Northlight Images Photography

iPrint Pure 3D printable plastic film

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:07:06 +0100

Keith tests out a printable plastic film (500 micron) which has a 3D 'bubble wrap look to it - very interesting look for the right sorts of printed images

Eizo CX 240 24" 10 bit monitor review

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:05:47 +0100

Review of Eizo's 24" LCD monitor. Almost full Adobe98 gamut and automated calibration verification, along with 10 bit colour

Epson R2000 - full review

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:58:53 +0100

Detailed review of Epson's R2000 A3+ pigment ink printer

Preview - Kuuvik capture software

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:52:03 +0100

A look at the functionality of new (Canon) camera tethering software Kuuvik Capture.
Currently in Beta testing and available as a free (Mac) download

PPL TSE-Adapter - a review

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:53:22 +0100

A mount for Canon 17mm and 24mm TS-E lenses. Keeps the lens stationary, whilst the camera is moved for shift functions. Eliminates parallax problems when stitching images.

PermaJet Titanium Lustre 280 - review

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:07:14 +0100

A review of PermaJet's new 'metallic' finish lustre paper. The surface sheen gives an interesting option for printing g higher contrast colour an monochrome images.

Canon Pixma PRO-10 review

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:54:19 +0100

A detailed look at Canon's A3+ pigment ink printer, the Pixma PRO-10. With a number of additional features over the 9500 mkII, and without the extra grey inks of the PRO-1, Keith Cooper has been looking at its use and the quality of prints it can produce.

All of the Nik plugins for $126

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:39:03 +0000

Special offer until 1st April

The entire set of Nik plugins available for just $149 - we have a discount link you can use to get another 15% off this price

Book review: The Digital Zone System

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:11:14 +0000

Keith Cooper reviews Robert Fisher's book: The Digital Zone System: Taking Control from Capture to Print

The book covers all aspects from exposure to printing, and introduces an editing technique that gives very precise control over tonality

Making a picture - from idea to print

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:16:03 +0000

Making a picture - from idea to print. Why did I use a particular image of a place to make a print?

I've looked at what went on when I stopped the car for 15-20 minute one morning, and how I took just one of the photos taken to make a large black and white print (showing all the editing).

Taming contrast enhancement halos with Silver Efex Pro

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:41:35 +0000

Using Nik Silver Efex Pro multiple times on one colour image can let you vary the effects of the colour to black and white conversion with more control over artefacts such as halos.

Using the Gigapan Epic Pro with a survey tripod

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 15:44:31 +0000

With a basic adapter, it's easy to use a survey tripod and tribrach as a very solid mount for a GigaPan. Much easier to use than my day to day tripod and head for this type of work.

Autopano Giga V3 review update

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 21:57:42 +0000

Review of the update to V3 of Autopano Giga panoramic image stitching software, by Kolor

Camera setup and colour management for product photos

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:10:49 +0000

Some observations about camera setup, after a recent large product photography shoot.

Scanner profiling with i1Profiler

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:58:35 +0000

X-rite have added scanner profiling to the functionality of i1Profiler, with their latest update (V1.4.2)

The review takes a very basic scanner and software, showing a distinct improvement in scan quality, using just a standard ColorChecker card for creating the ICC profile.

Watch out for fake camera batteries…

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:38:11 +0000

Some of the pitfalls of buying cheap batteries for your camera.
Canon in the US have produced a guide to help spot fakes

Review - Nik Dfine V2.0

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:36:54 +0000

Full review of Nik Software's Dfine 2.0 plugin. Noise reduction for images, both localised and global.

DxO ViewPoint V1.1 - review

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 17:19:04 +0000

Plugin and application for correcting image geometry problems, particularly when using wide angle lenses

Diminishing returns – the new photo equipment question

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 17:17:19 +0000

Is it worth buying new camera equipment, and just what improvements does it give - what about lenses and printers

Review - Nik HDR Efex Pro V2

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:55:14 +0000

A detailed review of the latest version of HDR Efex Pro.
A Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture plugin for the creation of HDR (High Dynamic Range) images

Experiments with old lenses - teleconverters

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:03:33 +0000

Making use of old teleconverter lenses - hardly great image quality, but makes your camera look impressive…

Some experiments with old lenses from the 'junk box'

DxO Optics Pro V8.0 review

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:13:49 +0000

The latest version of DxO Optics Pro, incorporates improvements in image processing and workflow.

Keith Cooper has been looking at whether it's still a tool of choice for some of his photography.

Canon pixma PRO-1 printer review

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 18:58:06 +0000

Detailed review of Canon's Pixma PRO-1 A3+ sized printer.

12 inks and 35ml ink tanks reduce A3+ ink costs, but what's it like to actually use?

So, your friends say your photos are good…

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:56:20 +0000

We often get asked 'Are my photos good enough to be a pro photographer'

Most of the time this is simply the wrong question to be asking.

Keith looks at why having friends that like your work may be nice, but essentially means nothing...

Simple focusing of tilt lenses

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:26:32 +0100

A simple iterative technique for achieving focus of a tilted lens, placing the tilted plane of sharp focus just where you need it

Producing better photographs

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:50:24 +0100

After giving two recent talks about photography to local photographer's groups, Keith has collected together some tips about things to look at for improving your photography.

Ranging from composition to print sharpening, they reflect aspects of photography that can give a noticeable improvement to photographs without needing to buy expensive equipment.

ColorMunki Smile - monitor calibrator review

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 23:12:24 +0100

The new ColorMunki Smile from X-Rite was recently announced as their entry level monitor calibrator.

Keith Cooper has written a review of the device, which is easily one of the simplest calibrators to use, offering a single profiling setting, but supporting multiple monitors.

After the Photokina show…

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 16:08:06 +0100

Some brief thoughts about what was announced at Photokina and what it suggests for trends in photography

Review - Photo Ninja - a new RAW converter

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 19:18:35 +0100

An all new RAW converter that includes Noise Ninja noise removal. I've been trying out V1.0 of the software and I'm impressed with the quality of its handling of less than optimal RAW files.

St Mary de Castro spire appeal - architectural photography

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:56:26 +0100

We've been helping a local church with their appeal towards repairing the spire. St Mary de Castro church in Leicester dates from the 12th century and the spire from 1400.

Keith has produced a number of fine art prints, making use of some of our advanced architectural photography techniques. He's also been up into the spire to document some of the huge cracks that threaten the tower, if rebuilding work isn't carried out soon.

Kodak - Again, the death of film… pt.94

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 11:46:58 +0100

Kodak needs cash, so it's to sell its film division. Film will live on, just not so much of it, a lot more expensive, and with fewer places to get it processed...

Re-using the zone system?

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 14:03:37 +0100

Does the zone system - first developed over 70 years ago, still have a place in digital black and white photography?

Macrophotography and a sense of scale - photographing tiny stuff

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:54:52 +0100

Photographing tiny things may be a technical challenge, but sometimes you need a sense of scale to create photos a little more dramatic and attention grabbing.

Review - HDR Expose 2

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:22:07 +0100

Review of HDR Expose 2, software to create HDR images and edit them (includes tone-mapping and adjustment). Also covers Float32 plugin for HDR editing support.
Also functions as plugin for Lightroom and Aperture