Rangefinder Magazine
November 2004

You Are Never Too Old to Go Digital by Xenophon A. Beake

Too many folks think a digital photograph comes to exist through magical means without a human making decisions about lighting, composition, color balance, etc. However, the rules that apply to traditional film photography certainly apply to digital capture. There are no secrets or shortcuts.

More than six years have passed since I purchased my first computer. At that time I did not know the difference between a megabyte and a gigabyte.

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Once I started using the computer, I was amazed by the wonderful things one could do with images using programs such as Adobe Photoshop. To my arsenal, I added printers, scanners, laptop computers, Nikon Capture (and other software) and all the equipment that replaced my darkrooms.

My colleagues often asked, “When do you plan to start using digital capture?” My predictable response was, “At my age, never.” While visiting a close friend’s studio and seeing the results of a digital capture back on a Hasselblad, a little voice told me, “Xenophon, this stuff in very interesting.” After much research, I purchased my first digital camera. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but having said that, I got hooked—I mean really hooked. Within three months of purchasing my first digital camera, I returned it and purchased a Nikon D1. What a rush!

I now use a Nikon D1, a Nikon D1x, a Nikon D100, a Nikon D70, several AF and AFS lenses, as well as many older fixed-focus Nikkor lenses that work quite well. In fact, some have features that even some of the latest lenses do not have. So far, using the Nikon Digital SLR system allows me to do just about any job that comes along without any difficulty.

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I have added new scanners, printers, software, computers and much more. I speak the language of digital capture photography and can scan negatives as well as transparencies with files as large as 688MB in 16 bit. Words like FireWire, USB 2, RAW, JPEG, TIFF, lossless compression, lossy compression, noise and white balance—words so foreign a few years ago—have now become everyday words. Not too long ago at a hot rod club reunion, the former editor of Hot Rod and Motor Trend magazines, Arnie Shuman, called me a digital capture evangelist. What Arnie does not know is that this new technology has become my fountain of youth.

As a hard-core commercial photographer, it has been my job to make the best images possible under some almost impossible conditions. As commercial photographers we have used all formats of cameras from 35mm to 8x10. I loved to put my hands around those beautiful Nikons, Hasselblads and Linhofs. We used many light sources and had to make sure all lighting and film were properly balanced. There were times when jobs called for 700 8x10 color prints of each negative, or when the assignment called for an 8x10 view camera. Proper exposure was imperative.

Now fast-forward to today. All those traditional film skills transfer readily to digital capture—the rules are the same.

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Most commercial photographers, including myself, have to be very skillful in exposing transparency film as well as negative material. This makes the film to digital transition more comfortable. Photographers who printed and processed their own color film are in much better positions to understand color correction.

Close to 100 percent of the digital capture photography we do is with the Nikon digital cameras in the RAW mode. This gives the greatest amount of control for just about any subject and under just about any light source. With so many years of understanding color correction for film and color balance for color printing, it took just a short while to master the Nikon digital SLR camera system and software. Nikon Capture software (currently at version 4.1.3) makes any changes and improvements quick and comfortable. Digital capture and the RAW file mode makes even the most impossible photographic situations manageable. Now that the latest version of Nikon Capture is installed on my computers, using Photoshop CS is more compatible using the shortcut in the Nikon Capture toolbar.

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Recently I had to photograph a warehouse that had sodium-vapor lighting (see page 44, numbers 10 and 11). Most film manufacturers don’t even recommend or can’t supply a data sheet with the CC filters that would correct for this light source. I recall carrying CC filters (in both three- and four-inch gel sizes) in a large case to cover just about any lighting situation. Now these filters are no longer necessary thanks to the RAW file mode and automatic white balance.

Back to the warehouse assignment… the D1x set on RAW with the white balance set on “A” (Automatic) made the most awful yellow/orange image. But it was, however, properly exposed. When I opened the file in Nikon Capture, I clicked on WB and went to “Set Gray Point.” Immediately the scene of the 300-foot-long isle in that warehouse looked as if it were lighted by a Hollywood lighting crew.

Lossless Compressed Files
For the most part I have the Nikons set on RAW “Lossless Compression.” A RAW lossless compressed image is stored at approximately 40–60 percent of the original size in this form, depending on image content. Additionally, a lossless compressed image has no visual loss of information. Since the biggest problem we are now facing in digital capture photography is storing the many large files we are producing, I find that compressing files in this manner is very practical. I can always open the file in Nikon Capture and go directly to Photoshop as a 16-bit TIFF. Since Nikon Capture 3.5, another practical feature in using RAW is the ability to choose between a 10-megapixel equivalent output over a 6-megapixel file using the Nikon D1x. I prefer to use the “Size & Resolution” palette in Nikon Capture 4.1.2. This produces a 60MB 16-bit TIFF output. It is very easy to switch between the two sizes. This process involves interpolation. The advantage of interpolating the RAW file in Nikon Capture is that it is being done at the beginning of the process rather than to an already finished 8-bit file. There is nothing better than a big original image, if made correctly.

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Nikon View
Nikon View is a wonderful browser that comes with the newer Nikon digital cameras, such as the D70. The program has a feature called “PictureProject.” It is a little awkward to get used to PictureProject after having used Nikon View for five years but it gets easier. There is a section in PictureProject that will allow the user to take a RAW/NEF (Nikon Electronic Image Format) image and convert it into the most beautiful black-and-white image. The same is true for sepia. Remember, this is done in RAW mode, and the file is 16 bits when converted to a TIFF. It can be sent to Nikon Capture as a RAW/NEF for whatever reason. Additionally, the original converted image never loses any information and at the click of the mouse quickly converts back to color. Now, that’s magic!

I have been earning a living in this profession since 1952, and having a formal education in photography doesn’t hurt either. The ease I have had with digital photography and programs that support it makes me not even consider retiring any time soon.

I still own my first Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. I look at it every day, and I will never forget my roots or how I started. That is why I can appreciate where the craft of photography has come from for me and where it is now.

We are now called upon to provide digital files for wall décor, construction progress, medical procedures, aerial views, hot rods and custom cars, ad brochures and whatever we did before digital, except now it is more convenient, and the results are viewed immediately. We can even go another step by bringing a laptop for even more convenience to the clients. I have embraced digital capture photography as a friend.

I was thinking about the title “You Are Never Too Old to Go Digital,” and I realized that my age had virtually nothing to do with my going digital. What really mattered was how I perceived the challenge of learning the specifics of digital photography. My very extensive experience in traditional photography was completely transferable to the new medium. My commitment to learn and adopt this modern technology to my daily business has made all the difference in the world.

Xenophon A. Beake is a well known commercial and advertising photographer serving his many local, regional, and national clients from his studio in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Visit his web site at www.xenophonabeake.com/.

1. A-100. Exposure Mode: Program Auto. AF-Silent Wave Nikkor 28–70mm: 28D- Focal length: 34mm. White Balance. Direct Sunlight. 1/180 at f/7.1. ISO: 200 RAW {12 Bit} Tone Comp: User Defined Custom Curve. I used to marvel when I ever saw pasteurization and never had the guts or time to make such a print. Now with the flip of the Curve it can be done in less than five seconds. Not the best way to publish such a beautiful Maine landmark. 8 A is more what this landmark should look like.

2. Final image. This image was color corrected using “Set Grey Point” in Nikon Capture. The correction took less than ten seconds. It would have been impossible to make this photograph in the traditional film manner. After the correction using Photoshop, I was able to select and open the shadows under some of the shelves.

3. This image of a hermetic laser welder used for welding pace makers was done on location using the D1X. Exposure mode was Manual. WB was set on Direct Sunlight. That is the color balance for the Speedotron electronic flash using Larson Softboxes/light banks along with Xenophon Light modifiers. The lens used on this image is a very reliable PC Nikkor 28mm 1:4Lens. Exposure was calculated using an electronic flash meter just like in the olden days.

4. D1X Exposure Mode: Auto. White Balance: Direct Sunlight. AF-Silent Wave Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D. 1/250 at f/7.1.Raw NEF Lossless Compression. ISO 125 This exposure was made hand held of this very beautiful Ford Radiator cap.

5. D100. AF-Silent Wave Nikkor 17–35mm 1:28D-Focal length, 28mm. RAW NEF Lossless Compression. Exposure mode: Manual 2 sec. at f/22. This image of an amusement ride was made by zooming during the two-second exposure. There was no color or density correction post exposure.

6. D1X. Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. 1/160 at f/6.3. WB Direct Sunlight. Sensitivity. 125- RAW-AF Nikkor 80-200mm 2.8 D. ISO: 125. Hand held in back yard.

7. Maggie Poteaux, TV personality, photographed with Nikon D1x at 200 ISO.

8. Uncorrected image of sodium vapor lighted warehouse. D1X-Auto WB-17mm AFS lens. Color Mode: II [Adobe RGB] - RAW {12-bit} - Sensitivity: ISO 125. 2.5 seconds @ F/8

9. A spirit level is usually seen on the Nikon D series cameras in studio as well as location. When the shoe is being used I will place the loose level on a flat part of the camera. Shown on the D1X is the PC Nikkor 28mm 1:4 lens. I never travel without at least three spirit levels and the P. C. Lens. Whenever it is necessary to point the camera in an up or down position especially using a WA lens using the spirit level allows only one plane to be corrected in Photoshop by going into Edit-Transform- and Perspective. Correcting becomes a chore less project by only adjusting one plane.

10. Uncorrected image of sodium-vapor lighted warehouse.
Camera: Nikon D1x set at RAW (12 bit). WB: Auto. Lens: 17mm AFS. Color Mode: II (Adobe RGB). Sensitivity: ISO 125. Exposure: 2.5 seconds at f/8.

11. Final color-corrected warehouse image.
Xenophon corrected the image using “Set Grey Point” in Nikon Capture. He used Photoshop to select and open up the shadows under some of the shelves.

12. Interior view of a school auditorium for construction progress. The incandescent ceiling lights required some correcting. Apparently the camera setting and the actual Kelvin temperatures differ slightly. Exposure was calculated by a handheld meter read at the seat levels using incident readings. Spirit level in D1x hot-shoe was used. Camera: Nikon D1x in RAW mode (12 bit). Lens: 17–35mm f/2.8D. Focal length: 17mm. Exposure: Manual; 15 seconds at f/14. Sensitivity: ISO 125. WB: Incandescent. Color Mode: II (Adobe RGB) Noise reduction: Corrected using Set Grey point.

13. Part of a Dan Wesson 357 Magnum Gun Pack.D1X. WB Direct Sunlight. Exposure Mode: Manual. RAW NEF. Lossless Compression. 1/200 at f/18. AF Micro Nikkor 1:28 D. ISO: 125. Lighting was four-sided tent diffusion. Made with the D1X tethered via Firewire to a PC desktop computer.