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Resources and Information
Photography and digital imaging

Improving your photography

Online resources that we have found useful, covering different aspects of digital workflows and photography.

We are in the process of updating this page - some links may still not work correctly, however we are trying to find archive copies of more important articles, so that they are not lost.

Can't find what you wanted?

We've a full search of the entire contents of this site via the search box at the top of the page.

Whilst we welcome suggestions - we do not do reciprocal linking - if you have a site with relevant -and- original useful content then let us know.

Please note we are principally looking for sites that contribute original information in the categories covered.

Photographers' sites are ones that Keith enjoyed visiting.

These links are an evolving resource, and like all links on the web, they sometimes fail. We will try to keep them up to date and hope that over time they become a useful reference.

digital B/WFYI: I've set up a LinkedIn group (~4700 members) for people interested in all aspects of Digital Black and White photography: Digital Black and White

Individual Photographers (B/W)

[links checked July 2012]

Landscape - multiple artist sites

[links checked July 2012]

Landscape - colour

[links checked July 2012]
  • http://www.geoffmurray.com/
    Landscape collection, including many of Tasmania.
  • http://www.zhongguohuagallery.com/
    Great images of Tibet from Zhong Guo Hua (inc. some B/W) -link lost
Thank you to everyone who has ever purchased something via these links. If you follow a link and then buy absolutely anything it helps me run this site (the articles are all written by myself in my spare time)
- Keith (Other ways to help the site)
Amazon UK link / Amazon France / Amazon Germany
Amazon USA link / Amazon Canada link

Black and White Photography

[links checked July 2012]

Infra Red photography and effects

[links checked July 2012]

Printing

[links checked July 2012]

Places to ask - useful forums

[links checked July 2012]

Changing inks on a 7600/9600 without wasting huge quantities of ink

[links checked July 2012]

This method was suggested by Rudiger Schafer on the Epson wideformat list. I recently noticed a couple of errors in the menu selection section (6 & 7)"About changing photo/matte black carts - I use the following procedure without draining the printer:(e.g. photo black installed - want to change to matte black)

For purging the old black he suggests the following:

  1. Printer is not switched on.
  2. Open the ink lever.
  3. Replace the photo black with the matte black cart
  4. But, leave the ink lever open!
  5. Go into Maintenance Mode 2 by switching power ON while pushing the 'Paper source', 'Cut/Eject', and 'Paper Feed down' buttons.
  6. Press the 'Paper Feed down' button until you see "SERVICE CONFIG" on the display - press "Enter" button (Should be 'SelecType' - KC)
  7. Press the 'Paper Feed down' button until you see "NPD" - press "Enter" (Should be 'SelecType' - KC)
  8. There are 3 possible settings for NPD:
    0 - no ink check
    1 - pigmented ink (there should be a star "*" at this setting)
    2 - dye inks
  9. change NPD setting to '0' (no ink check) and press "Enter" - a star should show now next to the '0'
  10. Switch printer off.
  11. Switch printer on.
  12. Close the ink lever.
  13. Printer and driver shows matte black.
  14. Print a solid black print-out until photo black in the tubing is all used up (I understand something like 4' on the 9600)"

For purging the old black he suggests the following:

"The 7600 uses ca. 10-12ml of ink before the tube is flushed out. I create in PS an image of the size of 23"x40" and fill it with pure black (RGB 0,0,0). Than I use cheap matt double-weight paper and print that image with 720dpi. When you look at the finished print you see that 2/3 is photo ink as it looks a little bit dull and the rest of the print shows the nice dark matte ink. The system is now charged with matte black.

The 9600 uses ca. 20-22ml of ink. I use the same procedure but the image is 43"x40". "

You can follow the discussion thread on the list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EpsonWideFormat/message/43923

If you consider that an ink change the 'official way' wastes this much ink for all colours, you can see why there is such a huge saving. If we had one real complaint about the 9600 here at Northlight, it would be the huge amount of ink wasted if you want to change black inks - we are very grateful for the tip!

If you are curious as to what over a hundred pounds worth of waste ink looks like - see here :-)

Note -- We printed four 40"x10" solid black rectangles on cheap matt paper to purge the black line. The first 3 were a light black and the third much darker.

There have been reports that you need to reinstall the Epson driver on Macs after doing the change - if you are using a Mac and get 'COMMAND ERROR' on the display, and blinking ink cart lights, then a reinstall might be tried. As with any Epson driver installation on Mac OSX, it's best to run a permissions fix (using the disk utility in Utilities) afterwards. A lot of the drivers for older printers incorectly set file permissions. As general Mac 'housekeeping' it's good to do a permission repair before and after and new software installation anyway.

Changing black inks on the 4880/7800/9800/7880/9880

Printers we've reviewed

Supplies

[links checked July 2012]

Photography techniqes

[links checked July 2012]

Digital image tips and techniques

[links checked July 2012]

Assorted info on using a graphics tablet to work with when editing - I have one and find I just don't use it much, others use them all the time.

Scanning

[links checked July 2012]
  • http://www.scantips.com/
    Very good collection of information on scanning photographic media - for all levels of expertise.
  • http://www.hamrick.com/index.html
    Home site for Vuescan scanner software (Mac and PC) - superb software, I use it for all our scanners
  • http://www.silverfast.com/ SilverFast - Scanner & Imaging Software
  • http://www.clarkvision.com/imagedetail/index.html
    A -very- detailed comparison between scanned film and digital images. Loads more real information for the digital/film debate.
  • http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/microscope.html
    How you can use your expensive film scanner as a microscope - Some interesting pictures from when Keith got bored with scanning negatives one afternoon!
  • http://robertdfeinman.com/tips/index.html
    Lots of tips on getting the best results from your scans. Page also contains lots of other interesting info on digital workflows, image correction and wide angle/panoramic.
  • Eye One scanner profiling
    Using the Eye One with a scan target to get better results from your film or flatbed scanner - also discusses general matters on profiling.
  • http://daystarvisions.com/Docs/Tuts/NegScan/pg1.html
    A very good walkthrough of the scanning process for colour negatives, from Dale Cotton. This is a similar workflow (including FS4000 scanner) that Keith has used in the past with Black and White film. Keith comments:
    • "I scan my negatives and save at 16 bit Greyscale. In Photoshop I do most work at 16 bit and only convert to 8 bit for printing.
    • I try and capture as much information at the start and lose only what won't show up on my print. I find the ability to stack several masked layers of adjustment most useful since the underlying data is only changed when you flatten the images."

Colour Management

It's definitely worth getting to know the principles, as Keith comments:

  • "I've found that an understanding of colour management (even if you don't have the equipment/software to do it 'perfectly') helps no end in the creative process. I'd suggest that getting your monitor right is an essential first step. Whilst it is true that to do it properly requires either an expensive (self calibrating) monitor or some external hardware, there is much to be gained by starting with doing it by eye. If nothing else, you will realise some important things about the human visual system. For myself it then becomes important to get the printing right - having profiles for ink/paper/printer combinations will go a long way towards getting consistent results. The 'default' or 'canned' profiles that are available are often good enough for marked improvements. The less you are concerned with the technicalities, the more time you have to think about your images. You also understand when the technology is a limiting factor. For example, that really powerful bit of colour in an image that just can't be represented with your particular ink/paper combo"

Colour management information on this site

General Colour Management

Equipment and software reviews

X-Rite (ex GretagMacbeth)

June 2012 - X-Rite are shipping updated i1Pro 2 with i1Profiler 1.3
Reviews: i1Pro 2 Basic - i1Pro 2 Photo

April 2010 X-Rite ship V1.0 of i1 Profiler - Full i1 Profiler reviews and information

May 2010 X-Rite annouce new profiling software for Q4 2010 - i1 Match and ProfileMaker Pro will be superseded by i1Profiler later in 2010. We have some notes and press info in the X-rite information section of the Northlight blog. For purchases after April 1st 2010 here will be free upgrades, along with other offers when the software is available.

Sept. 2008 X-Rite and the i1 range

From Sept. the range is simplified to two options. The functionality is the same as we have reviewed, but exactly what you get varies. As a result of this rationalisation, the i1Photo, i1Photo SG, i1Proof and i1XT have all been discontinued, and the i1 range now consists of:

  • The i1Basic - i1Pro measuring device with monitor profiling software
  • The new i1XTreme - professional monitor, RGB and CMYK printer, camera, scanner and projector profiling, plus profile editing

With the i1XTreme you can calibrate and profile:

  • Monitors - LCD, CRT and laptops
  • RGB output devices
  • CMYK output devices
  • Scanners
  • Digital projectors
  • Digital cameras*

*Requires Digital ColorChecker SG Chart - available separately.

Datacolor (aka ColorVision)

  • Spyder4TV HD - Review of Datacolor's Spyder based TV and home cinema calibration kit.
  • Spyder4Express - Review of basic monitor profiling and why you need it.
  • Spyder4Pro - Review of monitor profiling and calibration package (multiple monitor support)
  • Spyder4Elite - Full review of the (multiple) monitor and projector profiler from Datacolor.
  • SpyderCheckr - Colour test target for creating camera adjustment profiles for better colour reproduction.
  • Spyder3Elite V4.0 - Review of the improved and updated software for the Spyder 3 elite - Monitor and Projector calibration.
  • Spyder3express - review of Datacolor's basic calibration equipment and software
  • Spyder3Print SR - Full review of the latest printer profiling system from Datacolor. Updated spectrocolorimeter allows for strip and patch reading.
  • Spyder3Print - printer profiling package for creating icc printer profiles. Allows considerable optimisation of profile qualities, including black and white.
  • Spyder3Pro - monitor profiling with multiple monitor support and ambient light measurement.
  • Spyder3elite - review of the comprehensive monitor and projector profiling system with multiple monitor support and ambient light measurement.
  • Spyder2express - entry level monitor profiling system from ColorVision for Macs and PCs.
  • A review of the Spyder 2 pro monitor calibration system.
  • Projector profiling with the Spyder 2 Pro.
  • Spyder2PRO Ambient light measurement
    The Spyder2PRO now allows you to measure your ambient room lighting conditions before deciding on monitor calibration settings.
  • PrintFIX PRO
    A considerable upgrade to the PrintFIX. The new version uses a Spectrocolorimeter to let you create printer icc profiles (Not sold directly any more - you can ugrade the software for free to Spyder3 Print)
  • Updated PrintFIX PRO - better colour printing and B/W too...
  • PrintFIX PLUS The software only version of PrintFIX PRO that allows you to create icc profiles without your own patch reader.
  • The original PrintFIX review. Printer profiling system (not sold directly any more)

Pantone

  • Pantone Eye One Display LT - monitor profiling. The mid range monitor profiling solution in the trio from Pantone. The measuring device is an Eye One Display LT from GretagMacbeth, and uses the Eye One Match software.
  • Pantone Eye One Display 2 - monitor profiling. The measuring device is an Eye One Display 2 from GretagMacbeth, and uses the Eye One Match software. This review has additional information to that in our original GretagMacbeth Eye One Display 2 review, and compares features between the Display 2, Display LT and Huey.
  • Pantone Huey Pro - review
    Dual monitor support and and improved set of options compared to the basic huey.
  • Pantone Huey - review
    The Huey is a new and relatively inexpensive addition to the monitor profiling market. Keith looks at how it performs, including its novel capacity to modify your monitor setup in response to changing room lighting.

Others

Color Management bookI often get asked for suggestions about learning more about the nuts and bolts of Colour Management.

My usual suggestion is Bruce Fraser's Real World Colour Management. My own copy is well thumbed. It's my first port of call if I'm asked a question and I feel I don't quite understand an issue well enough to be absolutely sure of an answer.

Check latest price/availability from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

RWCM 1st Edition RWCM
RWCM 2nd Edition RWCM

Other Amazon sites
Amazon France / Amazon Germany / Amazon Canada

See some other books Keith has on the shelf, on our Books Page

Other colour management resources

[links checked July 2012]

Note -anything- whatsoever ordered via Amazon helps us run the site - thanks to everyone contributing!
Amazon UK / Amazon France / Amazon Germany / Amazon USA / Amazon Canada

Digital Imaging

[links checked July 2012]

Dust - Digital sensor cleaning (at your own risk)

[links checked July 2012]
  • http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/index.html
    Very comprehensive collection of cleaning info and advice on sensor cleaning. Covers tools and materials. Also includes links to camera manuals for many cameras - well worth noting just for that
  • http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning
    Good step by step info on the process os sensor cleaning.
  • http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm
    A view of the cleaning process, and what to watch for.
  • http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/sensor-cleaning.shtml
    The CO2 cleaner shown is similar to the Tetanal ('tetanal anti dust mini') that Keith uses to get big bits of dust off his 1Ds sensor. Note that by big here we mean 'visible to the naked eye'. Be very careful with any compressed gas solutions, since many of them contain solvents or impurities that could make things worse. If you are still not sure, try them on an old filter and look for any residue. Watch out also for cooling effects, ie don't put a nozzle too close to what you are cleaning
  • http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/How_to/a_Brush_Your_Sensor/a_Brush_Your_Sensor.html
    The cheap way to find the right sort of brush to clean your sensor - the sort that you could pay $100 for if you were not careful
  • http://www.photo.net/equipment/digital/sensorcleaning/
    Clear concise article on cleaning sensors.
  • http://nikondigital.org/articles/ccd_cleaning.htm
    Bad dust - an account of what snowflakes on the sensor is like.
  • Blu-Tack or similar (aka in the US, Tac n' Stik made by Ross, or Duco's Stik-Tack)
    This was suggested by William Curwen on the ProDIG list.
    "Open a fresh packet, and peel back the grease-proof paper without touching the BluTak. Cut a thin needle shaped sliver using a scrupulously clean pair of nail scissors and attach to a matchstick. Make a couple of dozen, and use a small-point light source to show up any dust on the sensor. Just align up the Blutak needle with a speck of dust and gently stab it once. That is, just tap it as gently as you can - once, and put the BluTak needle down, and pick up another one for a stab at the next speck of dust. I hope I explained that properly."
    Brilliant idea - We've not had need to try it yet, but it might be worth having some practice attempts on an old glass filter first. The bits of Blu Tack are also useful for picking up dust elsewhere in your camera before they get onto the sensor.
    Another useful idea suggested, was to keep double sided tape on the inside of your lens and body caps. The idea is to catch dust before it gets into the camera body.
  • Advanced Camera Services in Norfolk, UK - did a good job giving my equipment a thorough clean after a few weeks travelling. Although I clean my own sensor with wide swabs and Eclipse fluid, it helps to give equipment a good clean and service every so often. They also sell a wide range of cleaning products as do CameraClean.co.uk - who's site also has lots of useful cleaning tips and info.

Camera Drivers and software

Manufacturers

See also: How to install Canon EOS software without the original CD

Other areas of our site that may be of interest...

New site features and some of Keith's latest work are covered in the News, articles and reviews page.

Visiting Leicester? If you'd like to see what some of it looks like, we have views from the Leicester traffic cameras.

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