Author:

doteditions

Color Management discussion: tomorrow night

Posted by doteditions on March 8, 2010

Tuesday March 9: Color Management Discussion (6:30-9pm, doors open at 6pm)

In an ideal world, color would be consistent from the scene in front of the camera, to what we see on the monitor, to the final print.  Consistency from  various  digital imaging devices requires a sophisticated knowledge of color management. In this hands-on discussion, we will help artists and photographers gain deeper understanding of how to get a good match from the monitor to the print.

Included in this discussion:

• A work-around to match the image on screen to the print
• Best practices for monitor calibration
• Color profiles
• Soft-proofing

Please RSVP. This is a free event, so please bring a beverage or snack to share!

Dot Editions visits The Armory Show

Posted by doteditions on March 5, 2010

A very small taste of what the 300+ exhibitors have to offer at The Armory Show:

Philip-Lorca diCorcia at David Zwirner

Philip-Lorca diCorcia at David Zwirner Patrick Jacobs at Pierogi

Patrick Jacobs at Pierogi

Patrick Jacobs at Pierogi

Armory Show Focus:Berlin

Armory Show Focus:Berlin

P1070247

P1070246

P1070243

P1070231

Christina Kruse video shoot at Dot Editions

Posted by doteditions on March 4, 2010

Christina Kruse was the subject of a video shoot for German TV

Christina Kruse was the subject of a video shoot for German TV

Artist Christina Kruse visited Dot Editions today to document her collaborative process of printmaking with Rocky Kenworthy. The crew filmed her working at a computer station with Rocky, as well as looking at pigment papers and prints. The piece will air on the German culture and lifestyle television station ARD in mid-March. Christina printed her solo show at Dot Editions that was exhibited at Steven Kasher Gallery in March 2009, and has been printing with Dot Editions on various projects for the past four years.

Upcoming events at Dot Editions

Posted by doteditions on February 26, 2010

roofs

Dot Editions first HDR test, 2008

March 9: Color Management Discussion (6:30-9pm, doors open at 6pm)

In this hands-on discussion, we will demonstrate a work-around that photographers printing at home or in the studio can use to match the print to the image on the monitor. This trick will help artists become more efficient when printing, and hopefully will relieve some of the frustration that can arise when perfecting a print.

We will also discuss:
•    Best practices for monitor calibration
•    Paper profiles
•    Soft-proofing

This is a good opportunity to get your questions about color management answered.

In the meantime, check out the tutorials we’ve posted, including one on monitor calibration using Eye One Match, and a Photoshop work-around for matching your image on the monitor to your print.

Please RSVP, and as always, this event is free, so please bring a beverage or snack to share!

TWO UPCOMING HDR DISCUSSIONS:

March 23: HDRi Discussion at Dot Editions Studio. Please RSVP to Dot Editions HDR event here.
April 6th: ASMPNY Discussion (at Tabula Rasa Studio & Event Loft Space). For more info on the ASMYNY HDR event, click here.

In both of these events, we will define HDR and how to use it as a tool not a look. How it’s being used in the commercial world of photography today as well as the fine art world. What is the future of HDR and how you as a photographer can start utilizing this powerful tool.

Show & Tell: Premier event

Posted by doteditions on February 25, 2010

Josh Gosfield

A good time was had by all at Tuesday night’s Show & Tell premiere event. Thank you to all who came for braving the downpour! A special thanks to the three artists who generously presented their work, Josh Gosfield, Mike Peters, and Joao Carlos.

Josh talked about the origins and inspirations for his project, Gigi Gaston: The Black Flower.

josh

Mike Peters presented a slide show of his personal work he has done in New Jersey, street portraiture from a perspective of thinking about the American dream, and how it has played out on the faces of working people.

mike-peters

Joao Carlos showed his fashion photography, discussing the cinematic, artistic, and literary influences on his photography.

joao

We’re already working on the next line up for Show & Tell. Stay tuned for more details!

Tomorrow night’s Show & Tell artists

Posted by doteditions on February 22, 2010

We are looking forward to premiering our new event at Dot Editions, Show & Tell: Photographers Salon, tomorrow night. We’ve got the digital projector and sound system ready to go, plus an exciting line-up of four artists to present their work!

If you would still like to RSVP, it looks like space will be limited, but come on by! Directions to the studio can be found here. This is a free event, so please bring a snack or drink to share! Doors open at 6pm, the talks will begin promptly at 6:30.

Here’s a bit about the four guest artist speakers, who will each give a 20 minute talk, followed by questions from the audience.

Josh Gosfield will share images from his series Gigi Gaston: The Black Flower, which recently showed at Steven Kasher Gallery.

Josh-Gosfield

From the press release:

“Josh Gosfield has assembled the definitive archive devoted to the 1960s French pop star Gigi Gaston. Gigi’s music and the spectacle of her tragic life riveted the public through the 60s and 70s. The exhibition documents her life and loves with archival photographs, posters, record covers, magazine and newspaper articles, a music video shot by Jean Luc Godard, documentary footage, and assorted ephemera. We see her Gypsy family’s escape from Bulgaria, her affair with her stepbrother, her first guitar, her rise up (and fall down) the charts,  the car crashes, funerals, love triangles and the murder trial. All this played out in a garish media spotlight before the insatiable eyes of her public.”…”In fact Gigi Gaston did not exist. Her persona and all her documents are the fictional creation of Josh Gosfield working with the aid of actors, stylists, make up artists, and Photoshop. This exhibition can leave you wondering if Madonna exists. How do you know?”

Mike Peters:

Mike-Peters

“I wander neighborhoods similar to the one I was raised in, an industrial working class suburb in New Jersey. In the faces and facades that I encounter along the way, I find a patina that can only be derived from a life lived hard. There exists an unpretentiousness for which I feel a close affinity, and in which I see much that is familiar yet want to know better. I find beauty in these faces and facades, especially when they give a hint to the inner complexities that lie beneath the surface.” … “There is a sense of ordinariness to these people and places that lie in stark contrast to life as portrayed in the media. There is nothing at all sensational going on here, just life being lived by ordinary people who do not regularly demand our attention. These are the people and places I am interested in; these are the people and places my work is all about.”

Joao Carlos:

Joao-Carlos

Joao was recently awarded one The Hasselblad Masters Award in 2009 for wedding/social photography. From the website: “Joao is especially inspired by 18th century and combines influences from this era with fantasy driven ideas from novels, lyrics, and poems that together can form the foundation for a strong image. Joao envisions his photography as an opportunity to create inspiring pieces of artwork, to go beyond the conventionality and impermanence of fashion and commercial photography, and to take his images to a lasting fine-art level. His appreciation for the arts in all aspects is what continues to inspire and drive him while capturing the stories in his lens.”


Marc Dimov:

Marc-Dimov

“Marc Dimov’s imagery spans landscape, still life and portraiture, rendering the limitless possibilities in which the photographic medium can be transformed. In his “Storm Basins” series, the artist creates surreal images of dramatically lit suburban environments, and as with all his work, continues to question the visual language of photography. … Dimov was born in The Berkshires, Massachusetts in 1980. He received his BFA in Photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2005. His work has been exhibited in various locations throughout New York City and New England including: powerHouse Arena (Brooklyn), James Cohen Gallery (Chelsea), Cue Art Foundation (Chelsea), Artist’s Space (Soho), and South Shore Art Center (Cohassett, MA) to name a few.”

Using layer blending modes & other imaging tips

Posted by doteditions on February 19, 2010

Layer blending modes offer a way for a layer to integrate with the adjustment layers below it, and can add depth to an image, or can be a good way to add sharpening. This is a powerful tool, and is worth experimenting with.

First of all, here’s where to access the layer blending modes in the  layer palate:

where to find blendind modes

Pull down the drop-down menu to see what options there are.

Picture 2

Give your image depth & contrast with a Soft Light layer:

  • Stamp together all your adjustment layers into one layer on top of your adjustment layer stack (press Option + Command + SHIFT + letter “e” at the same time)
  • Change the blending mode in the layer panel to Soft Light.
  • You’ll see that your image gets a lot darker. Adjust the opacity until you like it (try between 25% and 50%)

softlight

  • Another good trick when using blending modes (or doing anything with layers) is to make a keyboard command for turning on and off a layer – so you can see exactly what that layer is doing. We set the F1 key to turn on and off the layer. Under Edit go to  Keyboard Shortcuts. Find the Layer options (there will be a triangle next to “Layer”, open the options by clicking on the triange). Scroll down until you see Hide Layers. Click next to it under Shortcut, and a box opens up – type the F1 key in there. Press Accept to override other functions assigned to the F1 key.

Picture 3

Using the color blending mode to correct uneven skin tones

  • Make a new layer. In the layers panel, Option + click on the icon that looks like a turned up piece of paper, or under the Layers panel, select New.
  • You’ll get some options. Name the layer “color” and under Mode, choose Color. Click OK.

color layer

  • With the eyedropper tool, select a nice skin tone color.
  • Using the brush tool with soft edges and a low “flow” (keep Opacity at 100%), brush the color in the area that needs to be corrected. You might have to lower the opacity of that layer.

How to get detail in the shadows of an image that is too dark with Shadows/Highlights (not exactly a blending mode but another good trick):

  • Stamp together all your adjustment layers into one layer on top of the layer stack (press Option + Command + SHIFT + letter E)
  • Go to Image/Adjustments/Shadows and Highlights
  • Use the default settings
  • Adjust to opacity to a low amount, around 10% to 15%. You’ll see that the shadows open up without looking forced or solarized.

shadows-highlight

There are many other uses of blending layers, some of which we will be discussing in later posts. With blending modes, you can create a dodge and burn layer, or a layer to add noise/grain, or you can add sharpening through filtering a layer in a blending mode. Stay tuned for more info on these methods!

Opening tonight: Myriam Babin at Heskin Contemporary

Posted by doteditions on February 18, 2010

Myriam Babin: Arctic Recent Photographs

Myriam Babin: Arctic Recent Photographs

Dot Editions worked with Myriam Babin to produce work that opens in  her photo exhibition tonight at Heskin Contemporary (443 West 37th, 6-9pm)

“Myriam Babin’s recent nine-day journey up the coast of Norway to the Svalbard Island deep into the Arctic circle, the photographer found herself captivated by the 24 hours of sunlight, and the constant evolving scenery.  Initially the waters among the fjords were silky and reflective.  Heading north, the weather worsened, the sea took on a darker, more menacing character.  Upon first encountering sea ice, the shipped slowed in order to navigate around the large pieces that could be icebergs in disguise.  Other then the sound of sea ice brushing past the hull, there was an incredible stillness.  In these photographs, Babin sought to capture the meditative quality of the endless, austere landscape.  She found solace in being at the ends of the earth.the earth.”

Join us for “Show & Tell: Photographers Salon,” February 23rd 6:30 to 9pm

Posted by doteditions on February 16, 2010

Show & Tell, Photographers Salon

Dot Editions is excited to announce the premier of Show & Tell, Photographers Salon, Tuesday February 23, 2010, 6:30 to 9pm (doors open at 6:00, artists talks start promptly at 6:30)

In this new, bi-monthly event, four artists will have the opportunity to give a twenty-minute talk about a body of their recent work.

Sign up early to present your work! Three photographers plus a special guest will present and discuss their work, followed by questions from the audience.

Please RSVP for this event, and indicate whether or not you would like to be a featured artist.

We are happy to have  Josh Gosfield as special guest artist for the premier. Josh recently had a solo show featuring over fifty prints, all ephemera devoted to covering the fictional life of Gigi Gaston – the Black Flower.

If you are interested in giving an artist talk but miss this chance, don’t fret, we will be hosting this event again!

This event is free, so please bring something to share with your fellow artists!

How to calibrate your monitor using Eye-One Match

Posted by doteditions on February 12, 2010

After last week’s blog post about using a calibration work-around for matching prints to monitor images, I thought I’d follow up with a step by step tutorial on how to calibrate your monitor using the Eye One Match software. In this entry, I am calibrating a NEC MultiSync LCD2190 series monitor with an i1Pro spectrophotometer, but these are the  same steps if you use another type of calibrator puck. If you use an Eizo monitor, the calibration is through the monitor hardware, so these steps do not apply.

The Eye-One Match software is pretty straightforward – but if you’re not confident that you are choosing the right options within the software, read on.

First step: Pick your  monitor type – LCD or CRT. Flat screen monitors are LCD, monitors with a tube are CRT.

Picture 1

Step Two: Select your white point at Medium White (6500), your Gamma at 1.8, and Luminance – pick custom.Picture 2

When you pick custom Luminance, it will require you to measure a white patch on your monitor. Open Photoshop, and make a new file with white as the Background Content. Zoom in so that the white image takes up the whole screen. Put your calibrator over that white image on screen. Keep lowering your brightness with the monitor hardware until it measures between 51 and 53.  This is how you  set your monitor luminance. Do this every time you calibrate your monitor. The reason for this is that monitors out of the box are set much too bright, and the luminance needs to be turned down.

Picture 3

Step Three: Calibrate your Eye-One device.Picture 4

Step Four: Set the contrast. In the monitor hardware menu, set your contrast at 50%. (I find if I set the contrast at 100% like the software indicates, the monitor is too contrasty and bright for the Eye-one calibrator to work).

Picture 5

Step Five: Set the white point. Using your monitor hardware menu, find the sub-menu where you can manually adjust the white point (it will be under RGB). Make the RGB line up evenly.

Picture 7

Step Six: Adjust the Luminance. In the monitor hardware, adjust the luminance until it matches the target – the number you set in Step Two.

Picture 11

Step Seven: Save ICC profile and Summary Screen. We use a custom name to refer to the monitor this profile goes with. You can click the Before/After to see how your newly created monitor profile shifts from your previous ICC profile.

Picture 14

You’re done! For proper monitor calibration, your computer station should be set up in a room that has little daylight (sorry, you have to cover up those windows!), and is as neutral as possible. If your computer is set up in your home office that you painted orange, you’re going to have to seriously consider repainting – either grey, or ideally, black. Unfortunately, ideal retouching conditions require pretty gloomy decorating options. But if you follow this advice, you’ll have a much easier time getting consistent results in printing, or doing any post-production work. Repeat the calibration process at least once a month.