesthetics and photography. Do yourself a big favour and check out Briots View and Alains personal website Beautiful Landscape.

Adobe release public beta of Lightroom

Adobe have announced the public beta of Lightroom, which is a new application that has the digital photographer in mind. Lightroom is aimed at the same market space which Apple have targeted with Aperture. It's a workflow and editing application which takes many of the useful features from Photoshop and combines this with some very powerful and useful capabilities for importing, browsing and organizing your digital photos. Lightroom is no quick response to Apples Aperture however, as it has been in development for a while. As explained in this great article by Jeff Schewe (which is well worth a read if you are interested in a historical context), Shadowland (a name I like) has been created with the input and help of some of the leading luminaries in the world of digital photography. The Lightroom Beta is available only as a Mac OS X version only, but I'm looking forward to trying the Windows Version when it is available. Download the Lightroom Mac OS X Beta here. For excellent coverage of the Beta and its capabilities, please visit Michael Reichmanns Luminous Landscape for the Lightroom Preview. Whilst working with Adobe I had a chance to see this great app long before Aperture came on to the scene and whilst Aperture is certainly innovative ... it is by no means original in concept.

ACDSee announce ACDSee Pro Photo Manager

ACDSee have released their foray into the world of Professional Digital Photography Image Management and Workflow tools. I'm looking forward to trying ACDSee Pro and comparing it to other tools in this market space. In their words ACDSee Pro is designed to help you "View, process, edit, organize, catalog, publish, and archive your photo collections..." It includes full RAW support and processing, powerful organizational tools, quick editing capabilites, visual tagging and full color management support for ICC and ICM profiles. For more information visit the ACDSee Pro website.

CCD Inventors to Receive $500,000 Prize

In 1969, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, who will share the annual Charles Stark Draper Prize presented by the National Academy of Engineering, were trying to figure out a way for semiconductors to store data when they sketched out the design of the CCD. Developed at Bell Laboratories, this design would become the first practical solid-state imaging device. Little did they know that this sketch would revolutionize how people view themselves, the world and the universe. The prize will be presented Feb. 21 in Washington, D.C.

Digital Imaging & CES News for January 5th 2006

CES New product Announcements
CES has always been the site of many new product releases and this year is no different ...

Sony Announce several new models.
Sony have announced the release of the Cyber-shot S600 and M2 Digicams at CES. The S600 is another in their line of budget digicams (US$200) which features a 3x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens covering a 31-93 mm equiv. range. Features also include a large 2.0-inch LCD screen, a sensitivity of up to ISO 1000 and a 460 shot battery life. The Cyber-shot M2 Sony US is the successor to the M1, which was originally revealed in Europe back in September. The M2 combines the functionality of a digital stills camera and a digital video camera. This unusual twist and flip design reminds me of the kind of form factor normally seen in mobile phones. For more info visit Sony.

Kodak and Lexar Introduce High-Performance Memory Cards

KODAK and Lexar High Performance memory cards are designed for digital camera owners who require high-speed processing for rapid-fire still shooting, high frame rate video capture, and fast computer transfer. The cards will initially be available only in SD (Secure Digital) format.
The memory cards will be available from Lexar in capacities of 512MB and 1GB this month with larger capacity cards available later on this year. Kodak also announced several new cameras, including the Kodak EASYSHARE C530, C663, V570 and the Z650. They have also updated their EASYSHARE Software to Version 5.2.

Samsung Introduce a Combined Camera and Media Device.

The Digimax i6 is a 6MP Digital camera which features enhanced multimedia capabilities supporting MP3 and video playback. This is done using the conversion software supplied with the camera. Music can be stored on an SD/MMC card and can be listened to even whilst you are taking pictures. The i6 is only 18.5mm thick, and features a unique curved design. The i6 also features ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) which is based on an algorithm which reduces the effects of camera shake. Samsung have also introduced several new cameras in the S series ... the S500, S600 and S800.

HP, Sanyo, Pentax and Panasonic

HP announced the HP Photosmart E327, the HP Photosmart M527/M525/M425 and HP Photosmart R927/R727/R725. Sanyo announced their Xacti HD1 High Definition Video camera (1280 x 720-pixel) which also supports recording a 5 megapixel still photo capability. Pentax also announced two new Optios, the 6 megapixel E10 and the 8 megapixel A10 both of which feature a 3x optical zoom. Panasonic have announced the 6 megapixel DMC-LZ3 / DMC-LZ5 and the Panasonic DMC-LS2 all of which feature the MEGA Optical Image Stabilization system which they put into all of their cameras to compensate for slow shutter speeds and camera shake.

There were many other releases announced at CES, I won't go into too much depth, but if you care to read more try LetsGoDigital and Steves Digicams for excellent coverage.

2005 - The Year the Earth Moved.

,Last year was for many people a year of turmoil and strife ... sectarian violence and terrorism in Iraq, terrorism in London, earthquakes as well as other natural disasters all over the world. Who can forget the post tsunami images showing the ruination of a paradise. Villages washed away, towns and cities brought low by massive waves and the movement of the earth. A tsunami and earthquake, which wiped out entire families, villages, towns and communities. Over 250,000 people were wiped off this blue and green planet of ours. Look to Pakistan, India and the region of Kashmir where another earthquake later in the year caused the deaths of around 100,000 people and made over 3 million homeless.

For the world of photography this was a year that allowed us to tell stories, as the wealth of images it produced have left an impression with many. Who can forget the images of schools which collapsed taking an entire generation with it. The images produced by ordinary people of massive waves which took away everything in their path, the streets left empty of life. Images of bodies floating in rivers for days, because there was no one to take them away. I include the tsunami from boxing day 2004 because the most striking images took days to come to us ... and continue to make an impression.

To me, 2005 represented the year that technology really put the telling of the news, into the hands of the common man. The year when the cellphones, digital cameras and camcorders which were in the hands of the public, told the story as it happened, where before, the press would only have been able to tell it after the fact. Ready availability of this technology has changed the world of newstelling irrevocably, further enhanced by the advent of the first stock companies which specialize in the use of news media recorded by the public.

This was also the year when thugs used this same technology in "Happy slapping" episodes where hapless victims were beaten and assaulted for no reason other than to record and share it with their friends ... because it was "funny". This kind of behaviour is in my mind an example of what desensitization has brought about. Turn the news into entertainment and people (maladjusted or otherwise) will think its funny ... Monkey See, Monkey Do ... God help us.

2006 should be an interesting year as this technology has improved substantially ... Cellphones which now boast 2 - 6 megapixel cameras are now readily available and in circulation. Many of these phones and cameras also boasting large capacity memory storage and even video capabilities. Add to this broadband capable transmission speeds, and you can get this media to anywhere in the world at the touch of a few buttons. The democratization of media is here ... it'll definitely be something to watch out for.

Hopefully 2006 will about many changes and improvements, but I fear that knowing humankind we will see both extremes, and this technology will continue to be used to show humanity at its very best and also its very worst.