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FLYING WITH
RED BULL
WORKFLOW
THAT WORKS
Christopher Vanderyajt
Monitor Calibration
Post Processing
PS, LR & Nik Plug-ins
Micro Four Thirds >Wireless
Transfer>iOS Workflow
Making Great
Inkjet Prints
An Overview:
TRADITIONAL
B&W FILMS
A CALL TO
PHOTOGRAPH:
ERIK LAURITZEN
Tillman Crane
July/August 2012
Nolan Preece
Paulette Tavormina
NATURA MORTA
phototechmag.com
Contents
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CONTENTS:
On Photography
3
Stephen Berkman:
Documentary Photographer of
the Mind
Robert Hirsch
A Call to Photograph:
Erik Lauritzen
How One Photographer Preserved His
Lifes Work For Future Generations
pg. 26
Nolan Preece
15
Portfolio
21
Natura Morta
Paulette Tavormina
41
Apps
TrueDoF-Pro Depth of Field Calculator
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Lighting Notebook by Kevin Kubota
Technique
7
Gear
Keystone ECO MarineCase
Leaf Credo Digital Camera Backs
Books
Concert and Live Music
Photography by J. Dennis Thomas
16
Monitor Calibration
Using the Spyder4ELITE by Datacolor
Steve Anchell
26
Reader Assignment
52
R. Michael Walker
34
David H. Wells
Christopher Vanderyajt
Red Bull Air Force Pilots: Mike
Swanson, Miles Daisher
On the Cover
Steve Dreyer
46
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July/August 2012
One of my many finds at yard sales was a beautiful old pastel drawing I bought for
eight dollars. I liked it the minute I saw it. Recently I decided to take it apart, clean the
glass and polish the wood frame. I found a signature I hadnt noticed before. Who was
the artist? Maybe there was a story behind the drawing. A little searching on the Internet
came up with a few people with the same name. I took a chance on emailing the most
likely one based on geography, and the artist, a former math teacher now 84 years old
emailed me back. He was delighted to know I gave his drawing a good home, but had
no idea how his work ended up in a yard sale. Have you ever thought about what will
happen to your photographs when you are gone?
Vol. 33 No. 4
Nolan Preece writes about Erik Lauritzen in A Call to Photograph, who arranged for his
lifes work in photography to be archived for future generations. Erik was a close friend
and he was well loved in the photo community. Also on this topic, Al Weber introduces
FfPP, the Foundation for Photographic Preservation he created to facilitate preservation of
the works of photographers.
This expanded issue also gives you serious summer reading on digital workflow:
the word that no one wants to think about. With four in-depth technical articles that
highlight workflow that works, starting with Monitor Calibration by Steve Anchell, Post
Processing with Photoshop, Lightroom and Nik Software Plug-ins by Steven Dreyer, Micro Four
Thirds > Wireless Transfer > iOS by Dan Burkholder, and Workflow for Making Great Inkjet
Prints by R. Michael Walker.
Weve also added a new feature, Reader Assignment. David Wells gives an overview and
tips on the technique used to complete the first assignment Two Twilights are Better than
One and photo technique is offering subscribers a special discount on a personal review of
your photographs made for the assignmentyou can do the assignment, upload up to 10
photographs to the Photo Synesi website and get a personal written and voice review by
David of how you did. Its a fantastic opportunity to get feedback on your work. Look for
more Reader Assignments from different photographers/reviewers in upcoming issues.
But its not all about digital is it? In the traditional photography arena, Tillman Crane
provides a comprehensive overview on black and white film technology and the lineup of currently available black and white films, and Bob Hirsch interviews Stephen
Berkman who works in the historic collodion wet-plate process.
Also in these pages are two outstanding portfolios, Paulette Tavormina discusses her
exquisite still life photographs from the portfolio Natura Morta; and Flying with Red Bull,
where Chris Vanderyajt shares notes from his journal and his action packed photographs.
Wrapping up the issue is Donna Foster, who takes us for a walk with the dogs on Page 56.
The next time you pass by a yard sale this summer, stop. You could find a discarded
modern treasure, relive the angst of being an art student by rescuing a photograph from
the 70s, or find an image that is of significant historic value. What about making those
nameless faces on tintypes and discarded cartes-de-visite prints part of your family?
Think about it. Perhaps in the future someone will rescue your photographs too.
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__________________
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and restrictions for editorial submissions to
photo technique.
Mention of any photographic formula/ product does
not constitute endorsement by photo technique.
Wendy Erickson
Editor, photo technique magazine
wendy@phototechmag.com
__________________
Our NEW photo technique website is scheduled to go live on July 1st. We hope youll
spend a little time on the site and come back often. There are great new areas like
Resources with a Media Caf and the Technical Lounge and Community where youll find
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The Songbird and the Sharpshooter, undated. 11x14 inches. Albumen print
from wet-collodion negative.
Stephen Berkman:
Documentary Photographer of the Mind
Robert Hirsch
I am interested in photographys first 40 years because it was at its zenith right from the start.
Photography has not improved much; its just gotten more convenient. I like the visual code of the
nineteenth century, the formality of it, the way things looked, and the mix between art and science.
In an age when digital imagery often disrupts our expectations about photographys traditional role as a
witness to outer reality, Stephen Berkman does so using the collodion wet-plate process. Berkmans enigmatic, time-traveling images demonstrate how an
understanding of our world can be acquired through
fabricated methods, thus revealing the multidimensional nature of photography and multiplicity of meanings and possibilities photographs can generate. The
following are highlights from our recent converstions.
Robert Hirsch: Describe how you conceptually utilize history.
Stephen Berkman: I see history as being still malleable rather than being a closed circuit. Following this
premise, what is being created is a nineteenth-century,
visual panorama featuring a cavalcade of character
types and their stations of life into which I insert or
recover what has been lost to time.
RH: Do you admire any nineteenth-century photographers?
SB: My model is Nadar (Gaspard-Flix Tournachon).
The scope of his work, the range of people he photographed enthralls me. His staggering body of work
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ON PHOTOGRAPHY
The Exhibition, undated. 11x14 inches. Albumen print from wetcollodion negative.
Lessons Lost, undated. 11x14 inches. Albumen print from wetcollodion negative.
SB: Usually the idea and conception is almost instantaneous. Frequently its just a word, as I feel my work is
often language driven. I tend to divide photographers
into two camps. The first is writers who are photog-
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Obscura Object, undated. 11x14 inches. Albumen print from wet-collodion negative.
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ON PHOTOGRAPHY
RH: How does history affect your endeavors?
SB: We are the beneficiaries and victims of history.
Think of different political actions that occurred over
100 years ago that we are still trying to overcome. We
tend to look at the past as being preordained, but I
dont think that is the case. Making these pictures is
how I examine this phenomenon. I find it fascinating
how we got to where we are today.
RH: What do you want to achieve with your work?
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Gauges, Chestnut Hill Pumping Stations, MWRA, Boston, MA, 1992. Film: Kodak T-Max 400
Tillman Crane
With ease of use, sophisticated computer control for
focus and exposure and the speed that an image can
be electronically available, why would anyone choose
to make photographs with film? An outstanding black
and white silver print from one of the masters of photography looks different from almost any digital print. A
big reason for this is because the materials are different.
To photograph with film involves a different discipline,
skill set and way of working. Film requires you to slow
down and pay more attention to light because film is
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TECHNIQUE
Staircase, Portland City Hall, Portland, ME, 1992. Film: Kodak T-Max 400
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Leng Memorial Chapel, Fife, Scotland, 2003. Film: traditional film emulsion
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TECHNIQUE
Freestyle are also in this category. Foma also produces three films in this category: Fomapan 100
CLASSIC, Fomapan 200 CREATIVE and Fomapan
400 ACTION. And finally, Fuji Neopan 400.
3. Modern emulsions are based on a new silver halide
technology of the 1980s1990s. Kodak introduced
Kodacolor 1000, the first T-Grain technology film in
1982. In 1986 they introduced the first T-Grain black
and white films, T-Max 100 and 400. Ilford soon followed with its own high technology grain structure
(Core Shell Crystal Technology) film in the Delta series
of films, Delta 100. 400 and 3200 Professional. Fujifilm
followed in the 1990s with its line of Neopan and
Acros film.
These films are also multi-layered emulsions with flatter silver halides and thinner physical depth. These thinner and flatter silver halide crystals have greater light
gathering surfaces than traditional irregularly shaped
silver halide crystals. These are professional films with
very little latitude for exposure or development errors.
This new silver halide technology allowed Kodak,
Ilford and Fuji to introduce black and white negative
emulsions with previously unheard of film speeds:
Kodak T-Max 3200, Ilford Delta 3200 Professional.
Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros uses new proprietary Super
Fine Grain Technology, using fine grain alignment.
Swimming Hole, Redwood Road, 1800 North, Salt Lake City, UT, 2006.
Film: traditional film emulsion
10
Specialty Films
1. Infrared Film is sensitive to visible and invisible
wavelenghts of light near the red end of the spectrum.
Special filters are required to take full advantage of
its unique qualities. Warm skin tone will appear white
and blue skies will go black. Generally it must be loaded in very subdued light or better yet, in total darkness. Efke makes several infrared films in various
sizes. Rollei offers an infrared film, as does Maco.
Ilford makes Ilford SFX (extended red sensitivity) film.
SFX is not a true infrared film but when used with a
deep red filter can produce infrared-like images.
2. Orthochromatic film is sensitive to only blue and
green light. Blue objects appear lighter and red ones
darker. It can be used to create photographs that
look as if they were made before the introduction of
panchromatic films (early 20th Century). Wet plate
photography uses an orthochromatic emulsion. Ilford
makes Ortho Plus, which is available in sheet film
sizes. ADOX makes ADOX Ortho 25 (available in
both 35mm film and sheet film) and ADOX Ortho CT
and ADOX Display film, both available only in sheet
film. Efke makes Efke PL25 ORT in various formats.
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Editors Note: Want to learn more about traditional black and white
processing and printing? Please let me know!
Resources
Films: Adox - _____
adox.de, Arista ED - freestylephoto.biz,
__
__________ Efke - free
stylephoto.biz,
freestylephoto.biz, Fujifilm - fujifilmusa.
______
________ FOMA - __________
com,
ilfordphoto.com, Kodak - kodak.com,
free
__ Ilford - _________
______ Maco - __
stylephoto.biz,
rolleifilm.com
________ Rollei - ________
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Nolan Preece
Throughout the history of art there have been artists
who have struggled with chronic illness or addiction.
From the Greeks to Van Gogh to Modigliani in more
recent times, illness has played a part in the growth
and stimulation of artists.
Erik M. Lauritzen was one of those courageous artists. A photographer, Erik suffered from polycystic
kidney disease his entire life. Erik was born in Illinois
in 1953, but later moved to California with his family when his father took a position of Professor of Art
at California State University, Northridge in 1960.
Both of his parents, Martha and Fred, were graduates of Cranbook Academy of Art in Michigan. They
recognized Eriks artistic and musical talents early
on, encouraging him in the arts. He graduated from
San Francisco Art Institute with a B.F.A. in 1977, and
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Resources
foundationforphotographicpreservation.org; eriklauritzen.com
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FfPP
Cinderhenge, Avon, NC, 1993. John Scarlotta. The photograph is from a case study of photographer John Scarlata. FfPP advisor Ben Garfinkle was
able to organize Johns work prior to his cancer-caused death. Every little bit means something.
Al Weber
When Carmel photographer Steve Crouch died in
1984, his work was headed for the dump. A telephone
call from Huntington Witherill alerted me as to what
was happening and I was able to persuade his son to
let me have the whole archive. I didnt have a clue as to
what Id do with it. Three years later I was able to talk
the University of California, Santa Cruz into placing it
in their Special Collections. That was the start.
As a traveling workshop instructor, I have seen countless sacks of family prints. One time in a small Nebraska town a woman brought in a sack full of family
tintypes. Gorgeous little gems, now damaged through
carelessness. But salvageable, and a key to her ancestors.
Irreplaceable. So that is what FfPP is about.
Al Webers photography is exhibited in the
Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine
Arts in Kyoto, Japan and in many regional
museums. He has taught photography
since 1963, as instructor for Ansel Adams in
Yosemite, at his own Victor School, CO and in
workshops including those with David Vestal
at the Photographers Formulary in Montana.
He was Educational Chairman at Friends of
Photography in Carmel, CA.
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TECHNIQUE
Monitor Calibration
Steve Anchell
Do you really need to calibrate your monitor? Perhaps you dont. Read the following scenarios and see if
they fit.
Scenario #1
Youve just captured the worlds greatest landscape.
When you released the shutter the light, color and
composition were perfect. Never mind that your camera wasnt calibrated, youll fix it in Lightroom. You
work on the image in LR until its perfect, color, saturation, contrast, shadow detail, luminous clouds with
subtle detail in a blue sky. You write it to disk and take
it to a really good lab to print. Never mind that your
monitor wasnt calibrated. The lab can fix that.
When you pick up your print it is darker than it appeared on your screen. And the colors arent as saturated. What gives? You ask the lab owner. He shows you
the image on his calibrated monitor; it looks exactly
like the print. Is your monitor calibrated? He asks.
Scenario #2
You purchase an Epson printer with a K7 inkset. You
heard this was the best inkset out there. Now youll get
a good print. Print #1 is too dark, just like the one
from the lab. No problem, you punch up the exposure.
Print #2 is better, but the clouds are a little too bright,
so you add +60 Recovery for the highlights, and the
shadows are, well not quite black enough, so you add
+20 Black. In print #3, the clouds are a little gray,
and the shadows lack detail, but youre getting closer.
You notice that the sky in the print isnt the same hue
as it is on the screen, and the reds on that pickup truck
parked in front of Mt. Shasta just arent as saturated as
they look on the screen, either. Print #4, add hue and
saturation, increase the contrast; while youre at it add
+3 magenta. Print #5, too much contrast, youve lost
shadow detail; better add some Brightness, or perhaps
Fill light; back off the magenta...
By the time youre finished, somewhere around print
#10 or #15, you are ready to accept the variations in
color and contrast between what you see on the screen
and in the print. Even if the print doesnt match the
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(Figure 1) Begin your first full calibration (FullCAL) using the recommended defaults. At the bottom of the dialog box is a link to Advanced Settings, also
known as the Expert Console. Go to the Expert Console and make certain the Ambient Light test is enabled (see Figure 2).
At this point you have the choice of using the Step-byStep Assistant, (Figure 1) or the Expert Console. The
primary reason to use the Expert Console, is to manually change the Black Luminance value. Everything
else can be changed in Calibration Settings.
My suggestion is to start with the recommended defaults the first time through (Gamma: 2.2; White Point:
6500K; Brightness: 120). If you feel you need more
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TECHNIQUE
control you can switch to the Expert Console (see
the sidebar, White Point, Gamma, Black Luminance,
White Luminance).
18
(Figure 2) Ambient Light test is enabled. Return to the Basic Settings Wizard.
(Figure 3) Try to get the ambient light level to where the result reads medium. You
may find that the default settings have been changed. In this case the recommended
White Point is still 6500K but the recommended White Luminance value has been set
at 180.
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(Figure 4) After reading the ambient light Spyder4 recommended a White Luminance value of
180.0. The Spyder4 photocolorimeter read 174.0. Clicking on the Apple icon at the upper left of
the Mac screen allowed the choice of System Preferences>Display. In Display I was able to move
the Brightness slider to the right and update the reading until it was 181, within the allowed 4%
tolerance.
(Figure 5) When calibration is complete you will be prompted to accept the default name (Apple
iMac-1) or customizing the name to something more meaningful. I add the date at the end and get
rid of the Apple for brevity (iMac-1-02012012). Dont leave any spaces between letters, numbers,
or symbols.
(Figure 6) The final screen is a soft proof of the calibrated screen. You can switch between before
and after at the lower right side. Notice that the color and brightness change over the entire
screen, not just the test image.
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TECHNIQUE
_____________________________________
Resources
______________________________
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Natura Morta
Paulette Tavormina
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PORTFOLIO
Paulette Tavormina Yellow Cherries and Crab Apples, After G. G., courtesy Robert Klein Gallery, Boston
Previous Page: Paulette Tavormina Figs and Dragonfly, After G.F., courtesy Robert Klein Gallery, Boston
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PORTFOLIO
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Paulette Tavormina Peaches and Morning Glories, After G. G., courtesy Robert Klein Gallery, Boston
PT: I think the only thing that I would say for advice
is to find what you are passionate about, stay focused
and dedicated to that passion and make it a priority.
Incredible things can happen.
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WORKFLOW
FOR
MAKING GREAT
INKJET PRINTS
R. Michael Walker
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