|
|
9.1 THE DIGITAL DARKROOM | ||
 Learn
To Draw |
Learn
To Paint |
Photoshop
Elements |
Animation
Menu |
Art
Principles |
Art
Appreciation |
Digital photography has two distinct phases: image capture and everything else. In this topic we cover some of the things you need (or might want) for that second phase: image editing, printing, storage, and sharing. In traditional photography, this is called the darkroom phase and that term has been adopted in digital photography. Although the term "digital darkroom" has a nice ring to it, it's not at all accurate. Most of what digital photographers do, we do with the lights on. However, no other collective term has yet become popular for all of the activities that are performed on digital images after they are captured. In this topic, we take a look at the things you should seriously consider having in your digital darkroom. They are not all essential to getting the job done, but they are essential to getting it done as easily and quickly as possible.
The ideal computer is fast, has a 21" display, weighs only a few pounds, fits in your pocket, has both USB and Firewire connections, and has a cable or DSL modem. Of course no such animal exists so you have to make compromises, get a notebook with a docking station, or have more than one computer.
The only reason to give over half your desk to a computer is because these units are cheap and very expandable. My system has a 17" (I really want two 21" monitors hooked up but...) monitor that looms over me because I'd have to push its backend out a window to get more room between it and I. However, it has a 2 hardrives and a 1.0 GHz ( I really want a duo board with two 4.0 GHZ processors.. or maybe a sun board that will take four processors, donations anyone?) processor, all for under $400 (the monitor was passed down from the previous system).
 |
Be sure your new computer has these ports. USB is the wave of the future because you can plug in devices such as card readers and cameras without special software or even turning off the computer. The only thing better is Firewire, which isn't yet in widespread use. |
Notebook computers are expensive compared to big desktop units and this keeps a lot of people like me from buying one; except that through E-Bay I got one for under $200. However, if you have the cash to spend, or even better, work for a company that gives you one, they are ideal for desktop photography. Relatively large drives and large screens makes it easy to store, edit, and even distribute images. There's a slew of them to choose from and new models are introduced all the time so I won't make recommendations. Just be sure you get a large enough hard drive to store images when you're on the road. Also, you might look for one that has a docking station. These allow you to use a full-size screen and keyboard when you're home and also provide additional slots for expansion.
 |
You can tell when Steve Jobs has hung his hat by the design of the computers coming out the loading dock door. he's about the only one in computing that thinks the "look" of a computer is worth a hoot. Courtesy of Apple. |
If a notebook has a PC Card slot, all you need to read CompactFlash or SmartMedia cards is an adapter.
 |
An adapter lets you use CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards in a PC Card slot. Courtesy of Lexar Media. |
Everyone has their own needs and preferences. However, if I had the bucks to spend, there would be a mini-notebook in my camera bag right now. These very small computers are great to take with you so you have a place to view, store, and distribute photos.
 |
The Toshiba Libretto is a tiny Windows computer measuring only 8.27"L x 5.19"W x 1.38"H. It has two PC Card slots into which you can plug other devices such as printers or CD-R drives. Courtesy of Toshiba. |
There used to be a saying to the effect that IBM built larger and faster computers only to run bigger and slower software. There's no question that the personal computer market has gone the same way. Files have gotten so large that the venerable old floppy disk has long since lost almost any real usefulness (apologies to Mavica owners). Yet, like our appendix for which there is no known use, these drives are built into almost every machine made. There are a variety of new formats vying for dominance but so far, the Zip drive from Iomega is far ahead in the race. It doesn't matter which 'superdisk" format you choose, unless you want to exchange disks or use them on different computers. The various competing disks can't be read using other formats' drives.
 |
Iomega makes a Zip drive that plugs into the USB port. It's fast and perfect for moving from system to system. Just plug and play. |
Zip drives are nice, but the Zip disks are expensive. When you hand one to a friend, you always hope you'll get it back. If you're like me and like to toss disks around like Frisbees, you really need a CD-R drive. I never realized how great these are until I got one on my new system. I can just drag and drop hundreds of image files onto a 600+ Megabyte CD disc and give it to a friend. It's theirs forever. I bought 100 or so discs at 20-cents each (after a rebate that has yet to arrive). Even without a big sale, you can find them for under $2. You can find these drives on places such as PriceScan or Pricewatch for under $200. There are also CD-RW discs that you can write on and erase just like regular disks. The discs are more than twice as expensive as CD-R discs, so you might not want to spend the bucks.
 |
You can only write on CD-R disks once, but that's really an advantage. You'll never overwrite your original file after making changes to it. |
Most digital cameras come with software that lets you download your images to a computer. Once there, you have two big needs: organizing them and editing them. Lets take a look at the two software packages that are most widely used by digital photographers.
Once you have a lot of images, the problem becomes one of locating the one you want. This is the role of an image management program. You can't go wrong trying out ThumbsPlus or a simular program is in XP.
 |
ThumbsPlus is a shareware program that has found very wide acceptance. There's even a Mac version in beta. |
Once you have found the image you want to work with, you may need to edit it. Photographers usually do only a few things such as adjust curves, color balance, contrast, and brightness or change an image's size so it can be posted on the Web or sent by e-mail. We can also use filters to change the look of a photograph into some other art form. There are lots of programs that perform these tasks very well, Paint Shop Pro being one of the most widely used (it's shareware, so you can try it for free). However, the standard by which the others are judged is Photoshop, a program that does what you'll probably want to do and ten thousand other things as well. We will use a version of Photoshop called Photoshop Elements. If the program has a problem, it's that it'll take you months to discover you don't need 99% or what it offers unless you're making a living at printing photographs in magazines or working at a very very high level.
 |
Photoshop is the standard by which all other image editing program are judged. |
People who use digital cameras, rarely have use for a scanner because their images are already in digital form. However, for those of us who work in traditional photography as well as digital, we often find ourselves having to scan slides, negatives, or prints. To do so we need slide or flatbed scanners.
 |
Slide scanners, such as this Nikon Coolscan. are used to scan slides or negatives into digital form. Courtesy of Nikon. |
  |
Flatbed scanners are used to scan prints and other flat objects. Courtesy of UMAX. |
In addition to the big things, you can always find a number of other things that make digital photography faster, easier, or more fun.
- WinZip or Stuffit are good for compressing files and gathering a group of files together into a single file for sending by email. Although no advantage is gained in compressing most images from a digital camera, being able to store a number together in the same file can be very useful. The only drawback is that the recipient needs the same software to extract the images.
- FTP programs, such as CuteFTP, are used to upload images and other files to a Web site.
- Web Sites are nice if you want to show off your work. There are a number of services that offer free space
- Cable or DSL connections are much faster and better than modem connections. For one thing, they are always on so you don't need to dial up. For another they download files maybe 50 or so times faster than the fastest modem.