Eye 1: The Frame Shape

This article is part of my series on the study of 'The Photographer's Eye' by Micheal Freeman.

Michael Freeman starts out his book, The Photographer's Eye, by defining the shape of the image we will spend the rest of our study discussing. We call this, the Frame Shape. When we refer to the Frame, we are referring to the area of the image or the dimensional space that the image will occupy. It does not matter what the image is shown on - a camera lcd screen, a monitor, paper, film, etc. The Frame, or Frame Shape, represents the same area.

So what shape is the Frame? There are at least four common shapes. Three of these shapes are rectangular and one is square. The most common of these shapes is the 35mm format from shooting images on film. Digital cameras offer multiple format sizes, though, so whether 35mm remains to be the most common only time will tell.

35mm Frame Size

A 35mm negative has a size ratio of 3:2. This means that for every 3 measurement units across that the negative has, there are 2 of the same measurement units going down. In actuality, a 35mm negative is 36mm x 24mm, but it is referred to as 3:2. Wikpedia has a very good article on 135mm film, more commonly called 35mm film. Note that while 35mm film was introduced in 1934 for still images, it was actually introduced in 1892 by William Dickson and Thomas Edison, according to an article on 35mm film for cinema. In any case, the 35mm format was created to balance the cost of making the film with the quality of the image obtained. This balance was struck well enough that the 35mm format has maintained it's presence for over 100 years.

However, the balance of cost vs quality of image does not necessarily provide an optimal ART format. Creating an image that has meaning and impact may not work as well with a 3:2 format as some other size. For example, many framed images, many art paintings, many magazine and book covers are all some other size ratio than 3:2. So if an image was created in 35mm, it had to be cropped for these uses.

There are images that favor a 35mm format, or a 3:2 Frame. Tall images, like images of the Redwood Forest, favor a 3:2 format because of the long, narrow subject. Buildings, tall waterfalls, long horizons and other length oriented subjects favor the 3:2 Frame.

4:3 Frame Size

It is no accident that many digital cameras now include a 4:3 aspect ratio. As Michael informs us, this ratio or Frame Size "accurately reflects the real world sizes." The 4:3 Frame is much closer to representing the types of images noted above. In fact, the large format camera uses negative sizes that are 4x5. While this isn't an exact representation of the 4:3 Frame Size, it represents an area just a little larger. Thus, cropping to a 4:3 ratio from a 4x5 negative doesn't remove much of the image. This is no accident.

The ratio of 4:3 represents a decimal of 1.3333. That of the 4x5 (which is 5 divided by 4) represents a decimal of 1.25 and 35mm formats (3:2) represents a decimal of 1.5. These decimals can be equated to percentages and represent the increase of the longer side of the image from the shorter side. Since the shorter side of the image must be used to maximize the negative used when cropping, this method of comparison is valid.

Thus, if the best presentation ratio is 4:3, or 133%, then the 4x5 negative at 125% is only 8% less whereas a 35mm negative is 150% or 17% more. The only point here is that to go to a 4:3 Frame Size, a 35mm negative will have more of the image cropped out than a 4x5 camera. Unfortunately, the cost of 4x5 photography is generally far greater than 35mm photography. That is, until the use of digital photography came about providing multiple ratios available with the same equipment.

Wide Image Format

The wide image format, normally using a 16:9 ratio, has also become a common option on digital cameras. This format is increasingly more popular for landscape and panoramic type photography where wide area coverage is desired. Without the ability to stitch multiple images together or capture an image with a wide digital sensor (CCD), the ability to create quality images of this type is limited and potentially much more difficult. Due to the limited application of this Frame Size, we will not discuss it further. However, for specific applications, this format can produce stunning results.

Square Formats

Square formats are not very common because not many images capture a subject which is square in nature. As we will learn going forward, having too much extra space around a subject may detract from the subject itself and not provide a very pleasing image. That being said, there are certainly applications for square images or a square Frame. Circular subjects, square subjects, diamond shaped subjects and subjects grouped in these shapes all lend themselves to a square format. Film and digital formats do not include square negatives, however, and to produce a square Frame, cropping will need to be performed.

Conclusion and Exercises

For an affordable film format, 35mm is the most common. When using a digital camera, frequently the 3:2, 4:3 and 16:9 formats are available giving the photographer a choice of Frame Size to use. Whatever medium a photographer chooses, there will inevitably be cropping involved. Remember to first shoot the image for the composition and crop later. It is better to crop an image than never have captured it to begin with.

For a first exercise, take a group of images shot with any format. Arrange three views of each image cropped to the following ratios: 3:2, 4:3 and square. Print these out in three separate prints or all on one piece of paper. Make notes on them about which Frame you like the best. Note the problems, if any, with the other Frame sizes in presenting the overall image. Use this group of images to create your portfolio for this study of The Photographer's Eye so that you can go back through it as a refresher from time to time. If you are using an electronic program like Adobe Lightroom, you can start a group of Collections and make this the first collection.

I hope you find this study valuable to you and keep watching for the next essay!
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Scanning Negatives - Hardware Considerations - Part II

In our Part I Post on Scanning Negatives - Hardware Considerations we discussed the properties of light, film and glass (lenses) in making the perfect photograph. We then showed that these same properties are used to scan the negatives or slides when turning them into digital images.

Here we discuss the aspects of light, glass and CCD's in negative and slide scanners. We also compare this to a Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED to see if it fits the bill to create the perfect digital image.

Light

We have the perfect negative so what light do we send through it to make a digital image. CCD's are especially senstive to Red, Green and Blue light, hence the RGB designation in computer lingo. In order to scan a color image, slide or negative, the scanner should produce a red image, green image and blue image of the negative or slide. These three images can be combined as if they were created from a digital camera.

Dust and Scratches

Realistically, even a perfect negative or slide will contain dust and/or scratches. Digital images from CCD's in a digital camera are better protected although the newer cameras have modes to remove dust from the sensors. So how do we limit the scanning problems with scratches and dust on a negative or slide?

The answer is infared. Infared light can highlight scratches and dust. By creating a fourth layer used as a mask, signficant amounts of scratches and dust can be electronically removed from a scanned image.

Glass

The glass that the red, green, blue and infared light pass through to get to the CCD and result in a digital image, must be special photographic glass. In fact, the scanner should use the highest quality glass used in camera lenses. After all, focusing on a negative to create an image is nothing more than taking a phtograph of a photograph.

There are a variety of mineral glasses and low dispersion glasses available to create a proper scanning lens.

Film - CCD Sensor

The CCD sensor is the film for the scanner. The size of the CCD chip and the density of the pixels determine the quality of the resulting image. Larger size and higher density is similar to low speed film and should result in a higher quality image.

Because computer chips have occasional power spikes and other electronic interference, a simple one pass scan is insufficient for a perfect image. Using a single scan will produce errors in the scan with zero chance of help removing the imperfections. I.e., a second scan of the image will help the processor determine if any pixels are not properly rendered from the first scan.

Density of the scan is determined by dpi or dots per inch. The more dots that get scanned in a single inch of negative or slide, the more detail from the film will show through. In some cases, a scanner could even scan the grain of the film if it were dense enough in the CCD.

A film scanner should have the ability to scan negatives with a final optical output somewhere in the 3,500 dpi to 4,000 dpi and above.

Finally, what level of colors and/or gray need to be recoded? How many colors should be kept? The same problem occurs in photography prints. Photographic paper has a smaller range to record black and white images than the film contains.

Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED

How does the Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED scanner stack up against our requirements? First, the case is very sturdy, well put together and protective of the computer inards.

Let's discuss the Light component: This Nikon scanner uses all three R,G and B lights by using LED's and contains a fourth - the infared LED to help with scratch and dust removal. The LED lights use less power and also last longer and cost less.

The glass used in a Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED is the same extra-low dispersion glass found in Nikkor lenses. This limits the abberations that could be found in the resulting digital image.

The CCD is also strong in the Nikon Coolscan containing two lines to scan at a time and scans using optical resolutions of up to 4000 dpi. The scanner also contains a 16 bit converter so that the scanned images contain 16 bit color.

Conclusion

There are many other feature in the Nikon Coolscan that make it appealing, like the built in Digital ICE, USB 2.0, slide feeders, negative feeders, TIFF formats in greyscale and color and more. However, all those features aside, the physics behind the Nikon Coolscan make it a worthwhile investment to capture negatives and slides and turn them into digital images.

The Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED is my scanner of choice and we will provide some test results to see which settings are best to use when scanning media into digital images. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Scanning Negatives - Hardware Considerations - Part I

Let's start with a little theory. I propose that the same considerations taken into account in creating a perfect photograph also need taken into account when determining a scanner to convert film to digital negatives. To prove this, let's start with a brief discussion on the photography.

A great photograph, aesthetics aside, is the result of the proper film being exposed to light through a high quality glass lens for a proper amount of time. Light, glass, film - all three make the perfect photo.

Light

Light is always perfect. There can be varying amounts of light and the light might not be covering the subject in the desired manner. However, the light is there nonetheless and correct measurements must be made of the light to provide a proper exposure.

Film

This light then hits the emulsion of some film and records the patterns creating a negative (or positive in the case of reversal film). Different films have different sensitivities to the light. This means some film records more detail (high speed film) in a given amount of light and some less detail (low speed film). Knowing what size the ultimate photograph will be printed in along side the subjec matter an anticipated available light, determine which film to use.

For small 4x6 prints, just about any speed film will provide a good print. For a 13x19 print or 24x48 print, a slower speed film is typically used. The slower the film, the more light needed to expose the image, but the less grain is also present.

Lenses and Glass

Leica engineers have long studied and perfected the art of removing abberations caused by light moving through glass. Erwin Puts has written volumes about lenses including a 2002 Compendium on Leica Lenses their Souls and their Secrets.

Light bends through glass and comes out the other side. In the course of bending various abberations show up: flares, comas, loss of contrast and other problems that impede the recording of an image on the film. Different physical types of glass in different configurations help adjust the bending of the light to come out the other side and expose the film where we want it to.

This means the best glass in the best configuration has the best chance of producing the perfect photograph.

Conclusion

Light through glass onto film produces the photograph. To take a negative or slide and create a digital image, we pass light through the film through glass in a scanner to an electronic CCD to record the result. Thus, Light, glass and film qualities must be taken into account a second time to take the perfect photograph and convert it to the perfect digital image.

See Part II of Scanning Negatives - Hardware Considerations for the discussion on scanner hardware that this applies to. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

About My Equipment

I use only the best equipment and methods for my photography.  A photograph starts with the lens and ends with the paper it's printed on.  I use the Leica M System consisting of a Leica M-4 and a Leica M-6 TTL.  These camera bodies are German made and solid mechanical construction which gives me the ability to take pictures in extreme conditions without compromising the equipment.  In fact, the Leica M-4 was used to take much of the photo journalism in the last century in the United States and abroad.

I also use nothing but Leica lenses not only because of the durability like the camera bodies, but because of the meticulous detail used to perfect the operation of the lenses.  Leica lenses have been refined over and over using more advanced techniques each time.  The lenses strive, more than any other lens manufacturer, to produce an image free from errors, or in photographic lingo, aberrations.  Leica lenses have sharper pictures as a result.  Images taken against a backlight are crisp because there is no lens flare.  Images taken of dark subjects against light subjects are crisp because the colors focus to the same point rather than different places causing blurr.  I could go on and on, but there have been books written just about Leica lenses and the physics behind them.  If you can't tell by now, I started my college career as a physics major and I find all this facinating.  I hope the results facinate you.  Please look on!

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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.