Color Management

While judging a photo contest this past weekend and seeing a number of images that were over saturated and sometimes with a weird color shift, the judges (Pat Cory, Harold Stinnett and I) all mused as to the reason. At first we were thinking that some people might just like their images to look “different”. Then it dawned on me that it might not be their fault at all.. Well, not consciously. Color management, I think, was the problem. When I mention the colors and the thoughts on color management, the onlookers in the gallery gave up a collective sigh. Several responded out loud that they kinda remembered something about that, but didn’t have any consistent workflow. This blog is for all those who don’t have a consistent workflow.

Items to be addressed in a good color management workflow:

1. Camera and color space
2. Monitor and profiling
3. Image Editing software
4. Exporting for specific use
5. Printer/ paper profiles

Because topic can be fairly extensive, I will cover the first 2 items here and then each of other items in separate blogs.

Camera and color space:

For quite a while now, we have been able to set a specific color space on our camera. When we first started out with digital cameras, they were all confined to the sRGB color space. Now you have a choice of sRGB or Adobe RGB color spaces.

This diagram represents the visible colors in the spectrum with an outline of the colors included in the sRGB and the Adobe 1998 RGB color spaces. Think of color spaces as a box of crayons. The sRGB is the 16-color set that we all had to have in kindergarten. The Adobe 1998 RGB is the 64-color set that one or two people in the class had and we all went to their box of crayons to find the specific color we wanted. Think of it this way, the 16 color set had one green; the 64 color set had 4 greens.. More choices.

Bottom line is that if you pick sRGB, you will be capturing fewer colors in your images. So, unless you like limiting your options at the beginning, choose Adobe RGB on your camera setup. We will discuss later when to use sRGB, but those are all output concerns, not capture concerns. There is occasionally a specific need to capture in sRGB, but the general rule is to capture in Adobe RGB. Now, go get your camera out, find where to set the color space, set it to Adobe RGB and forget about it.

Monitor calibration:

You don’t need learn to do monitor calibration if you don’t care what your images look like when displayed or printed. BUT, if you do care, monitor calibration is very easy to do. Not all monitors are created equal and some of the very best have built in calibration.  Some of the EIZO ColorEdge monitors (CG275W and CG245W) have built in calibration sensors and some of the best color rendition monitors you can buy. But they will set you back a pretty penny. If you don’t want to spend $2000-3000 on a single monitor, consider getting a display calibration system.

There are several on the market and all do a great job. Both the Datacolor Spyder and the X-Rite i1 Display Pro do a great job. I use The Datacolor Spyder and have just gotten the Spyder4 Elite. I will be posting a how to with screen captures and a video on Vimeo later this week on the new Datacolor Spyder4 Elite. Stay tuned.

What everyone ought to know about cold weather photography

Fall color has peaked and gone. Spring flowers are just an anticipation of things to come. Winter is upon us and many photographers have hung up their equipment for the frigid season of the year. And these photographers will miss out on the magical season. Why are so many photographers reticent to venture out into the cold? Well, one reason is that we are all creatures of comfort and being cold is not comfortable. Why do you think all the travel agencies market the warm weather destinations during the cold part of the year? With just a few tips and tricks of cold weather photography you can survive the elements and enjoy the wonders of ice and snow and frigid temperatures.

Fog or frost on your lens or camera– Most of the time this is not brought on by taking a warm camera into the cold. There is very little moisture in cold air to condense on your equipment EXCEPT if you blow on the lens or camera with your mouth. Our breath is very moisture laden, so blowing on to your lens (you know, like a pro is able to do without spitting on it) will force larges amounts of warm, moist air across your cold equipment. Do this when you lens has reach temperatures below freezing and it will cause instant frost on your lens. A friend did this when we were in Yellowstone shooting one winter. His lens was frosted all day until we took it inside and warmed it up and let it dry out. Lesson learned.Another friend iced his metal tripod to his beard by looking through the viewfinder for a long time in one place when the temperature was around 0°F. His breath mixed with is beard, which was long and touching the metal leg of his tripod. The moisture instantly froze his beard to the tripod. So, lesson one, don’t breath onto or around your cold metal equipment when the temperature is well below freezing. That is why I always use a bulb blower to blow of dust, snow, etc from my lenses and cameras.

Powering your equipment in the cold- In the digital age, we are extremely dependant on electrons to power our cameras. Electrons love the cold, but batteries via a chemical reaction supply electrons. Most chemical reactions DO NOT like the cold and become much slower. Meaning less time producing electrons (shorter battery life). How do you get around this? Have extra batteries and keep them warm. One way is to keep several extra batteries inside your coat next to your body. Some people even use warm packs in the same pocket. When your camera battery gets really low, swap it out with a fresh warm battery. You will find that putting the cold battery in your pocket and warming it up will many times revive it so you may just be able to keep switching out batteries as each one gets cold.

Equipment fogging up coming inside – Take a break for lunch to warm up and refuel and bring you camera inside with you and you may find that everything fogs up. That is because there is moisture in the warm air inside. And if your camera or lens is cold and then exposed to this warm, moist air, it will fog up. Choices, a. leave your equipment outside or b. bring your equipment inside BUT leave it in your camera bag. This includes tripods. Do NOT open your camera bag while inside. It takes several hours for the temperature to equilibrate. Once you are finished with lunch, take your bag outside and your equipment should be fine. When you come in for the evening, you have 2 choices. Put your equipment in a plastic bag outside and leave it in the bag for several hours after coming inside. Any condensation will be on the outside of the bag, not on your equipment. Wait at least several hours before you open the plastic bag. What if you forget to bring a plastic bag? Then keep your equipment in your camera bag and DO NOT open it for at least 2 hours as the temperature equalizes.

Keeping the human equipment warm and working– Hands and head are most important. Wearing some type of balaclava over your head that also covers your face and neck will keep you much warmer. Layering is the ideal way to keep your body warm, starting with a good pair of long underwear.  Patagonia Capilene 3 is a good choice. Next layer may be a form of Polartec fleece pants and shirt or pullover. Follow this by a waterproof pair of pants and jacket and you should be good to go. Footwear is critical and winter boots by Sorel or Columbia should fit the bill. Make sure you have enough room in the boots, because cramped feet and toes get colder, faster. I usually wear a pair of large mitten shells that can come off easily and underneath I wear a pair of liner gloves. These are usually thin enough I can feel all the controls on my camera, but my fingers don’t freeze off from being exposed to the cold.

Using a tripod in snow – we all still want to use a tripod but sometimes the snow is so deep that it makes it difficult. If you are pushing your tripod down into the snow, caution. If the legs are fully extended and against the stops at the base and you push them into the snow, you can break the base or the legs. Instead, gently push the tripod down into the snow with the legs not completely open against the base. They extend outward as you push down. Also, if your tripod is metal, be careful of touching the metal. You can freeze your skin, beard, and tongue to the metal surfaces. AND, your hands get much colder holding the bare metal. Even with gloves on. Insulate the legs before venturing out into the elements.

I have just finished my 2012 schedule. Go to the tab above to see the schedule or go directly to Bill Campbell Digital for a listing and link to each workshop.

Bill Campbell’s Christmas Wish List for Nature Photographers 2011

With Black Friday coming up after Thanksgiving, I thought I would put together a wish list for nature photographers to look at. I use all of the items listed and can vouch for each one. You might want to print this out and put it in a prominent place for gift giver to find for your Holidays.. Happy Holidays to everyone!

1. Feisol carbon fiber tripod. See my blog on tripod comparision.  Feisol Tripods

2. Nikon 24-85 f2.8-4 zoom lens with macro.. For up to half life size macro from 35-85. Downside is that AF not supported by D40, D40X, D60, D3000, D3100, D5000, and D5100 cameras. Check local camera stores or go to Hunt’s Photo  

3. Bubble level – quickest way to level your horizon. Check Amazon for some great deals on 2 way and 3 way bubble levels

4. Really Right Stuff ball head. Best ball head on the market, imo.. Really Right Stuff. Use the BH55 or BH40.

5. Really Right Stuff L bracket – my students hear this all the time from me.. When is the best time to shoot a Vertical? Right after you shoot a horizontal.. But you are not likely to do that if it takes a lot of time to readjust. Using a L Bracket makes the transition quick and easy.

6. Really Right Stuff leveling base – if you shoot pans (by shooting elements and stitching) or shoot video or use a gimbled head for flight and action shots, being able to level the base of your tripod head is much faster and more accurate than leveling the base with the legs. Really Right Stuff makes one of the best leveling bases I have ever used.

7. Wimberley sidekick – if you want to have a gimbled head for those times you are shooting wildlife (birds and other animals you might pan the camera with action), but also shoot landscape and macro and want to keep your ballhead on your tripod, the Sidekick is the best thing since sliced bread. Just add it to your ballhead and you have instant gimbled action for your longer lenses. http://www.tripodhead.com/products/sidekick-main.cfm

8. Better Beamer Flash Extender—This is a Flash extender designed by Walt Anderson to extend the distance of your flash range with lenses of 300mm and greater. Looking for some fill flash on birds or put a catchlight in the eye? This works! Look for them at Naturescapes.

9. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 – Before you go out and buy Photoshop, try the free trial of Lightroom. This program allows you to keep your images organized and backed up and the develop, print and slide show capabilities just keep getting better and better. Most photographers will need nothing more for their images than Lightroom.

10. Nik software– For those who want to explore image enhancement (including HDR and Black and White conversion), NIK software’s line of allows fun of enhancement without a prolonged learning curve. Check out Viveza 2, HDR EFEX Pro, Silver EFEX Pro and Color EFEX Pro.