Screen Calibration... more important that you think!

Hi again readers!

Two blog posts in two weeks... something must be wrong at Sean Farrow | photography HQ...

I'm going to dedicate this blog post to a subject that many aspiring photographers seem to gloss over. One that is of incredible importance when it comes to your own post-processing work. That subject is Screen Calibration.

Have you ever worked on a shot, made it look spectacular and full of colour and life, only to have a large and expensive enlargement made for yourself or even worse, a client, and had the print come back dark, underexposed and lacking that pop you had on your screen? I know I have... and most of you out there will have too. It's quite disappointing and can make you question your technique.

I also see loads of uploads on social media and photo sharing websites from amateur and hobby photographers that are chronically underexposed and have weird colour shifts, especially prevalent in longer shutter speeds where exposure value and luminance become critical. To be fair, the photographers themselves can see no issue with the way the image looks, and it, in most cases, will look spectacular on that screen, but the issue is the screen, not the image it's self.

This phenomena can be attributed to a whole host of factors, most of which we don't need to discuss in this article, but the one factor that I personally think is more important than any is Screen or Monitor Calibration.

In short, this is the process of setting your screen up in such a way that the colours, contrast and gamma settings accurately represent the image from the screen to the end print. There is numerous ways to achieve this, some better than others, but I HIGHLY suggest purchasing yourself a good quality monitor and a calibration kit. Monitors to look out for are anything that uses an IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel. Some companies will be charging an absolute premium price for something that is essentially the same as something half it's price, simply because they market it as a "Photography" monitor, so do your homework.

Then you'll have the companies that advertise (and the people who buy will argue) that their monitor ships to you "Pre-Calibrated"... right... pre-calibrated to what? Like a Dave Chappelle stand-up gig, this cracks me up every time! This might get you in the ballpark, but you're not in the game yet. The lighting and conditions in your workspace are unique to your workspace. This is where dedicated calibration hardware comes into play.

There's a whole host of monitor calibrators out there, and they basically do two main things: 1. They are placed directly on your monitor and sample colour, brightness and gamma readings to create and optimized profile for your equipment, and 2. They can monitor ambient light levels and adjust brightness and contrast accordingly. Some will argue that the 2nd point isn't really needed. I personally find it absolutely essential. It's down to personal preference at the end of the day. The main manufacturers of this equipment are Datacolor with their "Spyder" range, and Pantone with their less costly "Huey" range. I've used both, and can notice little, if any, difference in profiles between the two. I personally use the Huey system and get nothing short of spectacular results every single time! I've not been asked to endorse, and have not received any compensation from either of these companies. This is just my personal findings and opinions.

Once you've installed and calibrated your gear (I won't go into this here, but it's very simple), you'll notice your screen is probably not as bright, or as saturated in the red tones as it once was. This is a GOOD THING. You're screen is now much closer to the values you'll see in your prints, as long as you're soft-proofing with appropriate profiles as you should be, and converting to printer profiles during saving, but that's a subject for a whole other blog entry.

Good luck with all your own calibration and subsequent post processing. I have a feeling you'll find your workflow will be much more consistent from proof to print.

Sean.

www.seanfarrow.com.au

Hi Readers,

This is my first blog post since early in 2012. I've let things slide a little since then, mostly due to a 3-month long stint through the USA and Canada between March-June 2012, and heavy work commitments since.

Well today marks a milestone in my photographic career. My new website, www.seanfarrow.com.au goes live today. All fine art limited edition quality photographic work. I'm steering away from the mass-produced market.
The project started after a weekend shooting in the Victorian High Country with friend and fellow landscaper Chris Munn. Discussing business moves and marketing, I decided it was time to go or get off the can, so to speak. Since mid-October, I've been madly developing the site and producing products. So while the site is live, the store isn't, all price lists are currently switched off until mid-January 2014. This is for several reasons, but the biggest being that I can't fill orders while I'm on the other side of the world.

On that note... in exactly one week Nicole and I will be boarding a plane to Helsinki, Finland. We'll be heading north from there to Levi, a small fell located not far from Kittila in Finnish Lapland. What that means for most of you is that it's far above the Arctic Circle. We'll be spending time with Nicole's family, and I'll be chasing the fleeting Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights) during the long polar evenings. Following from the Arctic we spend another few days near Helsinki, then off to London, England for a week before heading home.

So preparations have been busy and we're all set to go!

I'm hoping to squeeze in some coastal shooting when we return and make the most of the warmer weather, if the tides permit of course, before the work slog takes over once again and time to shoot is rare!

Have a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year everyone!

Here's a small handful of shots from the last 18 months... enjoy!

Sean.






Bridgewater Bay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia.

Milky Way over Flinders, Victoria, Australia.

Aurora Australis, Flinders, Victoria, Australia.









Sunrise, The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA.

My new 2012 Calendar and Hanging Out with Ken Duncan

Hi again everyone,

Well the last few weeks has been pretty hectic, both with work and photography.

Handing over the proofs to Sam and Briony Breese after their wedding in October was so satisfying. They absolutely loved the shots, which always makes all the hard work worthwhile.

I also managed to get out for a seascape shoot at Portsea Back Beach on the Mornington Peninsula. This would be one of my favorite places on earth. The secret location was pointed out to me by good friend and fellow photographer Nick Skinner. A pretty cool spot by all accounts, a bit tricky to get to though, as some climbing over precarious rocks during tidal shifts is required. Slapping a polarizer and a couple of grad filters over the setting sun made this place explode with colour!

This shot is also featured in my new 2012 calendar "A Southern Exposure". It's my pick of water-themed shots taken over the last year along the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas, the Bass Coast, Phillip Island and the Yarra Ranges here in Victoria, Australia. Since the first handful arrived on my doorstep last Thursday they've been quite popular, and I already have to back-order another run to keep up with demand. I'm astounded at the quality of the product that Redbubble have produced for me, the A3-sized layout and sharp, vibrant images look amazing... and for just $25+ delivery, they make a great addition to the wall for the next 12 months, or grab one as a present for someone. "A Southern Exposure" is available here.

Last Saturday I was again lucky enough to spend a little time with Ken Duncan. For those of you who don't know who he is, Ken Duncan is probably Australia's most famous and talented landscape photographer, and probably most notable for his stunning 3x1 wilderness "panographs" and photographs of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. He was at his Melbourne gallery for an exhibition of his new work shot with the most drool-worthy Phase One P645 digital camera, and to launch his new book. So my friend Aidan Curtis and I hopped in the car and off we went. Ken and his wife are always so warm and welcoming, and Ken always has lots to share and will make the effort to spend time with every person there. It also gave me the chance to catch up with friend and talented large-format landscape photographer Chris Munn. Chris's work is absolutely beautiful, and like Ken Duncan, shoots predominantly in the 3x1 panoramic format that the 617 large format film cameras create.

So head to my store, grab yourself a bargain, and grab a print while you're there, or maybe some gift cards for your holiday presents, and until next time, catch you later!

Cheers,

Sean.

All quiet on the western front!

Hi All,

It's been a few weeks since my last update. This is due mainly to a huge increase in my workload (I'm a network administrator and IT tech full time... and then some) due to staff changeovers and misguided staff implementing several large projects at the same time, never a great idea. This has meant less time (read: no time) for my personal work, and I'm itching to get shooting when possible!!!

In the last few weeks though I've finished processing shots from a maternity session I did for some friends/clients, which I'm quite happy with.


Also, I performed a commercial shopping center shoot for the Centro group close to home. That was an interesting day I can tell you. The day started well, the centre manager called me to confirm I was still going to be on site, and let me know that all management staff and security staff would be briefed as to what I was doing... seems straight forward. I arrive on site and begin the external shots, which were no problem. I then move to start the internal shots and within shooting 3 frames I have the local centre manager tearing towards me yelling and carrying on that what I'm doing is illegal and I'm to vacate at once!!! Perplexed, I explain the situation and he retreats unwillingly, no doubt to call my client and realize he hadn't checked his phone messages and/or email and feel like a right clown for making such a scene in the first place. One can't help but laugh... no point getting worried.

So I finish up with the internal shots and head down the road to perform a few external shots at another of their sites, and immediately everything turns bad. The traffic is horriffic, the weather turns bad, myself and my equipment get doused when the heavens open.... so I snap the few externals and run for the car, hoping what I got is good enough (as it turns out I'm a bit dubious, but I've informed the client and will re-shoot if needed). On the way back I dropped in and visited an old school buddy of mine who now operates his own wedding and portrait photography business, Studio Que. His work is absolutely stunning and it's great to see him getting ahead in something he loves.

So all in all not so bad a day!!!





So with my business shoots taken care of I decide to head down the Mornington Peninsula to shoot some landscape/seascape work at a place I'd never shot at: Sphinx Rock, wedged between Sorrento and Portsea ocean beaches, in the Mornington Peninsula National Park. This was the best idea I'd had all week. The sun was setting beautifully, the tide was low, enabling me to get right out to the shore break on the wonderful rock shelves that dot along this coastline, and there were few people about due to the cold.
So off I go, dry shoes and socks and a towel in the car as I do get up close and personal with this kind of shooting.

The first stack of shots were difficult to maintain due to some hard light, but as the sun sank lower and the light softened and wamed, things began to fall into place. I came away with a handful of shots I'm very proud of.







Then... it's back off to work for me, and the nightmare hasn't let up since. I normally wouldn't rant about that here, but it really is getting beyond a joke at one of my sites, to the point of affecting my personal life and health in a major way... somethings gotta give!!!

So I'm hoping to head out for some landscape or achitecture shoots again very soon, when that will happen, I don't really know yet... I can be sporadic and random when it comes to my landscape work.

At this stage I only have one wedding shoot booked for the rest of the year, which should be a bit of fun. Apart from that I'm not booking major projects like that due to the theft of my time and energy by unsavory influences, lol.

Don't forget to visit my Redbubble Gallery and Web Store and my Website, and most of all, thanks for reading and for all of your support!!!

Cheers big-ears!!!

Sean.