In a message dated 1/3/2003 5:07:53 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >1. What color ARE color negatives? (color print film)< > > inverted, at least. > > >2. Who's to say the original 4x6 prints are right? (Right in the sense > that they show the color the camera recorded at the time?)< > > nothing says that. Kind of what I suspected. :-) > >3. But if one lab can develop color prints a different color than another > lab can develop them, how can I ever tell if *I* had ANYTHING to do with > the color they come out? < > > you have some influence, but not a lot. you take a picture of something > remotely resembling normal contrast and color across your whole roll and > they are likelty to get it right. take 24 pictures of a red barn door and > you could get anything back. That is what is so strange to me. I mean logically I get how the machine needs a color range (wheel) to set a color standard, but it still seems weird -- counterintuitive that one roll of one color would create problems. > >4. What color is actually there? How come any machine cannot look at color > negatives and arrive at the same color in the prints?< > > printing from negative film means inverting the color and subtracting the > orange mask. that means there isn't any color to look at to tell what the > results should be. also, each machine can be configured differently > according to the operator, and the results also depend on how timely the > machine is maintained. worn out chemicals means worse color. I've been wondering how much can be operator preference. > >5. This is why people use slide film isn't it? Because the developing > process doesn't change the color? And because the photographer can see what > color the pictures really came out?< > > yes. > > >6. *Is* the developing of color slide film accurate? (i.e. Do slides come > out the color the camera recorded?< > > in an absolute sense, no. all films distort color, even color slide. the > question is how much under what conditions. learning the amount and either > compensating for more neutral results or using it creatively is a huge > amount of what experience is about. Got it. That I have yet to acquire, but I will acquire some for sure. > for publication work, color slides are still the standard and being able to > look at a slide and know what color was intended is one reason it came to > dominate. digital files are taking over, but it is a far slower process > than i would like. > > like Mark Roberts, i have decided quite a while ago to scan and print > myself almost all of the time. when i can't because of size or permanence > requirements, i supply a digital file and a printed sample > for color > reference. > Herb... Thanks! Doe aka Marnie
