Technical Note: The
index page was created using Photoshop 6.0's File > Automate > Web Gallery
feature. All the images on the index page are at a width of 150 pixels with
all the thumbnails on one page. There's no reason to do more clicking with
two index pages. The top images load first and the viewer
will have to scroll down anyway. Using a larger thumbnail gives a good idea of what the BIG picture will be. The
full images were all done at 800 X 600. The images themselves run between 60K
and 80K. High speed lines won't have a problem, but that's pretty tall
stuff for an 28.8 line. I like clicking the first image and then surf
along the images with the "next icon." Maybe a 640 X 480 version
of this page will come out, yet.
Even with 800 X 600, the print quality
will suffer. If you want a high quality image for printing, I probably have
it, but maybe it won't be exactly like the images above. I
didn't save a Photoshop Document file (.PSD) for each correction.
The PSDs run about 2 to 4 megs with the Adjustment Layers. That's too
much. They were saved with the File > Save for Web command in jpg
format with medium quality then the working PSD file was discarded.
Over half of the images were color corrected with Photoshop's
Levels Command and Color Balance and then sharpen a touch with the Unsharp Mask
Filter.
None of them were taken with a flash. The real beauty of a
digital camera. Some of them were cropped to give a better
composition. (Purist photographers only shoot full frame, but what could
the Crop Tool be for, if not to use it?)
The generated pages from Photoshop 6.0 for the Web Gallery are
very basic. I take the genrated pages into Front Page and add some
formatting. If there's time I can create some text graphics. Also, the
links and these notes are all added with MS FP.
Why aren't
there any pictures during the speaker's presentation.
I brought my kids along. They had my
Logitech Traveler Web Cam. The Traveler part let's it work as an
independent digital camera. They were taking pictures and God knows what
else, but when I got the camera back it was set on close-up, which I didn't realize
and all my images are blurry and fuzzy. Your know? What'ya do?
Notes
on the Composite: Again done with Photoshop 6.0. Lot's of
corrections on each image that went into it. Each image was scaled by hand
before being added to the composition or sized with Image > Edit >
Transform > Scale. Each image lives on it's own
layer. There are 9 layers in the image. I think I have one hidden
layer. Basically one per image with
a Text Layer for the title. I will develop a PCUGR watermark, but I don't
have one yet.
Once the work was completed, approximately 3 hours,
it was obvious that I had built the boat in the basement. I had increased
the canvas size of the composite image to better suit the work that I was
bringing in. I didn't want to resize everything, because it creates a
sharpening nightmare. It's final size is 942 X 719. To ease, but not
eliminate the download burden, I created Guides that approximated the size of
each smaller image and then jumped to Photoshop Image Ready to build
Slices based on Guides. The HTML table to hold all the parts is
automatically generated by Image Ready. Use View > Source from Internet
Explorer and Netscape has something similar to view the HTML. It's
impressive. If you right click on any piece to save the image you will
only get the part you clicked on. Try it.
I did create a
smaller image using Image > Image Size. I stepped the image down
about 100 pixel at a time which prevents color shifts and blurring which makes
you double sharpen to get rid of it. I was pleased. It wasn't the tragedy
I thought I would have.
The smaller
images in the lower right-hand corner have been giving a layer style of Outer
Glow with a 6 pixel margin. It sets these pictures off, but still leaves
them as part of the composition. You will notice a sharp point of the
image just about the Kaitlin's back, the speaker. It needs to be soften and
blended but I was done.
Creative Note:
The idea was to give the flavor of a swap meet. The Close up of Cecelia in
the foreground gives the feeling
of people in front you, keeping you from what everyone else is so very
interested in. People talking. People explaining. Things
moving around, so there is no one spot on the work where your eye can rest for
long. You'll start looking around again.
Jim
Bowers
Facilitator for the Digital Imaging SIG
