THE LINK WITH SILVER HALIDE
We start with existing technology - film in your camera - and explain
in easy-to-understand terms how it is converted into a digital image
for use by your computer.
ACQUIRING YOUR DIGITAL IMAGE
First acquire your digital image. We examine the alternatives:
Photo-CD, Scanners and Digital Cameras.
Kodak's Photo-CD is digital imaging for everyone. Though originally
intended as a consumer product, Photo-CD offers high resolution
digital scans of photographic images on a compact disc at a cost of a
few pence/cents per image. The consumer Photo-CD player allows those
images to be viewed on a television receiver - an 'electronic
lightbox'. Then we use a computer to access the same images from the
same disc, demonstrating the quality which can be obtained - even
from so-called 'consumer' Photo-CDs - looking at the various depths
of resolution available in the 'image pacs'.
Prints or artwork may be scanned on a flatbed scanner, transparencies
or negatives in a film scanner. We examine both reflective and
transmissive scanners.
The exciting future is one of cameras which produce a digital signal
from a light sensitive chip in the former film plane. Though many are
already available, this is still infant technology. We examine and
use them.
THE MERGING OF THE WAYS
The coming together of the skills of photographers, graphic
designers, artists, and film and television directors in the new
world of digital imaging. Business and technological trends.
Extensive demonstrations of both still and moving digital imaging
systems assist us to position today's technology. The full process of
digital imaging, from digital cameras, scanners and Photo-CD, through
image processing hardware and software, to output as both immediately
tangible prints and transparencies, in digital form for reprographic
printing and for use by other display methods.
THE DIGITAL LIGHTROOM
The digital 'Lightroom' might sound like a contradiction but it's
true - Digital Photographers really do do it in broad daylight! The
complete system of digital photography, from taking the image to
processing and printing, can now be carried out without any chemicals
or water and in full daylight. We examine such a system.
DIGITAL PHOTO-RETOUCHING
Desktop manipulation of images using programs such as Adobe Photoshop
offer a wealth of facilities for photo-enhancement and retouching.
Some of these are digital versions of established photographic
techniques, others are new techniques found only in the digital
world.
We examine some of the outstanding facilities which Adobe Photoshop,
Live Picture and Macromedia xRes bring to the control and
manipulation of images on a desktop computer at an affordable price
and, in 'live' demonstration, explore some of the many things you can
begin to accomplish as soon as you start using this software.
PRINTERS AND OTHER OUTPUT
DEVICES
Output is the most important part of any imaging process - its whole
reason for being. The final presentation of the image governs most of
the preceding processes. Some clients require prints or
transparencies, others require a picture in digital form sent on a
disk or tape, or over a telephone link.
We discuss the options. Prints and transparencies produced on dye
sublimation printers; the Iris Graphics ink-jet range; the film
recorder to make conventional negatives or transparencies for
subsequent processing by conventional photographic process; sending
images by modem and ISDN; storage and archive on removable disk and
tape.
We also look to the future of reprographic printing and the first
real revolution in printing since Gutenberg introduced movable type:
direct-to-press systems without film separations or plates.
THE FUTURE
Where do we go from here? We round off the day by taking a look at
where the future signs are pointing.
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