The Wandering Photographer

Photo Printing: A Test of Luster Photo Papers

I would like to start making some fairly serious prints of some of my best photographs, so I decided to get my hands on a selection of papers from a couple of manufacturers and run some test prints.

I ordered an 8.5x11 sample pack from Red River Papers, as well as a small package of Ilford Gallerie Gold Fibre Silk.After a quick test of the Letter size sheets, I followed up by ordering 13X19 versions of the paper to make bigger prints for better comparison

So Here is a list of the Papers tested (Prices based on 13x19 sheets)

My Current Papers

• Epson Ultra-Premium Luster - Resin Coated - $1.54 / sheet
• Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pear - Resin Coated - $1.92 / sheet

New Trial Papers

• Ilford Gallerie Gold Fibre Silk - Baryta Coating - $4.40 / sheet
• Red River Arctic Polar Satin - Resin Coated - $1.18 / sheet

Here are the photos I used for comparison purposes. These are not great shots but I thought they brought something to the test.

 

I chose these because I thought they would give a good representation of what I want to see in a paper. The shot of the Grand Tetons is dark and foreboding. I thought it would be difficult to render. I was right, it gave slightly different results on all papers. Mount Rushmore is a nice standard tourist shot that combines color with the beige rock. The butterflies are intended to see how the papers render bright saturated colors. The Lighthouse is one of my favorite B+W shots and I wanted to see how neutral the papers rendered grayscale images.

I print on an Epson R1900 printer using Epson inks. I have calibrated my display with the i1 Display 2 from XRite. I used printer profiles supplied by the paper manufacturers to do the printing.

Results

Tests of the Semi-Glossy Papers

The Resin Coated (RC) and Baryta papers are of the semigloss or luster type. All four did a very nice job of rendering the saturated colors of the butterfly picture. The Epson Luster, The Ilford Pearl and the Red River Satin were almost identical and either would make fine prints for display. The Ilford Gold Fibre Silk showed slightly less saturation but its lack of a resin coating might contribute to more longevity.

The Mount Rushmore shot showed more differences between the papers. The Ilford Gold Fibre Silk rendered the scene just a bt warmer than the RC papers did. It was note an unpleasant warmth, almost like a slight warming filter was added to the camera. The RC papers were, again, almost identical and slightly cooler than the Fibre silk. It was not bluish but more neutral. All papers did a great job and again I would base my choice on use (sale, or home display) and price.

The Grand Teton Shot showed the differences more starkly.The Epson Luster and the Ilford Gold silk presented an off-putting, slight green tinge to the clouds. The Ilford Pearl and the Red River Satin rendered the clouds as I saw them. It also showed more definition in the dark fir trees and foreground grass. The clear winner here is the Red River Arctic Polar Satin Paper.

The Black and White rendition of the lighthouse also showed the differences in the papers.The Red River Satin gave the most neutral and pleasing version. Second best was the Epson Luster with a very slight pleasing warmness to the shot. The Ilford Gold Silk had a sickly yellow tint and was entirely unacceptable. For black and white glossy photos I think I'll stick with the Red River Paper. If I need to add a tint I will do it in Lightroom.

Conclusion

While there was no clear winner. I will probably keep the Epson Ultra-Premium Luster in my cabnet and will add the Red River Arctic Polar Satin to my repertoire. If the quality of the Satin holds up its cheaper price will make it my everyday media of choice. I will also keep a quantity of Ilford Gallerie Gold Fibre Silk on hand for those special prints where its attributes shine. Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pearl just doesn't stand up to the rest and when my supply is gone I won't be buying any more.

Thanks for Reading my take on Photo Papers. Remember that YMMV and the best way to find a paper you like is to test a batch. Also, it is critical that you use the printer profiles from the paper manufacturer and that you calibrate your monitor with appropriate equipment.

I also tested three Matte Fine Art Papers -- Buts that's another post.

Until next time.

© 2011 Time Marks

Fun with Reflections

A while back, during a Photowalk in downtown Detroit, I noticed the reflections that were present in almost all of the windows. Sometimes they were a distraction and ruined the image, but other times they were fascinating designs and made great pictures.

Reflection in a window in the Greektown District of Detroit

At first glance this looks to be a confusing hodge podge of colors, buildings and people. After a while, though, it began to grow on me. It seems to represent the lights and glitter of a busy entertainment district. My fellow photographer in the foreground represents our goals for the day.

One building reflected in another along Woodward Ave. Detroit

Further along I came across this tall building reflecting the buildings from across the street. I thought that the similar colors and shapes made a nice composition.

More reflections along Woodward Ave.

Turning around this image showed up in my viewfinder. I thought it was the best of the three. 

Whenever I'm shooting in a urban area I try to keep in mind that the window in the building might hold an image every bit as good s a shot of the building itself. Keep your eyes and your mind open.

© 2011 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Easy Black and White with Silver Efex Pro 2

JPEG version of Original RAW file as it imported into LightRoom 3

I captured the above image of The Old Mission Point Lighthouse on a trip to Michigan's Grand Traverse region last Summer. I really liked the composition but like almost all RAW files it needed some post processing to bring out its best.

I took a look at the photo, and noticed a number of things that needed attention in order to make the image reflect what I saw that day.

 Marked up for post-processing

Three of the major problems are shown above. What was a gorgeous blue sky looks faded and boring in the photo. The clouds lack definition and the rails are way overexposed distracting the eye away from the centerpiece of the image, the lighthouse. The entire image looks flat and lifeless.

I opened the photo in Lightroom's develop module and began to process the image.

• Basic Tab - Auto as a starting point
• I adjusted the exposure until it looked right
• I adjusted the black point
• I chose "Strong Contrast" in the Tone Curve Tab
• I set the Vibrance to +43
• In the HSL Tab, I set Luminance Blue -48 and Green -57
• I used the Adjustment Brush to tone down the exposure on the rails

Result is below.

Color Processed version

I thought it looked pretty good except for the fact that I over saturated the sky so it looked a bit garish. That is easily fixed but before I started correcting it I thought, "ya know that might look pretty good in Black and White."

There are a number of ways to convert a color image to B+W. The controls found in both Lightroom and Camera RAW work very nicely and of course you can go through a bunch of steps in Photoshop to get there, but I find working in NIK Software's Silver Efex Pro 2 both satisfying and intuitive.

I opened the image in Silver Efex Pro and started to play with the myriad of presets that come with the program. After sampling a number of them I settled on "High Structure Harsh" ending up with the results below.

Output from Siver Efex Pro 2

Not bad, if I say so myself. Of course there is that nasty bit of flare in the sky (circled). Back in Lightroom I used the Adjustment Brush in Healing mode to replace the flare with clouds. I also further darkened selected spots on the rails to even things out a bit.

The final result is below. I really like the way the clouds form a halo around the tower. I think I'm going to keep working on this one to refine it even more, but as far as I'm concerned this result is not too bad for only about 25 minutes work.

Old Mission Lighthouse at the tip of the Old Misssion Peninsula in Grand Traverse County, MI Half way between the equator and the north Pole (45 degrees North)

Playing around with black and White conversions is fun and rewarding. While I find using Silver Efex Pro easy and fun, if you have any other image editing software, you too can create great Black and White images, just like in the days of Film.

Give it a whirl!

You can see my earlier post about the Old Mission Light here.

© 2011 Tim Marks

Scenes from the 2011 Concert of Colors Nights 1 & 2

 

Below are a few pictures from the first two nights of the 2011 Concert of Colors. Thursday night was a celebration of the African Diaspora at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History. Friday night at the DIA highlighted honkytonk piano and Latin rhythms.

Make sure you come on down and catch the rest of the weekend at the Max Fisher Music Center Saturday and Sunday.

Details at the Concert of Colors website.

Images from Thursday

 

Images from Friday

Saturday and Sunday promise to be even better. Come-on down and experience Detroit at its best.

© 2011 Tim Marks

Detroit's Best Festival: The 2011 Concert of Colors

The Indigo Girls with Alison Brown at the 2006 Concert of Colors

My favorite festival of the Summer is back with more acts and more days. The 19th Annual World Music and Diversity festival, the Concert of Colors, is set to go, starting Thursday July 14th and finishing up on Sunday night July17th. First held in 1994 as a celebration of metro Detroit, its diversity, its music and the music of its people, the Festival's goal is ". . . bringing together metro Detroit’s diverse communities and ethnic groups by presenting musical acts from around the world." (from the COC website).

This year the Concert expands to four days.

Thursday, with doors opening at 6pm, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History hosts a number of acts including African/Hip Hop, Soul, and traditional dance. Over at the Scarab Club the "Woodward Line Poetry" series will present the spoken word and music.

Friday night things move to the Detroit Institute of Arts with Latin Jazz and Blues performances. A screening of the movie "From Britain with Love: Africa United" will be presented. Doors open at 4pm.

 Jazz at the 2006 Festival

Saturday it all begins at 2pm at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. Three stages will be filled with a veriety of music and dance. Acts include; Japanese Drum, Reggae, Irish Folk, Arab Dance, Classical and much more. The evening ends with, what is for me, the highlight of the weekend. Each year Oak Park native Don Was (Was not Was) pulls together a diverse group of Detroit based musicians and puts on the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue. The performances are truly a tour de force of Detroit culture. This year's ensemble includes Mitch Ryder, Melvin Davis, the Muggs and a whole lot of others.

 Former Funk Brother Dennis Coffey rocks the 2010 COC with Don Was playing bass in the background

 The Final day of the Festival opens at 2pm on Sunday at "The Max". The line-up on Sunday is as eclectic as Saturday's. It includes such local standouts as The Layabouts, and the Hamtramck World Music Ensemble. The highlight of the day should be the great Bettye LaVette. Born in Muskegon and raised in Detroit, Bettye has been belting out R&B hits since 1962. Ms. LaVette has lost none of her charisma, she retains her soul.

 Bettye LaVette performing at the Detroit Festival of the Arts in 2006

 This is a festival not-to-be-missed. The music is great and the ultimate goal of bringing us together, a mish-mash of cultures, city and suburbs, black and white, men and women is important and worthy. We may be different, but WE ARE ALL DETROIT.

The entire festival schedule can be found at the Concert of Colors web site.

See you at the Festival.

© Tim Marks 2011

2010 Detroit Concert of Colors Recap

Well this year's Concert of Colors is over and a great time was had by all. The Concert of Colors is the annual Detroit diversity festival that brings together music and people from all over the metro area and the world. This year's show included the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, an All-Star Latin band from Southwest Detroit, The Detroit All-Star revue put together by producer and Oak Park native Don Was, and Kenge Kenge presenting music and Dance from Kenya.

Chelsea Tipton II conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Detroit Institute of Ats on the first night of the Concert

 

The DSO also performed on Sunday afternoon on the Main Stage in Orchestra Hall. Orchestra hall is the DSO's home.

 

Tien-Huicani from Veracruz Mexico performed traditional Mexican folk music Friday night.

 

Kenyan Performers Kenge Kenge brought a piece of Africa to the show.

 

Local native son Don Was put together a show highlighting Music and performers from Detroit's musical past and present.

 

House band for the Detroit Pistons, the Sun Messengers have been entertaining Detroiters with home grown R&B for 30 years.

 

The dapper Andre Williams knocked the crowd out with a rendition of his 1957 hit "Bacon Fat".

 

One of the greatest guitarist to come out of Detroit, former member of the famous Funk Brothers, Dennis Coffey wowed the crowd with his magic fingers. (Notice Don Was in the background on bass)

 

The Southwest Detroit Latin Super Session brought music and dance from south of the border to the concert.

 

Sunday night ended with an inspiring and inspirational 90 minutes by gospel legend Mavis Staples.

Every year the Concert of Colors outdoes itself bringing the world to Detroit for three short days. There is no better way to celebrate the wonderful diversity of the Detroit area. And no better way to see a wide variety of music and dance.

Later on this year you can check out video of the performances of the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue (including earlier year's shows) on his web site, The Wasmapolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music.

Looking forward to next year.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Celebrate the Diversity of Detroit: The Concert of Colors July 16 -18

The Concert of Colors

Celebrate the diversity of the metro Detroit area this weekend. Head on down to the FREE Concert of Colors. As far as I'm concerned this is the music festival of the year. Celebrating the diversity of our great city, is a worthy activity. And did I remember to say it's FREE

FREE Music dance and fun with:

• Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• The Don Was Detroit All Star Review
• The Southwest Detroit Latin Super Session
• Kenga Kenga
• R&B and Gospel sensation Mavis Staples
• Simon Shaheen with the DSO

And much more!

• July 16th at The Detroit Institute of arts starting at 4:00pm
• July 17th at the Max Fisher Music Center starting at 4:00pm
• July 18th at the Max starting at 2:30pm

The festival is completely FREE and a great time for all!

For more information and a full schedule, visit the festival web site at http://concertofcolors.com

Photos are from previous years.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

18th Annual Detroit Concert of Colors July 16-18 2010

The exciting and fun Detroit diversity festival, The Concert of Colors, returns to for its eighteenth year. Presented by the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), the Arab American National Museum, New Detroit, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and, new this year, the Detroit institute of Arts (DIA), the concert is intended to bring all of the cultures in metro Detroit together for a weekend of music, dance and fun.

 The festivities will start at 4:00pm on Friday, July 16^th at the DIA with a performance by the Detroit Symphony (a second DSO Performance will happen at 5:30) followed by the Mexican folk group Tien-Huicani at 7:00. Events Friday evening at the DIA will also include Free admission to the exhibit Through African Eyes: The European in African Art 1500-Present and a screening of a 1931 Spanish language version of the film Dracula.

 On Saturday the music continues down the street at the Max Fisher Music Center (The Max), home to the acoustically and architecturally exquisite Orchestra Hall. Performances on Saturday include traditional Irish folk, Reggae, and African and Jazz/Funk, all leading up to the Don Was Detroit All-Star Review.

 For the third consecutive year Don Was has put together an eclectic group of Detroit based musicians to entertain the festival goers. Each artist or group performs a piece and at the end, the ensemble comes out for a rousing finale. In past years the review has included funk, soul, country hip hop classic rock and punk. This year the line-up presents fifteen acts including Jimmy Ruffin, Gary Quackenbush, Kim Weston and Marshall Crenshaw. The Review is the highlight of the weekend for me. You can see video of the 2008 and 2009 review performers at the Don’s Wasmapolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music.  

 On Sunday the festival continues with the DSO, conducted by Tito Munoz, highlighting soloist Simon Shaheen performing Shaheen’s composition Concerto #1 for Oud and Orchestra. Known for his expertise at Arabic and Western classical music, Shaheen will be a special treat for the Detroit audiences.

 Following a day of diverse music and talent (Asian, Electronic, Steel Guitar and storytelling included), the festival ends with two shows in Orchestra Hall. At 6:15 the Southwest Detroit Latin Super Session will entertain with a varied repertoire from south of the border, followed by the incomparable R&B and Gospel sound of Mavis Staples at 8:30.

 The Concert of Colors is a chance to meet new folk, listen to great music and have a fabulous time. For more information you can check out the festival web site or Dominique's informative article at the Midwest Guest Blog.

© 2010 Tim Marks All Rights Reserved

A Museum for Car Lovers in Auburn, Indiana

When we think of classic American made cars most of us immediately think of Detroit and Ford, GM and Chrysler. Another place to look is Auburn, Indiana, home of the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg Museum. Founded in 1900, for the next 36 years, the Auburn Automobile Company manufactured luxurious performance cars for the upper crust of society. The museum is a paradise for car lovers of all stripes.

The Auburn company produced three name plates. The Auburn was the companies mainstay automobile and in 1903 a new one cylinder Auburn could be had for the princely sum of $1400. By 1932 a 12 Cylinder version of the Auburn could be purchased for $1425.

Introduced in 1929, the Indianapolis 500, inspired Cord was the first production front wheel drive car offered for sale. The price was about $3200. Within months of the introduction of the Cord models the stock market crash of '29 started the company's demise.

The third nameplate was to become the most famous of cars to come out of Auburn. Introduced at the end of 1928, the Duesenberg Model J was aimed directly at the top of the upper crust. Originally selling for $8500 (for the chassis only) Coach work was extra and started at $2500 and went up from there. The mid 1930's price for a completed car ranges in the "mid teens".  These were unbelievable prices for an unbelievable automobile.

The company also entered the fast growing airplane market. Manufacturing quality engines to put the country into the air.

By 1936 the great depression had devastated the company. the Auburn Automobile Company was sold in 1937 after producing just over 177,000 automobiles in its 36 year life span.

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum (ACD Museum) is worth the visit for anyone with even the slightest interest in cars and the life of the rich during the depression. Many of the cars in the museum have a current value well in excess of $1 million. It is located in Auburn, Indiana, 20 miles North of Fort Wayne off of I-69. 

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Newport, Rhode Island: Marble House Mansion

Last week I took you on a sunset cruise of Narragansett Bay off Newport, RI, today I'd like to show you some images of one of the great mansions in Newport. During the Gilded Age, Newport became the summer home for many rich and powerful American industrial and banking magnates. One of the most beautiful and ostentatious was the Marble House.

William K. Vanderbilt and his wife Alva commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design and build a summer home along the Atlantic ocean. Started in 1888 the home was completed in 1892 just three years before Alva and William divorced.

Alva married Oliver Hazzard Perry Belmont in 1896 and moved to the nearby mansion Belcourt. After Belmont's death in 1908, Alva reopened the Marble house and added a "tea house" along the cliff overlooking the Ocean. Alva had a problematic relationship with her daughter Consuelo that was at least partially patched up later in their lives.

Oriental style tea house.

Oriental tea house detail.

Alva became a deeply committed Suffragist and supported organizations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)  and later the more activist National Woman's Party (NWP) founded by Alice Paul. Alva held meetings and fundraisers in both the tea house and the mansion.

The Marble house is listed as a National Historic Landmark and, along with several other mansions in Newport, is open to the public for tours. The property is owned and preserved by the Preservation Society of Newport County. All of the mansions are magnificent restorations and have interesting histories attached to them.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved