TECHNICAL NOTES
(Prepared for Cabrillo College John D Hurd Building Exhibition
August - September 2005)

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All of the color images presented in this exhibition have been shot using a digital camera. From December, 2003 to January of 2005, I used a five megapixel Canon S-50. Since that time I have been shooting an 8.2 MP Canon 20 D with three Canon lenses (EFS 10-22mm USM, EFS 17-85mm IS USM, and 70-200mm L IS USM).

All of the landscape images except “ Big Sur Coast” and “Bridge Creek” were shot in Raw format and processed in Photoshop CS and/or CS2. My purpose in shooting in Raw format is to capture the maximum amount of information for use in the photographic image. My workflow has involved using rather large digital files (often in the 300-500 MP range) during processing in order to improve resolution so I could print sharp and relatively large.

Starting this spring with my trip to Death Valley I began to work more using a tripod to improve sharpness and shoot in low light situations. During my Yosemite trip I began to shoot multiple frames of the same image at varying speeds (but at the same aperture and focus) so I could later composite to a single image with proper exposure values for shadows and highlights.

I have invested a considerable amount of time and energy in learning how to master digital printing. This turns out to be an iterative process of mastering Photoshop, the printer, print profiles, papers, the calibrated monitor and this process informs me as I go about the work of capturing images and using my camera, lenses and tripod.

With the exception of two images, “Borders Creek” and “Clock Tower Slough,” which are composites of disparate images inspired by Jerry Uelsmann, my vision and purpose from image capture to printing has been to render the “natural world” with as much fidelity and wonder as I am capable of “seeing.”

In my digital darkroom, I use an HP 1090n computer (Pentium 4/560 processor, 2 GB ram, with two large hard drives and backup software), and a LaCie calibrated monitor (GretagMacbeth Eye-One). I print on an Epson Stylus Pro 4000 using Epson UltraChrome inks and Epson papers—Premium Luster, Premium Semimatte, and Enhanced Matte—I have found that I presently prefer Enhanced Matte. When I print I use the appropriate Epson profiles and print at the highest resolution available (either 1440 or 2880 dpi).