After my gradual switch to digital photography in 2003, I hardly order prints for personal use anymore, except some cheap ones I use as proofings when selecting and ordering for my photo essays. After a while it became clear to me that I prefered to present my images in the form of a book.

In my search for quality photo book print services, I discovered Blurb sometime in 2007. At that time, there were already various online services available, but Blurb’s service and books were, according to the reviews, pretty good. I ordered a simple standard format book presenting some of my studio and outdoor portraits. Honestly, I wasn’t really impressed, neither with the paper nor the print quality. Over the years, however, Blurb has improved their products significantly. Since my first book, I ordered several more and I noticed slight improvement with every book. In the meantime, I also got to know Asukabook, which was and still is, far more expensive but also aims at a different target audience with a higher budget.

Until recently, I had used Blurb mainly to create holiday photo books for my parents. When choosing the cheapest options, it offers reasonable value for money. Last year, they introduced the ProLine professional-grade papers, new end sheets and hardcover linens. Needless to say, I had to try these options in order to find out if I could use Blurb professionally, not merely as a family album supplier.

Below you will find the details for each book I ordered:

In Remembrance (Black & White)
- Format: Square 18x18cm (7×7 inch)
- Pages: 78
- Cover: Hardcover Dust Jacket with ProLine Charcoal Linen
- Paper: ProLine Uncoated
- End sheets: ProLine Charcoal
- Custom Logo
- Price: €50 ($66) (taxes and shipping not included)

Lost Highway (colour)
- Format: Standard Landscape 25x20cm (10×8 inch)
- Pages: 22
- Cover: Hardcover Imagewrap
- Paper: ProLine Pearl Photo
- End sheets: ProLine White
- Custom Logo
- Price: €46 ($60) (taxes and shipping not included)

- The ProLine Uncoated paper adds a soft matte finish to the images. This paper works well with black and white images, although I notice some lack of detail in dark areas. The uncoated paper results in a slightly reduced contrast and sharpness in comparison with what I see on my monitor. I don’t notice any colour cast, which happened often in the past, according to forum messages and reviews on the web, that is. To be honest, I can’t really compare, as this is my first book in black and white. I presume that Blurb (and other suppliers) have made quite some progress over the years in improving the print quality. However, a few days later, I ordered this same book using the ProLine Pearl Photo, as I wanted to compare both ProLine papers. Guess what? The second book contains a green/blue colour cast! Needless to say, I’m very disappointed. I contacted Blurb Customer Support and have sent them several digital photos to illustrate the problem. I’m waiting for 14 days now, I still haven’t received an answer. On the positive side, the Pearl Photo paper offers a beautiful contrast and it seems that the images are more punchy as well.

- The hardcover linen feels great and it’s clear that the materials are of very good quality.

- I’m not really fond of the glossy dust jacket, it somehow stands out too much compared with the matte paper finish inside the book. I’d love to be able to print the title onto the cover and the spine. It would be nice if Blurb might consider adding this option in the future.

- For the other book I used the ProLine Pearl Photo paper which has a nice semi-gloss finish. Colours are not 100% accurate as seen on my calibrated Eizo monitor, but definitely very acceptable. Maybe I’m too critical? The result might not be 100% accurate, as we’re talking about (limited) digital print here, and not professional offset, which is able to deliver a product on a totally different quality level.

Conclusion
Am I more satisfied with the products Blurb offers these days? Yes and no. There is definitely an improvement, although the print quality of black and white images seems to be a weak spot when using ProLine Pearl Photo Paper. According to my experiences, the ProLine Uncoated is (very) suited for black and white images; the ProLine Pearl Photo isn’t. But I’m impressed with the new hardcover linens. Will I keep ordering at Blurb in the future? Maybe. I’m not sure, because I need to find out how the Uncoated paper delivers when using colour images. In the end, I’m quite satisfied with the two books I ordered recently, with the exception of the third book. I do hope I can have a refund or a re-print. I will keep you updated.

If you want to find out more about the new ProLine papers and cotton hardcover linens, you can order the Blurb Swatch Kit.

I’d really love to hear your experiences with Blurb and other suppliers. Thanks for sharing!

The current issue of Foto/Video, a Dutch photography magazine, shows an overview of my work as a documentary and humanitarian photographer. I talk about my work in general, my motivations and some of my (future) projects. The January 2012 edition is available in stores across Belgium and The Netherlands. You can also buy the magazine online. Enclosed you will also find a disk containing five of my images in which I explain the story behind these images.

On January 6, Nikon officially announced the D4, their newest pro digital SLR. That evening, photography and video professionals were invited to the headquarters of Nikon Belux to attend a detailed presentation. Because of the death of my grandmother one day earlier, I had other headaches to deal with, and therefore this article was delayed.

It is not my intention to discuss all the features of the Nikon D4. There are already plenty of reviews published elsewhere. The official Nikon D4 brochure contains all the technical details. I will rather explain to what degree this camera meets my needs.

Some key features:
- 16MP full-frame CMOS sensor
- Improved EXPEED3 image processing engine
- Multi-CAM 3500FX AF system
- Improved focus in low light
- 91K-pixel RGB sensor
- Standard ISO range of 100-12800
- 1080p/30 and 720p/60 HD video
- Uncompressed video using HDMI output
- Stereo microphone input
- External headphones jack
- 920,000 dot 3.2″ rear LCD screen

The official press release that Nikon sent out that morning confirmed some of the many rumours that had circulated on the interwebs weeks and months prior to this announcement. For the past few years, I have been less impressed by technological innovation and I’m no longer excited by rumours. Despite the fact that my interest is less pronounced, I do keep up with the latest releases; I’m just more critical than I used to be. Personally, I think that’s a positive improvement. This attitude makes me less susceptible to an emotional and rash purchase. I have worked with Nikon equipment for over ten years now and automatically develop an emotional connection to the brand, even if it’s just a tool.

Is it always necessary to buy the latest cameras and lenses? Everyone should make up their own mind. For me, personally, it’s certainly not a requirement, but the contrary. Let me be clear: innovation is needed; it provides interesting challenges for camera manufacturers. Equipment is becoming more sophisticated and many professionals will certainly embrace technological innovations.

A few years ago I sold a lens. The buyer was in his twenties, an enthusiast amateur photographer who liked all kinds of sports events. In his bag he carried two Nikon D3′s, a 14-24mm f/2.8, a 24-70mm f/2.8, a 70-200mm f/2.8, a 200-400mm f/4 and some speedlights. At home, he told me, he also had some exotic telephoto lenses. The new tilt/shift lenses that Nikon had announced at that time were already on his wish list. The amount of gear made me gasp. I understand that some photographers really need this, but make sure that your images touch the heart. This was not the case with his work. I know, when talking about colors and flavors you can not argue, but I did have the impression he was just adding gear to his ever-growing collection.

With the arrival of the D3 and later on the D3s, Nikon had seriously raised the bar, not only for its competitors, but also for their own Research & Development Department. It seems that with the D4 they even go a step further. But will I create better pictures, content wise, using a state-of-the-art camera? The answer to that question is definitely ‘no’. As a photographer, you and you alone are fully responsible when pushing the shutter button. Will I shoot sharp images of a sprinting Usain Bolt using the Nikon D100? Probably not. The D3/D3s/D4 are a much better fit. Obviously, the choice of your gear also depends on the assignment.

• In November of last year I tested the D3s for a few days. I was very impressed with the excellent results at high ISO’s. It was a serious improvement over my D3, of which I was already impressed back in 2007. I suppose the D4 will perform equally or even better in this area.
• Increased focus in low-light conditions. I mainly work with natural light only and I regularly spend time photographing in low light. A camera body offering outstanding focus capabilities will make it possible to capture the scene you would otherwise miss.
• I like the quiet shutter release mode, which already exists on the D3s. I wonder when this option will be available on less expensive bodies.
• Even though I’m not working with video (yet), I love the progress in this field. The video features the D4 offers could count on lots of approval from some video professionals who also attended the presentation that night.
• I prefer to work low-profile, meaning I don’t like to walk around with bulky and prominent camera gear. If the Nikon D700 had been announced simultaneously with the D3, I would have bought a D700. This camera would have fit my needs perfectly. For my kind of work, the D4 remains too heavy, bulky and obtrusive. That’s the reason why I bought the Fuji X100 last year and why I use my iPhone 4S more often lately. I keep hoping that the technology, or at least the part that is important for my needs, will be provided in a compact full-frame body someday. Anyhow, I’m also very interested in the progress the market segment of compact cameras with interchangeable lenses will offer in the upcoming months and years.
• I get overwhelmed with such overdoses of technical ingenuity. I don’t need all those bells and whistles. Back to basics, that’s what I want. Like the Leica M9, ​​but much more affordable, if possible.
• The new battery is compliant with recent battery regulations in Japan. As a result, batteries and chargers from the D3 series are no longer compatible. When using a D3/x/s alongside a D4, you need to carry separate batteries and chargers for each camera.
• The D3 has two card slots for compact flash cards which allows me to use the second card as backup. I have every CF card twice in order use the same capacity when activating the backup option. The D4 also has two card slots: one for CF cards and one for the new type XQD. This means additional investments if I want to keep using the backup option. For instance, when my CF cards are 16 and 32GB in size, I need to buy matching XQD cards, and a new card reader as well.
• The heavy price tag of 5800 Euros (including VAT) implies a serious and justifiable investment for your photography business.

For now, I choose to continue working with my ‘old’ D3 and rather use the money to invest in workshops, training and personal projects. Does this mean I will ignore the D4 completely? Not at all. I hope to be able to get a D4 for testing purposes soon. I will keep you informed about my hands-on experience. At the same time, I’m looking forward to the so-called D800, the successor to the D700. It is said to have more megapixels, which may result in poorer performance at higher ISO’s, a development that doesn’t interest me at all. When I really need a lot of megapixels, I will rent a medium format camera. I wish a compact full-frame body existed, with a Nikon D3s or D4 sensor, quiet shutter, excellent focus in low light, and an accurate and fast autofocus. But, I’m patient and will wait to see what the various manufacturers have to offer in the next months.

Recommended reading:
- Rob Galbraith
- Rob Mitchell
- Thom Hogan

Finally, I’d like to thank Maarten Goossens, Nikon Belux NPS Manager, and the team at Hill & Knowlton Strategies for organizing the event and excellent catering!

A few weeks ago I discovered several black and white photographs from both my grandparents working in one of their many greenhouses. These images probably date from the 1960s or 1970s. I assume they were used for an article in Belgium’s most popular newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws as I found the newspaper’s name on the back of these prints, however without any credentials or a date. I contacted one of the photo editors lately but so far they haven’t found anything yet. When I was documenting the life of my grandmother, I accidently recreated some of these situations in 2008 and 2011, not aware of the existence of the black and white images. My grandmother passed away on January 5, 2012.

Didn’t my grandfather look somewhat like Robert Redford and Brad Pitt? Yes, he did

August 3, 2008: My grandmother was actually dressed up to visit my parents, she never worked with these kind of clothes. I was photographing inside the greenhouse as she suddenly grabbed some scissors and started to remove some bad grapes.

June 29, 2011

During the past few months some of my photo essays have been published on Verve Photo, GUP Magazine and Private Photojournalism. There is some more exciting news coming up in the next months regarding new publications and articles featuring my work. I’ll keep you informed when they appear.

As you might remember, my grandmother has been hospitalized three weeks ago after she fell down the stairs. The first few days her situation was very critical, but she fought back and now her life is out of immediate danger. However, she is partly paralyzed and will probably never be able to walk or talk again. According to the doctors expectations on slight improvements are almost nonexistent.

Despite this dark period, I wish all of you Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2012!

A few days ago, my grandmother was hospitalized after she fell down the stairs. According to the doctor at the hospital, the stroke was caused by a thrombosis, although we will never know what happened first: the fall or the stroke.

The past few years she suffered from short-term memory loss. Since 2010 this problem has worsened. She was often distracted and sometimes even disoriented. Stubborn and proud as she was, she refused any assistance from outside the family despite the fact we insisted several times explaining the many services available and their advantages. Her physical situation was still far better than many of her peers. Mentally however, she was losing her grip on reality.

We have to wait how her situation evolves, but one thing is for sure: she will never be the same anymore…

The daily life of my grandmother is not the only personal project I’m currently working on. I’d like to show you some results from another (rather small-case) project: I have been photographing several cemeteries in Belgium, using the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone. Smartphones and apps aren’t always considered as ‘professional’ tools, but honestly I don’t care which tools you use, it’s the result that counts. Somehow I knew all along that I wanted to use this app because of the instant look and feel I was looking for. My 2007 iPhone had become way too slow to use properly. Since I bought the lastest iPhone 4S this project has really been on the right track since the beginning. As a result, it’s almost finished. I will create a square Blurb book soon, using their newest ProLine paper. When my book arrives, I will go into more detail about this project.

Craft & Vision has just released a new eBook: Making Light 2. Advanced Use of Off-Camera Flash written by photographer and author Piet Van den Eynde. The eBook contains 77 pages and not only covers advanced off-camera flash (Strobist) techniques, but also lighting gear and accessories. This new release is the successor to his previous title Making Light. An Introduction to Off-Camera Flash which was released two months ago.

Being a documentary and humanitarian photographer myself, I often use natural light only. However, I do own a Nikon SB900 speedlight, SC-28 TTL flash syncro cable, California SunMover, flash umbrella and Lastolite Ezybox. I covered my gear in a previous blog post: What’s In My Bag? Traveling With Photo Gear. Although I do understand the purists claiming that natural light should be the only light source used in my domain of photography, I firmly believe that you should add additional light when necessary. Don’t forget it depends on the client’s needs and demands. During an assignment in Africa I was lucky I could use the California SunMover and the SB900 to add a little fill-in light for my environmental portraits. I do follow some well-known humanitarian photographers who very often use off-camera flash, and their results are stunning.

“Why post-process when you can get it right in camera?” (Piet Van den Eynde)

Contents of the eBook

• 0. Introduction
• 1. More Advanced Techniques
• 1.1: Going Beyond Sync Speed
• 1.2: Working With Multiple Flashes
• 2. Gear
• 2.1: Advanced Triggering Systems
• 2.2: More Modifiers
• 2.3: Thinking Outside the Softbox
• 2.4: More Useful Stuff
• 2.5: Outgrowing Your Small Flashes
• 3. Ten Case Studies
• 4. Four Interviews
• 5. Conclusion

In this eBook the author discusses several techniques like High-Speed Sync, HyperSync, and the use of multiple flashes in order to gain more control and power. To support the technicalities, he illustrates these different techniques using before and after images. Piet mainly works with the PocketWizard MiniTT1 transmitter and FlexTT5 transceiver to trigger his off-camera flashes. Obviously, there are other solutions and options which are also mentioned in this eBook. Next, he talks about a range of modifiers for your speedlight like the Westcott Apollo softbox, Lastolite EzyBox, beauty dishes, portable background kits, colour gels, clamps, etc. To finish the technical part, he briefly mentions the advantages and disadvantages of portable studio strobes. Photographer Jürgen Doom, who is featured in the interview section in this eBook, has written a short review recently about the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra, a portable lighting kit.

Like in his previous Craft&Vision eBooks, Piet discusses several case studies in which the different techniques from the eBook are being used. The three last screenshots in this article show an example of these case studies.

The eBook ends with interviews with four Belgian photographers using off-camera flash. These interviews are very insightful and offer lots of useful information regarding technique and creativity.

Besides talking about the more famous brands, Piet also gives advice on alternative, more affordable products. For those with a limited budget this is really helpful information. Don’t buy the most expensive speedlight, modifier or triggering system available when you’re just starting to discover off-camera flash. Worldwide Strobist meetings amongst photographers are organized all the time and you can certainly borrow and test most of the gear discussed in this eBook. Be sure to try different kinds of gear and accessories before purchasing. You also need to determine what kind of light pleases you most and what kind of situations you like to shoot in. Gradually, you can add new gear to your off-camera flash kit according to your real needs.

Since the popularity of off-camera flash increases every year, lots of new educational sources became available. It seems like everyone has something to tell about off-camera flash. Not all of these offer the same level of quality though. I have tried several over the past few years and only a handful of them are really worth recommending, among them both eBooks from Piet’s Making Light series. His writing style is very understandable and he adds some subtle humour as well. Also, he shares his experiences how he solved real-life problems when on assignment.

If you haven’t already bought his previous eBook, I really advice you to buy Making Light. An Introduction to Off-Camera Flash as well as both eBooks offer you a very solid and fundamental knowledge on off-camera flash. Your next step will be to go out, shoot and experiment with different setups and lighting conditions. And above all, be creative with the gear you have at your disposal.

Making Light 2. Advanced Use of Off-Camera Flash is available as PDF and costs $5 (€3,6).

For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code MAKINGLIGHT4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Making Light 2 for only $4 (€2,9) or you can use the code MAKINGLIGHT20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF eBooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST October 24th, 2011.

Piet Van den Eynde has also written another eBook for Craft&Vision: The Power of Black and White in Adobe Lightroom and Beyond (click the link to read a short review). The eBook contains 100 pages and covers the conversion of a digital color image to black and white using (mainly) Adobe Lightroom and some plugins like NIK Silver Efex Pro.

Some of you might already know: I’m currently documenting the life of my grandmother, the only grandparent I have left. It’s a long-term personal project that I started in August 2008 and is an ongoing project. Beginning in 2009 she started to suffer from short-term memory loss. One of the consequences is that she remains convinced she has already carried out certain tasks while this is not the case.

She hasn’t been to a hairdresser for almost a year and a half. Monique, her regular hairdresser, has been retired more than a year now. However, for some reason, my grandmother keeps believing that Monique is on a holiday and will return very shortly. Every time we propose another hairdresser, she keeps talking about the return of Monique. We have to repeat the same story about her retirement over and over again.

Suddenly, a few weeks ago, she decided to make an appointment with another hairdresser in town. In fact, her daughter made the appointment. My grandmother was invited to a birthday party for one of her great-grandchildren whom she sees only once or twice a year because the family lives in Canada. Because my grandmother always tries to dress up for family gatherings, she also wanted her hair done as well. I decided to accompany her to the hairdresser to take photographs while her hair was being done.

For this story, I really needed to change environments, as most of the project so far has only taken place at her house. The images in this article will not all end up in the final selection. The photo essay I have created up to now can be viewed here.

In this blog post I will allow you to take a quick look inside my bag. Although I’m in no way an obsessed gear geek and I don’t need the latest toys (who really does), I can’t control my curiosity when other photographers show their hardware. And yes, I do support David duChemin’s motto “Gear is good, vision is better”, but still, I have to peep inside other photographer’s bags when such an opportunity occurs

The gear below fits nicely in my Think Tank StreetWalker HardDrive which I can check in as carry-on luggage. I have been using it for two years now and I’m still very satisfied with this bag.

• 1. Nikon D3
• 2. Nikon AF-S 35mm f1.4G
• 3. Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4G
• 4. Nikon AF 85mm f1.8D
• 5. Nikon AF 24mm f2.8D
• 6. Think Tank Pixel Pocket Rocket with Compact Flash cards (2x 8GB, 2x 4GB, 2x 2GB, 2x 1GB)
• 7. Hoodman loupe
• 8. Nikon SB-900 Speedlight + additional AA batteries
• 9. Nikon SC-28 TTL flash syncro cable
• 10. Fuji X100
• 11. Think Tank Cable Management 10, which holds an iPod with headphones, some medicins, firewire and USB cables, etc.
• 12. Moleskine Notebook
• 13. Rosco Strobist Gel Filter Collection for Speedlight Flash
• 14. Nikon D3 spare battery
• 15. Nikon GP-1 GPS Module
• 16. Spare body and lens caps

Not shown in the image above but also packed in my carry-on luggage, either in the front or side pockets, or the laptop compartment:

• Apple MacBook Pro 13″ + charger
• Western Digital My Passport 320GB external hard drive
• Sandisk Extreme Firewire card reader
• Zoom H1 Handy Recorder + headphones
• Cleaning cloth for body and lenses

Sometimes I do take a Wacom Intuos4 S pen tablet, California SunMover, flash umbrella, or the Lastolite Ezybox with me. It depends on the project or assignment. For some of these occasions, I also need a Manfrotto Nano Stand with an umbrella swivel. These extra accessories as well as some chargers are packed in my check-in luggage.

As you may have noticed, I don’t use or possess any zoom lenses. Although I really loved both the Nikon 24-70/2.8 and 14-24/2.8, I sold them almost two years ago when I decided to switch back to lenses with a fixed focal length.

The Fuji X100 has been a great investment and is certainly a valuable addition to my setup. I do hope that manufacturers keep developing such cameras. I’m curious what the future will bring in this segment, as I’m quite sure that I won’t be using a heavy and obtrusive camera body forever.

Any thoughts regarding my setup?

A year ago I bought a Drobo FS, an external network storage and backup solution, which holds up to five drives and provides redundant data protection. When enabling the dual-drive redundancy option inside the Dashboard, Drobo even protects your data from the failure of up to two hard drives. This system replaced all of my separate external drives I have previously used.

I had been considering buying such a tool for quite some time, but the models that would fit into my budget were only equipped with USB2.0 or Firewire, while I prefered a unit with an ethernet connection. I could have bought the DroboShare, an additional network module, or saved up extra money to buy a pro-model, but the latter would have been overkill for my needs.

In April last year, Datarobotics introduced the Drobo FS featuring Gigabit Ethernet.

I have no experience whatsoever with installing and configuring networks or servers and therefore I wanted a simple and easy-to-integrate solution. For that reason, Drobo and I seemed to be an ideal match. Obviously, many other brands like Thecus or Synology offer similar solutions, but the convenience of Drobo couldn’t be found anywhere else. After reading reviews and testimonials from some of my photographer colleagues, I was convinced and bought myself a unit.

Was it love at first sight while unpacking and installing my Drobo FS? Yes, it was! Install the software, connect the unit, slide the hard drives into the unit, launch Drobo Dashboard and create user and shared folders, and before you can blink your eyes, the backup has begun. Moreover, this system maintains itself automatically in the background. I was, and still am, one happy camper.

The technology used in Drobo is called BeyondRAID, a system similar to RAID with the extra benefit of using drives of different sizes (which is not possible with a traditional RAID-array if I’m informed correctly).

Drobo protects your data redundantly: when one drive failes, your data stays safe on the other drive(s). Drobo FS offers a dual-drive redundancy option as well, meaning that when two out of three drives fail simultaneously, all your data will be safe on the third drive. This option decreases the available disk space significantly. At this moment my Drobo serves as a primary backup and I also have an off-site backup. I don’t burn discs anymore.

In the meantime, as Drobo became more popular, I stumbled upon several recent reviews and testimonials which weren’t very positive at all. So far, I’m a satisfied customer and haven’t had any negative experiences. Knock on wood!

Beware, when connecting the Drobo with a D-Link router, copying speeds may decrease, especially when the dual-drive redundancy option is activated. Datarobotics’ support couldn’t give me a solution, but as my Drobo acts as a primary backup, I can live with the slower speeds. When connecting the Drobo directly to the computer, copying speeds are very fast.

I ordered my Drobo FS at Mobile Harddisk in The Netherlands. They offer great service and support. The Drobo FS costs €559 without drives, which is certainly not cheap. The Drobo 2nd generation costs €335 and the Drobo S (eSATA, USB3.0, Firewire) costs €629.

Required reading:
- Drobo Best Practices: Crafting a Digital Asset Management Strategy
- The DAM Book. Digital Asset Management for Photographers. Second Edition. By Peter Krogh.

In the past I have done some extensive research about monitor calibration, profiling, and color; a subject that is not exactly self-explanatory. To better understand the technology behind the available tools, I quite often contacted several industry professionals in the printing and retail business, as well as the technical support from Eizo. After buying an Eizo ColorEdge CG241W in early 2008 my (often too fanatic) quest came to an end. For monitor profiling I use a GretagMacbeth i1Pro spectrophotometer and ColorNavigator, the software Eizo supplies by default.

Recently I got the opportunity to test a ColorMunki Photo, a device created by X-Rite Photo, a company that took over their competitor GretagMacbeth several years ago. All software and hardware of both GretagMacbeth and X-Rite are now under the same roof. The ColorMunki Photo is a spectrophotometer, but in addition to monitor and projector profiling options, you are also able to create print profiles, a very interesting option for those who print at home. As I don’t print images at home, I will only share my findings regarding the monitor profiling option.

The package contains the ColorMunki Photo spectrophotometer, the profiling software (for Mac and PC), ColorPicker and DigitalPouch utilities, an instructional DVD, a protective case with counterweight, a quick start guide, and a USB cable.

You dial the wheel on the device into the desired position depending on the type of profiling you need: monitor, printer or projector. The software also indicates when you need to change that position. If necessary, you can measure the ambient light or start the built-in calibration.

The overall procedure is very user-friendly and intuitive. You only need to activate a number of options including screen type, white point and luminance levels. You can also specify that you want to determine the luminance level based on the strength of your light. When choosing this option, the ColorMunki Photo performs a measurement of the ambient light. Above my desk I have installed JUST Normlicht daylight proGraphic 5000K fluorescent tubes. I always use these lighting conditions to do my post-processing, therefore I always choose a white point of 5000K.

Next, the device calibrates itself using the built-in calibration. Once the global measurement is finished, the new monitor profile is automatically saved in the correct location. Most of these programs usually work in a similar manner.

Because I’m more familiar with ColorNavigator, I created a profile using Eizo’s own software. One of the benefits of ColorNavigator is the extensive validation of which a detailed table of results can be displayed. This table contains a value per color which has been predefined in this extensive validation. This result indicates the difference between the real color value (according to the standardized delta-E measurements) and how this monitor displays this colour. This figure is best situated between 0 and 4. The closer the value is to zero, the smaller the correction. In theory, the difference with a value of 1 or 0.5 or even 3 will be invisible to the naked eye. During this validation, you can also track the extent to which a color is corrected. The screenshot below shows an example. The closer the red lines lean against the black lines, the smaller the correction.

In a comparative test between the ColorMunki Photo and my own i1Pro I hardly notice a difference in value whereas the i1Pro is twice as expensive. The biggest difference between the two devices lies in the fact that the i1Pro can measure every 10nm and ColorMunki Photo every 20nm, according to the technical service of X-Rite. The i1Pro is theoretically more accurate, but again, such differences, at least for me, are hardly visible to the naked eye.

The price of the ColorMunki Photo varies somewhere between 350 and 400 euro, depending on the store or online shop. For that price tag you get a very complete package which allows you to not only create a monitor or projector profile, but also a print profile. The measurement of the monitor profile is very good, taking into account the validation results we obtained from Eizo’s ColorNavigator.

If you want consistent colours, you definitely need to calibrate your monitor and create a profile. I repeat this operation every two weeks, without exception.

More information about the soft- and hardware products from X-Rite can be found on their website X-Rite Photo. They also offer free online webinars to demonstrate their products.

Photographer Piet Van den Eynde, also author of the Dutch book Adobe Lightroom Ontmaskerd and teacher of Lightroom workshops, is the first Belgian author to publish an eBook with Craft & Vision, titled The Power of Black and White in Adobe Lightroom and Beyond. The eBook contains a stunning 100 pages and covers the conversion of a digital color image to black and white using (mainly) Adobe Lightroom.

The demand for techniques to convert an image to black and white has steadily increased in recent years and has even encountered exponential growth. Prior to the digital era you only had Photoshop at your disposal. Today, however, many other solutions are available, among them tools such as NIK Silver Efex Pro, which will offer you both a speedy and high quality conversion.

On the other hand, some photographers consciously choose to work only on film or even combine digital and analog photography. Many of us have never worked in a darkroom before and are probably only familiar with digital photography. You can’t exclude this group of photographers from creating black and white images without having to invest in a darkroom. An analog workflow can be expensive and is also very time consuming. Thankfully, digital technology has evolved phenomenally over the past few years, resulting in professional results that can easily match or even surpass the quality of analog photography.

Coming from a background in analog black and white photography, the author is, in my opinion, the appropriate person to talk about and compare the techniques and developments of analog and digital photography. He also mentions this in the introduction to his eBook. The conversion to black and white using Lightroom or plugins is not as easy as the manufacturers have led us to believe. You still have to have a vision. It doesn’t matter whether you shoot digital or analog, if have you no feeling for composition, light or content, no technique or plugin in the world will transform your image into a World Press Photo.

Contents of the eBook

• 0. Introduction
• 1. Digital Black & White Do’s and Don’ts.
• 2. The Basics of Black & White Conversion
• 3. Introducing Lightroom’s Black & White Conversion Tools
• 4. Lightroom Black & White Workflow
• 5. Pros and Cons of Using Presets
• 6. Dodging and Burning With Graduated Filters and the Adjustment Brush
• 7. Lightroom Plugins for Black & White Conversion (Alien Skin Exposure – NIK Silver Efex Pro 2)
• 8. High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDR) and Black & White (NIK HDR Efex Pro – Photomatix Pro – LR/Enfuse)
• 9. The Finishing Touches
• 10. The Print

The eBook contains several detailed case studies which offer great insight into the author’s workflow. He also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of plugins and unveils useful tips and tricks for dodging & burning. Despite the fact that the last two chapters are very interesting topics to talk about, they are too concise to be of much use, and thereforeI would have removed them from this eBook. Nonetheless, the price/quality relationship of this eBook is unbeatable! For only a few dollars, you get a cartload of information which will keep you occupied for days.

In the past, most books and tutorials were limited to explaining conversion techniques in Photoshop. When Lightroom was released a few years ago, more and more photographers wanted to shorten their workflow. With the latest version and with the use of plugins, such a workflow certainly has become possible. If you’re a fan of black and white and want to keep your workflow within Lightroom, this eBook is a highly recommended purchase!

The Power of Black and White in Adobe Lightroom and Beyond is available as PDF or iPad App and costs 5 USD (3,5 Euro).

“So, even in analog photography, there wasn’t just one black-and-white version of any given scene: the film and filters used significantly influenced the final result (or should we say interpretation), and that’s not to mention the secrets of developing the film and enlarging the negative in the darkroom. In that respect, nothing much has changed. Except that now, the lights can stay on and if there’s a funny smell to be noticed around your desk, you can’t blame the chemicals.”

“Nowadays, only a mouse click separates your raw file from its two-stops pushed Tri-X incarnation. At least, so the manufacturers would want us to believe. While it’s true that digital black and white has become more accessible, what was once a lack of options is now an agony of choice: which tool, but more importantly, which process will express your black-and-white vision best?”

“And how would you like your 2-stops-pushed Tri-X today, sir? With or without a vignette? The highly unpredictable juggling with chemicals has been replaced by well-aimed mouse clicks. Doesn’t that kill part of the charm? Oh well, if you’re feeling nostalgic, fix a red filter over your desk lamp and dim the other lights. Unscrew a bottle of your favourite developer for added oldfactory realism and leave the tap running for bonus sound effects!”

“The more colours you have in your original, the more you’ll be able to do with the B&W panel. A model wearing a purple pair of jeans (does that even exist?), a green sweater, and a red handbag against a blue sky background may hurt your eyes with all that colour, but when it comes to black-and-white conversion, she’ll lead to more interesting and quicker results than her twin sister, who’s dressed in an orange outfit and stands in front of a brick wall.”

During my years at the Academy I spent a lot of time printing black and white images in the darkroom. During that period, my work consisted mainly of black and white. Simulating a black and white look and feel for a digital color image used to be a lot more difficult because of limitations in the software. You could and still can apply the usual techniques in Photoshop of course, such as Hue/Saturation, Black & White, Channel Mixer, and disabling the a and b channel when your image is converted to Lab Color. If you work exclusively in Lightroom you can definitely use the sliders in the Black & White Mix Panel which can be found in the Develop Module.

Obviously, each of these tools has advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantage is that you have less control because the changes are usually applied equally to the entire image. You can’t only adjust those parts of the picture where you want the effect to be applied, unless you use layer masks which are somewhat time consuming if you have to manage multiple layers and layer masks in your image. My black and white images are usually created using these techniques and, if necessary, reinforced by one or more additional presets in Lightroom or Photoshop.

NIK Software offers the solution with Silver Efex Pro 2 (available both as a plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture) that allows you to easily and intuitively convert your images to black and white. Silver Efex contains a lot of presets and settings you can adjust manually. It lets you change brightness and structure separately for both highlights, midtones and shadows. The latest version of Silver Efex also includes a slider that allows you to change the dynamic brightness, taking into account the tones throughout the picture so the impact will be stronger in some parts and not just evenly spread over the entire image, as I above mentioned. This also applies to the control points I will explain in the next section.

NIK Silver Efex Pro 2 uses the so-called U-Point Technology that was introduced a few years ago with the release of Nikon Capture NX. This technique allows you to add one or more control points to the image in order to finetune specific parts without modifying the rest of the image.

Based on your selection, the software calculates which pixels are subject to these adjustments, which pixels less or not at all. With a control point you can adjust the following: Brightness, Contrast, Structure, Amplify Whites, Amplify Blacks, Fine Structure, Selective Colorization.

NIK Silver Efex Pro is clearly designed with the analog black and white photographer in mind. Besides a list of analog film presets, various toning and vignetting options, artistic film frames and reinforcing film grain, the software also contains Ansel Adams’ Zone System: point the eyedropper on an area and Silver Efex Pro will show you which parts of the image correspond to which zone. Very useful!

To conclude, I’d like to inform you that I open my images in Photoshop by converting them to Smart Objects. The advantage of this technique is the fact that you can re-open Silver Efex Pro and repeat the process or modify the adjustments you previously made.

From now on, Silver Efex Pro will be integrated into my workflow and replaces all previous techniques I mentioned at the beginning of the article.

Want to try out the software before purchasing? No problem. A demo version of Silver Efex Pro 2 can be downloaded at their website and is valid for fifteen days. The software itself costs €199,95. When you buy the NIK Complete Collection which contains all of their plugins, you pay €299,95 for the Lightroom or Aperture Edition, and €599,95 for the Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture Edition.

NIK USA and NIK Europe regularly organize English webinars to introduce their range of products. During these webinars, participants are given a promotional code which allows them to purchase the software with a discount.

As part of my continuous improvement with my photography, I decided to enroll in a portfolio review with Ami Vitale. She is known for her cultural and documentary photography, and her images have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times and many other international publications. During the past decade her name also appeared regularly in the top three of several subcategories in the World Press Photo. In addition, she organizes workshops on photojournalism and multimedia, and she is often invited as a guest speaker.

You don’t choose a photographer merely by her or his publications and awards. I chose Ami Vitale partly because she is available for this kind of review, and more importantly, because most of her work appeals to me. Her series show an honest involvement in the subject and the people she photographs. Such an approach is only possible when you engage yourself to spend enough time with your subject.

Prior to enrolling in this portfolio review I stumbled upon a very interesting and profound review written by Marco Ryan, a travel and landscape photographer. He shares his experiences and they are absolutely worth reading! Be sure to check it out.

A one-hour-session with Ami Vitale costs $189 and can be booked through The Compelling Image. The goal is to discuss ten individual images, however, I wanted to talk about one of my ongoing projects and she agreed.

Since August 2008 I’ve been working on a personal long-term project about the life of my grandmother, who suffers from short-term memory loss. Somehow I had the feeling that content-wise I arrived at a dead end. I didn’t really want to finish this project with such a feeling, therefore I needed a pair of fresh eyes to take a look at my work as objectively as possible. With the help of Ami I learned how to approach this story from a different angle, which led to new insights and ideas.

My overall experience with this portfolio review is very positive. Ami has a very peaceful and warm voice which makes you immediately feel very comfortable and at ease. She offered valuable insights on how to improve my project. Highly recommended!

I’m currently documenting the life of my grandmother, the only grandparent I have left. It’s a long-term personal project that I started in August 2008. During the last few years, several deaths occured in our family from which my grandmother never recovered. Beginning in 2009 she started to suffer from short-term memory loss and as a result, she is losing her grip on reality.

To show you how I select and arrange images in order to obtain a smaller selection for my final story, I created this short video. I can arrange the images in Lightroom as well, but the approach I show you allows me to keep a clear overwiew, which is not always possible on a computer screen as you are limited to the size of the screen. In my studio I have several walls at my disposal so I can split different parts of my story onto different walls. When I work on multiple projects I can assign each story to another wall. I can also leave the prints on the wall as long as I want to.

My project is not finished yet. I will continue to document her life as long as needed, by this, meaning as long as the images contribute to the story I want to tell. If you want to be updated on this project, I invite you to subscribe to this blog. If you have any questions regarding this project, you can ask them in the comments below.

For those of you who are interested, I edited this timelapse video in Adobe Premiere Pro. There are probably several software solutions available which provide similar options to create such a timelapse, however, as I want to be able to edit some more advanced videos in the future, Adobe Premiere Pro turned out to be a very good choice. Until now it has proven to be an extensive and valuable tool.

All the images I used for this video were recorded using the Interval Timer Shooting feature which can be found in the Shooting Menu on almost every Nikon DSLR. I had set the timer to capture an image every two seconds. A total of 999 images were used for this presentation.

You can import the images in your project through the menu “File – Import”. As demonstrated in my screenshot, you select the first image from the list, tick the option “Numbered Stills” and then you further select the rest of the images. This way Adobe Premiere Pro knows this selection has to be converted to a clip.

Afterwards you can change the frame rate in order to speed up or slow down the duration of the clip. Select the clip in the Project Manager, go to the menu and choose “Clip – Modify – Interpret Footage”. By default the frame rate will usually be 25 fps. For the purpose of my timelapse I changed the frame rate to 15 fps.

Karim Abraheem (59) is an Iraqi refugee who has lived and worked in Belgium since 1980. In 1994 he aquired Belgian nationality. I got to know him during my photographic education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.

Karim was born in Amarah, in Southern Iraq, and earned a degree in political science. He never agreed with the government of his country. Left-wing members were the enemy of the regime of Saddam Hussein and this caused many problems and much tension. Karim saw only one way out and this was to escape his country. At that time, Iraq and Europe were maintaining good relations. Unfortunately, Iraq was about to invade Iran, which made it even harder to escape.

Once he arrived in Belgium, Karim successfully studied Development Cooperation at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), and in 2005 he left the Academy with a degree in photography.

When the regime of Saddam Hussein came to an end, Karim returned to Iraq in both 2004 and 2005, to visit his family and to observe the political and social situation. He photographed everyday scenes in which ordinary people caught his attention. These images have been published in the book “Iraq Today”.

For the past 17 years Karim has lived in a modest apartment in Brussels. During one of my visits we talked about his life and family, the escape to Belgium and the difficulty of integrating in a foreign country, the current situation in Iraq and the disappointment that the elections haven’t really brought much improvement, and, of course, we talked about photography.

“Brussels is a perfect example of a multicultural city,” he says, “I like living here. I can spend hours walking around and enjoy the atmosphere, and I often take my camera with me. Multiculturalism and social issues are important themes in my work.”

He mainly shoots black and white and he still develops his own negatives.

I started to document his daily life recently. This is an ongoing project.