George Schaub

For those who have been working with the latest digital cameras--both
integral and interchangeable lens types--you've probably seen an
option called Raw among your file formats. Unlike JPEG and TIFF, Raw is not
an acronym and therefore we don't capitalize it, and is just what it states--the
"raw" image date received by the sensor and digitized within the
microprocessor of the camera. It is not "raw" in the sense that
it is unfettered or unrecognizable, but it does take image processing software
other than what's in the plain version of some image processing programs
to see it. That Raw software converts the Raw image file format to an image
on the screen and allows you to save it to a format other than Raw--such
as TIFF or JPEG.

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One of the reasons that many people are getting into making prints at home
these days is that inkjet prints are simpler to make and more permanent than,
in many cases, photographic prints (dye based projection, that is.) With recent
advances in ink and paper technology from companies such as Epson and HP we
now see the potential, given proper storage, of digital prints lasting more
than 100 years. Even snapshot size prints, according to Wilhelm Research, from
portable printers like the popular and relatively diminutive PictureMate from
Epson can last three generations or more. And most of the newer printers don't
even require the intermediary of the computer to make very good looking prints.

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The pixels that make up a digital image each have an "address",
a code that defines color, brightness and shades. When we make images with a
digital camera or from film with a scanner we are creating a matrix of pixels
that altogether create the illusion of a continuous tone image. These codes
are not dyes or even densities, but specific information as to how the computer
will interpret the colors and tonal values on the screen. It is only when we
make a print that we leave the "digital" world and enter the world
of dyes and pigments. Because each pixel has a code, basically a bunch of information
that is composed of bits and bytes, we can alter that code to change the "address",
or color and tonal look of every pixel. In this lesson we'll use the Replace
Color dialog box, found in most versions of Photoshop, or under other names
in other programs, to illustrate the point and give you an easy, fun way to
play with your pictures.

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All Photos © 2004, George Schaub, All Rights Reserved

Further Information
Fuji FinePix F810
www.fujifilm.com

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