The Darlow Report
by Andrew Darlow
1/27/10
Greetings! For this edition of Red Dog Journal I offer a quick tip to
place images perfectly when printing to any device, announce a few
photo contests, mention a current photo show on display in NYC,
announce some new training titles, and announce an upcoming Photoshop
printing workshop that I'm teaching in New Jersey.
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Quick Printing Tip: How to Place images perfectly every time
One of the most common questions I get asked is how to properly center
an image on a sheet of paper or how to consistently keep the same
margins. This sounds easy, but in practice, due to variances in the
way some inkjet printers feed paper through the machine, the results
can be erratic. Also, due to the way in which the driver communicates
margin information to the printer, one can go crazy trying to get
perfect placement, print after print (especially if you use different
paper sizes). There are multiple answers to this issue, and in this
case, I will offer a relatively easy answer that works well, but has
one drawback.
Here's the tip: print using crop marks or create a border in Photoshop
or another application. After printing, cut the paper using the crop marks or just
cut inside the printed border. I recommend using crop marks because even if you
are off by a bit, you won't see the lines. However, if you've ever used
crop marks, you will know that once you've made two cuts, you won't
be able to see the other cuts, so I recommend making light lines in pencil
connecting the crop marks so that if necessary, you can erase them
after cutting (see diagram below). The crop marks represent what the application
(such as Photoshop) creates, and the lines are drawn in lightly by hand
(and a ruler!) with a pencil before cutting.
To make crop marks in Photoshop, first create a canvas that has the
image placed on a white background inside of the paper size which
you create under page setup (the screen shot below shows a
3x4 image on a 5x7 canvas with crop marks). Then choose in the upper right
section of the print dialog and Choose "Output," then check "corner crop marks."
That's it. Print and cut! (click on image to enlarge)
Of course you'll need a very accurate cutter to do this, and I wrote
an article all about cutters to help you navigate that step: You can
find it here:
http://www.apogeephoto.com/june2008/adarlow62008.shtml
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"Brace For Impact: the aftermath of flight 1549" Exhibition at Calumet
Photo, NYC
I recently saw the photo exhibition of photographer Stephen Mallon's work
"Brace For Impact: the aftermath of flight 1549," at Calumet Photo in
New York City. I was very impressed by the quality of the images and
huge prints on display. The show ends soon but I believe it will
travel to other locations.
Exhibition info:
January 15th—29th, 2010
Reception Fri. January 15th 6-9,
22 West 22nd Street, 2nd Floor
Viewing Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30, Sat 9-5:30
The blog related to the work is below-the amount of press coverage
related to the work is really amazing:
http://thesalvageofflight1549.blogspot.com/
Signed copies of the exhibition catalog are also available here on
Photoeye.com:
http://photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?
catalog=ZD868&i=&i2=&CFID=5617748&CFTOKEN=26102051
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Tamron Photo Contests
I was just sent this announcement and thought it would be of interest
to our readers:
Tamron USA announces First Photo Contest of its 2010 series: Dusk till
dawn — Deadline march 31, 2010
Four Separate Contests Gives Entrants of Any Equipment the Chance to
Win Their Choice of Selected Tamron Lenses
January 25, 2010, Commack, NY— Tamron USA, Inc announced the first in
its series of four photo contests for 2010: Dusk till Dawn asks
entrants to submit sunrise, sunset and nighttime images by March 31,
2010. The Grand Prize Winner of Contest One 2010 will receive his/her
choice of one of these Tamron lenses: SP AF60mm F2 Di-II 1:1 Macro; SP
AF10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di-II; SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 Di-II VC; or AF18-270mm
F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC. Users of any camera equipment may enter the Tamron
photo contest.
“We have made several great changes in our contest promotion for
2010,” stated Stacie Errera, Tamron’s Chief Marketing Officer.
“Rather than holding one annual contest with just one chance to win,
we expanded the contest program to include a series of contests that
allow many more people to enter as the themes will vary across the
series.” Tamron also opened up the contest to photographers not
exclusively using Tamron lenses. “With so many new enthusiastic
novices entering this hobby, we want to give everyone the opportunity
to acquire one of our lenses through our contest promotions. And by
allowing the winner the choice of lens prize,” continued Errera,
“the contest series becomes more valuable to many more people who
have different needs than just one lens type.”
The “Dusk till Dawn” photo contest entries will be evaluated and
selected by a guest judge, Ken Hubbard, who specializes in landscape
and travel photography. Hubbard, Field Services Manager for Tamron, is
a pro photographer who has had nationwide gallery showings of his
landscape photography. He regularly teaches enthusiasts how to take
better photos at dynamic seminars around the country. You can see his
work at Ken Hubbard Photography.
In addition to receiving the Tamron lens of choice, the winner’s
picture will be showcased on the Tamron website. The winner and twenty
photographers whose images are selected by our judge as Favorites will
have their names and winning images published on the website and on
the Tamron Page on Facebook™ for all to admire.
HOW TO ENTER: Email your low-res images to webmaster@tamron.com,
Subject line of email must read Tamron Dusk till Dawn Photo Contest.
(Winner & Finalists will be contacted for hi-res images). By sending
your images you agree to Tamron’s terms & conditions. Tamron reserves
the right to disqualify any images that do not fit the theme of this
photo contest. Complete rules and an entry form can be found at www.tamron.com
or by accessing the contest page directly at
http://www.tamron.com/enews/archives/contest.asp
Submissions are limited to a maximum of three per person. Pictures
submitted must be original and the property of the photographer. The
contest is open to any person 18 years or older residing in the United
States and all entries must be received no later than April 15, 2010.
Tips on how to take sunset, sunrise and nighttime shots have been
posted on the contest page to help interested entrants take better
images.
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New DVD and Online Training Titles Available from Total Training
I also just received news of some new training titles from Total
Training. Over the years I've learned a lot from their DVDs and they
have a many excellent DVD and online content worth a look. Some of
the newest titles that I think may be of interest to readers are:
Adobe Creative Suite 4: Web Design Bundle
Adobe Photoshop® Elements 8
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2
Character Animation: Fundamentals
For more info, visit
http://www.totaltraining.com
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Upcoming full day Photoshop/printing workshop in Berkeley Heights, NJ
Fine Art Inkjet Printing with Photoshop with Andrew Darlow
April 17th or 18th, 2010 - 10AM-5PM
(choose either day)
This full day lecture and printing workshop with photographer, author
and consultant Andrew Darlow will include:
• Suggested inkjet printers for quality color and black-and-white
printing (emphasis will be on Canon, Epson and HP printers and their
standard pigmented multi-gray inksets)
• Suggested color management hardware and software for inkjet
printing, and how to produce, install and use custom printer profiles;
• Tips for selecting inkjet papers for color and black-and-white
printing
• Demonstration of a step-by-step printing workflow using Camera RAW
and Photoshop CS4 (Mac OSX will be used, but Windows-specific
information will also be covered for those who use Windows);
• Specific Photoshop tips for converting from color to black and
white, sharpening, sizing and what to do and not to do before and
after you convert your files
• Links to and demonstrations of free actions to help optimize print
quality
Sample prints will be displayed and discussed, and each attendee who
supplies a file will have one print of one image printed on either an
Epson or HP pigment-ink-based printer. Paper options will include acid-
free, high quality semi-gloss, fiber-gloss/semi-gloss and watercolor/
matte papers. Each participant will also receive a binder with course
materials and a list of resources and materials, as well as a minimum
of 50 sheets of letter-size fine-art sample papers and canvases.
Enrollment is limited to only seven participants.
Requirements: Some experience using inkjet printers is required. A
working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is highly recommended.
Tuition for either workshop (April 17th or 18th) is $199 (plus $20
materials fee). Registrations are on a first come, first served basis
and will close on March 31. Those who register prior to then will
receive a free 30 minute phone consultation with Andrew, a $100 value.
INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION: 908-790-8820 or email Nancy Ori,
directions will be sent upon registration.
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That's all for now. If you'd like to share any thoughts about my
thoughts, feel free to contact me through the contact form here:
http://www.inkjettips.com/contact-us/
... and here are a few of my social media links if you'd like to connect
(please just mention that you are a RDJ reader for Facebook and
LinkedIn):
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/andrewdarlow
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adarlow
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/adarlow
About Andrew:
Andrew Darlow is a photographer, author and digital imaging consultant
based in the New York City area. He is editor of The Imaging Buffet,
an online resource with news, reviews and interviews covering the
subjects of digital photography and printing. Andrew is the author of
Pet Photography 101: Tips for taking better photos of your dog or cat
(www.PhotoPetTips.com) and 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques:
An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers (www.InkjetTips.com).
He can be reached for private or phone consulting at 732-742-0123.
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