Andy Franck Photography Blog

2010-06-01

Reblog:

Bye bye pixels

…an interesting point, but mostly valid when applied to photos - text (and vector art) is a different story. The original post’s claim that magazines print at about 300dpi appears to be referring to the general rule that photos should be prepared at 300pdi. However, those photos are then run through a halftone screen at approx. 133-175lpi. There are a number of other factors that make it hard to directly compare the printed page with device screens, but the message of the above post is quite correct.

Text in print remains significantly higher quality than on digital devices. While photos start at 300dpi and are cut down into halftone screens for print, text begins it’s life as a series of vectors and is output at the native device resolution for the printer which can run in the thousands of dpi for offset printing. I’m painting with broad strokes here (both for brevity and because I am pulling rough numbers from memory) but as amazing as some of the new displays are, they’ve still got some catching up to do.

While I disagree with the claim that digital screens are surpassing the printed page (strictly in terms of resolution), I would agree that the print and digital design workflows are converging. I think we will see that this convergence is going to be driven by new and improved tools for creating content as much as by improvements in the devices used to consume content.

2010-05-13

New Business Cards…

click image to view larger

I’m very happy with my new business cards - designed by the good and talented people at Alloy Workshop in Charlottesville, Virginia. While there’s a lot of room to speculate on the current and future relevance of the business card in a market that is more and more relying upon digital communication, I still feel that it makes a great anchor point for a larger identity overhaul. If you are reading this at the time it is originally posted, you are getting an early look at the next step - a new design for my entire website that I will be rolling out in the near future.

2010-04-15

Repost - How I work now – the iMac stand

Another repost from the old blog…

My previous blog post revisited my old computer setup for location photography – the MiniKit. Now, I’d like to show how I’ve been working since the MiniKit was retired. Pictured below is a fairly new 24″ iMac mounted on an Avenger A122 mini low combo stand using a platform I designed and made myself.

In use this setup is surprisingly stable, takes up very little space, and is easy to move around a location. It addresses quite well most of the minikit’s shortcomings. The iMac has the processing and graphics power to handle large files while the stand provides a convenient standing work height and – unlike the clunky metro shelving cart I used to use – it collapses very quickly and is easy to transport.

Now, some details. The first three photos show the top of the work surface and how the iMac is held in place.

Next, here is a look below the platform showing the two struts I made to stabilize the top. The platform is secure without the struts, but they help give it a solid feel.

This photo shows the bag I hang from the back of the platform. Basically the bag contains the end of a three outlet extension cord, the power cord for the iMac, and the power supply for an Epson PictureMate printer. When setting up, I just pull the ends I need out of the front of the bag.

The last picture shows the printer strapped to the side of the platform. The PictureMate’s handle makes it a perfect fit for this application. I use this printer to provide small prints for the clients’ reference. Using Lightroom, I can add customized job-specific information and print on the fly without much extra effort.

2010-04-12

Repost - A Look Back at the Minikit

This is a re-post from my original blog platform which I fairly quickly abandoned in favor of Tumblr. Rather than have it fade away entirely, I’m going to be posting some of the more popular content here…

A few years ago an already old gallery of my computer kit – a Mac Mini and 20-inch Apple Cinema Display mounted in a Pelican case – caught the interest of several Mac and photo blogs. I quickly saw several hundred thousand hits in a few days and still see regular traffic each month. The minikit was retired a few months later, but I have a lot of fond nostalgia for that system and often look back at it to see if I can capture some of that old magic for my next system revision. Because of the apparent continued interest in the minikit, and to provide some insight on how I approach my gear, I’m reposting the images from that gallery here on my blog. Later I’ll post details about my current system; a much different approach than what you see here, but still somewhat unique.

Keep in mind that this kit was originally put together back in 2004-2005. It started as a way to conveniently and safely carry a cinema display that was driven by a 12″ Powerbook. I worked that way for several months until Apple announced the Mini at Macworld in January 2005. I knew it would be a perfect fit and ordered mine minutes after the keynote ended. Despite its limitations the system served me well for a couple of years. Although the need for more power eventually led me to move on, I still miss seeing the ways people would react when they first saw the minikit in action.

2010-03-02

Personal project - the Olio Portrait Series

I have recently completed a series of portraits to help commemorate the one year anniversary of Olio - a creative open forum holding regular events in Charlottesville, VA. I’ll try to update soon with more info, but for now just click the image above to visit a gallery.

2010-02-26

Star Wars posters by Justin Van Genderen - found via Daring Fireball

As Star Wars fans go, I’m the quiet type. I’ve never camped in line or blogged my lamentations about episodes one, two, or three. But I do like this series of travel posters by Justing Ven Genderen representing several locations from the original trilogy. The illustrations lend a vintage look to futuristic themes (that did happen long, long ago after all). Follow the link above to see more.

And yes, I will be teaching my son that Han shot first.

2010-02-11

Old Brass Lens Project - First Test on Mamiya

It’s not very pretty, but I have mounted the old brass lens on my Mamiya 645AFD (to view my introductory post on this project, click here). With a little luck I found a rubber pipe fitting that is just the right size to grab the back of the lens. I then cut a large hole in a body front cap and used a liberal amount of epoxy putty to fasten a piece of PVC pipe to the cap. The pipe fitting and lens can slide on the PVC pipe to allow a decent focus range. As you can see below, it’s not very pretty but it does get the job done…

Early tests are interesting. First, it is difficult to handle. I haven’t figured out its aperture yet, but the view through the camera’s eyepiece is quite dark and lacks contrast. The image never really appears to be in focus. I find it’s best to slide the lens to get as close a possible and then move slightly forward or back until I think I’ve got it. Technically I should be working on a tripod, but honestly I’m not using this lens to get technically perfect images — which brings me to the following point.

The way to get nice images from this lens is to push its flaws. Specifically, it will flare when presented with bright specular highlights - or better still, just let the sun shine straight in. The RAW file will be horribly washed out, but in the digital age, a flat image is an image with a lot of detail. Plenty there to work with to render the scene nicely.

I took the camera out in our mid-atlantic winter wonderland yesterday evening and early this morning and was able to capture some nice samples. Click any of the images below to open a larger version in a new window.

2009-12-28

Perky Bros LLC - found via John Nack

I’m a big fan of letterpress printing and am always happy to find great designs that show off the process. I hope to use letterpress for some of my own materials in the near future. Keep an eye here in the coming months as some design projects are already underway.

2009-12-01

Julius Shulman Documentary

This is not new, but I only recently came across it on the web. It looks like the film is moving to wider, though still very limited, release soon. I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one.

→

Emma Catherine Franck - Born on November 25, 2009

Progress has been made on the brass lens project, but everything was put on hold last week with the arrival of little Emma. So far she’s the most perfect little baby we could have hoped for.