| Getting started 
A photographer friend
complained recently about a designer who had
Photoshopped one of his portraits, the end result
was a digital mess and it was all the fault of
'you digital guys, who are ruining photography'.
I could see he had a point and examples like this
do highlight the fact that in the age of computer
imaging our photography risks becoming
marginalised. We should of course assert our
rights against derogatory treatment but also take
steps to understand what is going on. I know
computers and digital imaging don't suit
everyone, but all photographers owe it to
themselves to at least learn a little about the
new processes.
Having concluded that I wanted to achieve hands
on knowledge of digital imaging, I was keen to
acquire my own computer system. If you are
thinking of doing likewise, then let me first
caution you. PhotoShop (the leading image editing
software program) may seem easy to start with,
but it will take about six months solid study for
you to become fluent and productive. Not only
that but you'll need to become system savvy in
order to deal with the many crashes and system
conflicts that lie ahead. This is because image
editing pushes any computer to the limits of its
performance.
I use a Power PC Macintosh because my friends and
colleagues use Macs and I personally prefer the
operating system. You could use the same argument
to justify buying a Windows based machine,
especially if you've used a PC in the past and
already own a lot of Windows software. PhotoShop
runs fine on Windows but Power Macs still have
the edge when it comes to image editing and
remember you can only get Live Picture (an image
editing program for advanced users) in Mac
format, nor can you run the later versions of
Adobe Illustrator with Windows. Power Macs can
read windows documents and with the addition of a
special card or software, operate like a PC.
The shopping list I've compiled is based around
the latest Power PC 4400/200. Because the price
of DIMM memory is at an all time low right now
you could purchase this complete system for under
£2,000. However, these prices may differ in
different countries. The most important feature
of the 4400 is its expandability (none of the
other level entry Macs are really suitable). As
computers have evolved to be more powerful so has
their propensity to crash. The older Macs didn't
mind running on minimal RAM memory, Power Macs
are unforgiving and demand lots of memory before
you can reap their full potential. I suggest
starting with 32 MB of RAM memory (16MB fitted
memory + an extra 16 MB chip) but you'll need to
plan for further upgrades (see separate panel) in
the near future.
The Apple multi scan 17" monitor will suit
Mac and PC users and only costs a couple of
hundred more than a 15" screen. Don't buy
anything smaller since you will be spending a lot
of time looking at the screen. An additional 1 MB
of Video RAM (DIMM VRAM) will be just enough to
display your photographs with a decent colour
depth at the higher screen resolutions.
The internal CD ROM drive is essential these days
and will enable you to access Kodak Photo CD
images. The Adobe PhotoShop software program
varies in price enormously. Some people prefer to
buy PhotoShop bundled with a flatbed scanner or
some other special promotion. You can even access
PhotoShop and Live Picture for free with certain
computer magazine CDs - these are fully working
demo versions which are save disabled. Other
software you'll find useful are RAM Doubler from
Connectix and Norton Utilities from Symantec. The
latter will help keep your hard disc in good
shape, and cure many of the common system faults
that occur with regular use.
Other extras to buy, would include a removable
media storage device like a Zip drive or Magneto
Optical system. You need these to backup your
hard disc, to store all your image documents (the
hard disc should be kept as empty as possible)
and for transferring documents to a bureau for
printing. Bureaux should be able to
satisfactorily print PC format files. SCSI
devices such as these external drives necessitate
the installation of a SCSI card if you use
Windows PC. A digitizing pad and pen replaces the
mouse, is easier to draw with and also pressure
responsive. There are a few good books to buy
about PhotoShop which compliment the Adobe
manual. Deke McClelland's PhotoShop Bible is
thorough and explains everything in detail, the
PhotoShop Wow! book is easy to access and
contains good practical examples and expert tips.
The best way to shop is by browsing through the
computer magazines. Mail order companies are best
for price though in my experience service ranges
from excellent to appalling. Therefore always try
to find out if anyone else has had a bad
experience with a particular dealer before
parting with your cash. Computer trade shows are
a good place to find special offers, but again
check who you are dealing with. Remember prices
are always dropping - the system you buy today
could be selling for half the price next year!
Your capital investment is not going to hold its
value.
I've learnt a lot about computers over the last
few years, and I think become a better
photographer for that. I use the computer now
when there is a reason to do so and have learnt
to avoid the creative trap of 'mousing about'
just for the hell of it, which I think is what my
colleague I referred to at the beginning of the
article was so agitated about. Being prepared and
ready to take an active role in the post
production process allows me more overall
creative control, whatever happens in the future.
Improving PhotoShop performance
Microchip processing speed
is expressed in Megahertz, but performance speed
also depends on the chip type. Pentium chips are
faster than 608040 Mac but not as fast as the
Power PC 604. When it comes to image editing, the
amount of RAM memory you have installed is the
key factor - a minimum of 24 MB application
memory is recommended for PhotoShop and Live
Picture. When buying a computer, you want a
machine that can be upgraded with more RAM at a
later date. Newer machines can be upgraded 1
memory chip at a time, with others you have to
install SIMMs in pairs. PhotoShop files require 3
times the file size in available RAM to work in
real time (to store the current version, last
undo and last saved). When memory requirements
exceed the physical RAM memory, PhotoShop uses
the free Hard disc space as what is called a
'scratch disk' . Therefore keep your hard disc as
empty as possible. As your system requirements
grow you'll need to buy a fast hard disc such as
the D2 1 Gigabyte, keep that empty and assign
that as your primary scratch disc.
Displaying a digital image on the monitor is
another bottleneck to overcome. This can be
solved either by installing more video RAM or
fitting a special card (circuit board) into one
of the Nubus or PCI slots. Doing this will both
accelerate display redraw times and increase the
colour depth to millions of colours and at finer
resolutions.
RAM Doubler maximizes the available RAM and
enables you to run other applications
simultaneously. With RAM Doubler, Live Picture
can be assigned all the RAM you have installed.
If you don't have much RAM installed, PhotoShop
performance should improve, but only if you
allocate the full system RAM minus 1,500 K (see
example). Some people suggest it is best not to
use RAM Doubler with PhotoShop if your machine
already has lots of RAM installed.
(1)
(2)
1) (About this Macintosh)
The 'About this Macintosh' dialogue box in the
Apple Menu will show you how much RAM is used by
the system and how much application RAM is
available - see Largest unused block.
2) (Get info dialogue box) Find the unopened
application icon and choose 'Get Info' from the
desktop File menu to change the 'preferred size'
setting .
Megabytes and output sizes
How large does a
file have to be to output as a print or a
transparency?
| Prints
@ 320 lines per inch |
Grayscale |
Colour |
| A6 |
2.5 MB |
7 MB |
| 10"X8" |
8 MB |
23.5 MB |
| A4 |
9.5 MB |
28 MB |
| A3 |
19 MB |
56 MB |
| Transparencies
@ 1,200 lines per inch |
Grayscale |
Colour |
| 6X6 cm
|
6.5 MB |
19 MB |
| 5"X4"
|
19.5 MB |
58.5 MB |
| 10"X8"
|
93 MB |
279 MB |
(above
information courtesy of Metro Imaging)
Shopping list for Macintosh
starter system
Power PC 4400/200Mhz 603e
chip with 16MB RAM, Internal 8X CD, 1.2 gig Hard
disk.
1X 16MB EDO RAM module
1X 1MB VRAM module
Wacom Art Pad II
Apple 17" Trinitron monitor
Iomega Zip drive
Adobe PhotoShop 4.0
Copyright - Martin
Evening 1996. Main photograph of Sylvana
at Gavins models
|
