Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography Signed Copies Now Shipping!
Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography Special Edition Limited Edition Slip-cased edition with original print Now Shipping! Some still available from early edition numbers at the best price.

• printing
• profiling
• image editing

We're offering an 11x11 inch print, matted to 16x20 and ready to frame for $195, framed for an additional $75. This print at this price is offered through July 30. We'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by August 15th.

About the Program
Each month we offer a signed, original print, at a special price. This is a great opportunity to own a very affordable fine-art photograph. Orders are taken for a 30-day period, then printed and shipped within two weeks after the close. When it's over, it's over, these prints won't be available again at this price.

As I come down to the last of the prep for the publication of my book on the national parks, a few substantial challenges remain. I've decided to share some of the process and considerations with my readers.

Last fall, in updating the book and reviewing parks included and photographs, the book expanded to over 300 pages instead of the contracted 256. This allowed me the freedom to reshape some of the approaches and reorganize sections in ways that has made the book stronger. As many in this audience may well know, the costs of book production run very high, and it has never really been an option to expand the length. So now the challenge is how to edit the work back to its production length, while still retaining the character of the more expansive design and layout. The text and inherent strength of the included photographs will ultimately dictate what stays and goes, with the eyes of many trusted colleagues and friends lending input.

In reviewing the photographs made, a real tension has developed thematically between the thousands of photographs I made with 35mm digital SLRs and the large-format scanning photographs. Most of these were made with the Kodak DCS460, but the work continued all the way up through my use of the Canon 1Ds II. These are often more intriguing than they seemed when shot, as the RAW processing is now dramatically more advanced than what was available in 1995. There are obviously so many more of the handheld photographs to choose from, many in weather that the large-format work simply couldn't be used in, others simply fleeting moments that would be lost by the time the 4x5 was set up. All of the aerial work was made with the digital 35s. Adobe Lightroom has made this process a pleasure. Reviewing these again and looking for the gems has turned into a exercise in presenting myself with way too many choices. No doubt many will be included as some already have, but it is almost an entirely separate body of work, with its own integrity and point of view.

An additional design and inclusion issue has come up as many of the 2mb preview files from the BetterLight scanning camera have an exposure time and movement quality that is quite intriguing, more so in many cases than the full resolution 140mb files. These preview files are not large enough to go full page, so in some cases are currently featured as smaller images integrated into text or on multi-image pages. This approach changes the rhythm and cadence of the book, and I am looking hard at whether this actually works and the inclusions are important enough for such a change.

Despite many good efforts over the years, my tracking of image indexes and various additional data such as GPS has become somewhat scattered and in some cases I am having to go in and relocate sites on memory and simulated views in Google Earth. This has proved fascinating and deeply informative, as many unnamed features in my notes become known, and consequently the captions and understanding of the scene become more informative. Recently the GPS data was found after I had relocated the site virtually, and I was amazed at how close my derived location turned out to be. In short, the whole exercise continues to deepen my understanding of these complex and wonderful places.

These are a few of the current issues to be worked through. I should shortly have the edits from my editor, then the last round begins.

Book Reviews
Book Comments online

From RAW to Print in One Week
Summer Digital Boot Camp

An intense immersion into digital photography with one of its pioneers. In five days you will go from perhaps not even understanding what a RAW file is, to making well-crafted and thoughtful prints. Some fieldwork and extensive lecture and lab work will fill our time together. Every student will have full access to their own workstation in our lab. Topics include practical experience with digital exposure, RAW processing, image editing, color management and printing.

Included in the workshop is a copy of Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography, courtesy of O'Reilly Media.

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Fine-Art Digital Printing Hands-On
August 23-26, 2007
Stephen Johnson Studios & Gallery
Pacifica, California.

This workshop focuses exclusively on improving your fine-art digital printing in our new Digital Lab, primarily using Epson inkjet printers. Concentration will be on inkjet printing with color pigments and black/gray ink combinations on coated and rag papers. Learn from the digital pioneer how he obtains his impressive results during four days of lectures, printing, and feedback in the studio.

We will cover workflow issues, color management, correcting color casts, adjustment layers, custom profile generation, editing and inspection. There being no magic bullet to making good prints, the workshop will also explore old fashioned testing, careful color judgements and interactive honing in on the best print possible.

Fundamentals of Digital Photography

This is an exciting exploration of photography's powerful new digital tools with one of the most knowledgeable artists in the field. This class is designed to provide you with the background and understanding to transition your work into the digital realm. The digital basics are covered here, in real world terms, with care to make sure the concepts are understood and the complications simplified. Those basics are built on to tackle the thorny issues of camera design and choice, data storage, color management and printing.

Arrangements can be made to work with Steve individually at his studio or at custom locations. Call for a discussion of the possibilities. 650 355-7507

Maine Photo Workshops
The Digital Landscape, July 8-13
Fine Art Digital Printing, July 15-20

March PCPhoto Magazine: Panoramic Article
ASMP NorCal April Newsletter: Reprint from book
Newsday, June 5th. Article on Digital Printing

Hewlett Packard Z3100 Printers

First, a word of disclosure, I helped design these printers over the last four years with many trips to HP's Large-format printer unit in Barcelona. They built much of what I and some others suggested.

The printer's main feature is its built-in Gretag/X-Rite Eye-One spectrophotometer and profile creation software, giving it the ability to make custom profiles of any inkjet paper you choose, those from HP or anyone else. The profiles are remarkably good and embedded in the printer once created. The profiles can also be downloaded to your computer so that Photoshop can do the color management if you choose. The HP Z3100 is producing the best first prints I've ever made.

Added to this mix is HPs new Vivera pigment inkset which is giving me good color and in Henry Wilhelm's accelerated aging test is lasting over 200 years.

I'll be writing more as time allows.

We finally have some inkjet papers that begin to resemble traditional gelatin-silver photographic papers. Companies like Hahnemuhle, Crane, Innova and PremierArt now have on the market viable papers with a heavy gelatin coating, capable of making very handsome color and black and white prints. I found I have been able to use the matt blacks inks normally made for rag papers (like the Hahnemuhle Museum Etching which I designed).

These papers are about the same or a little heavier than double-weight gelatin-silver paper, 15 grams for an 8x10 silver print, averaging about 17 grams for the new inkjet papers (8.5x11 trimmed to 8x10).

• Hahnemuhle PhotoRag Pearl, and Fine Art Pearl
• Crane Museo Silver Rag
• Innova FibaPrint and FibaPrint Warm
• PremierArt Platinum Rag

Tuesday-Friday 10am to 5pm.
$25 per hour, plus a per print charge

Includes full access to calibrated monitors, fast G5 Macs, Epson pigment inkjet printers, 5000°k viewing lights and color profile creation hardware and software.

Appointments can be made by calling 650 355-7507.
Familiarity with Mac OSX and Photoshop CS2 or 3 or Adobe Lightroom recommended. Staff tutorials available for additional charge.

Digital Portraits by
The Studios of Stephen Johnson Photography

• Instant Feedback
• Special prices
• Satisfaction or no fees

 

Snake, watercolor by Mary Ford

Services:

• Artwork Copying
• Custom Printing
• Custom Profiles

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Pacifica Center for the Arts from Linda Mar Boulevard

We're open by appointment. To find us, use our map online at:

Map to studio
Studio directions and site layout.

To communicate with us regarding the list, email: sjphoto-news@sjphoto.com

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