At the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, our imaging
department places a Kodak color bar and grayscale within every scan. We replace
the targets every 6 months or so and keep them in their enclosures within light
tight drawers to minimize fading.
Just yesterday, one of my interns from the art department questioned the
quality of one of our scans of a Robert Heinecken photograph. I pointed out to
her that because the artist was experimental in his approach, the images did
not always look like one would expect a full toned black and white photograph
to look. The clue was in the appearance of the targets and the tonal
percentages we measure within them.
The National Archives and Records Administration guidelines below are
particularly useful as they suggest specific values to aim for in the black,
white and middle gray of the Kodak targets. The NARA target recommendations
are very closely aligned with recommendations we have garnered from pre-press
digital professionals for creating publication quality scans. See pages 35 and
36 in the guidelines below for handy illustrations.
http://www.archives.gov/preservation/technical/guidelines.html
Based on Tim Atherton's comments, I wish a similar guide would be published
that references the Greytag MacBeth targets. Kodak targets are getting hard to
find. If anyone has seen a publication comparable to the NARA guidelines that
reference the MacBeth targets I would be interested in learning about it.
Best,
Dianne
~
?
Dianne Nilsen
Head of Digital Initiatives and Imaging
Center for Creative Photography
The University of Arizona
P.O. Box 210103
Tucson, AZ? 85721-0103
?
p. 520-307-2829
f. 520-621-9444
http://www.creativephotography.org
-Original Message-
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Tim
Atherton
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 3:39 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] photography, digitization, and a color/grey card?
And don't bother with the Kodak cards - get the Gretag Macbeth ones instead.
(they usefully come in a couple of sizes as well).
(especially, don't rely on old colour charts you may have around from the
days when you had a photographer 7 or 8 years ago. They fade over time and
the colours also fade differentially)
http://xrite.gretagmacbethstore.com/index.cfm?act=catalog.cfm&menugroup=__me
nu+usa+new
tim a
--
Tim Atherton
Assistant Curator
(Archives & Research)
Mus?e H?ritage Museum, St. Albert
(780) 459-1594
tatherton at st-albert.net
On 10/14/08 3:06 PM, "Frank E. Thomson" wrote:
> I would suggest shooting an image of the color bar at the start of each
> session, maybe not in every image. But it would be helpful later trying to
> match color and value.
>
> Frank Thomson, Curator
>
> Asheville Art Museum
>
> PO Box 1717
>
> Asheville, NC 28802
>
> 828.253.3227 tel
>
> 828257.4503 fax
>
> www.ashevilleart.org
>
> -Original Message-
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
> Jansonius, Remko (Vizcaya)
> Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 5:04 PM
> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> Subject: [MCN-L] photography, digitization, and a color/grey card?
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
>
>
> We are about to digitize a collection of photo albums containing
> 1910s/20s photographs; while they are black and white, many have
> discolored and turned sepia over the years. Since these are fragile,
> bound volumes we will be doing this through photography rather than
> scanning. Would you say it is necessary or advisable or standard
> practice to use a color card or a grey card during this process?
>
>
>
> As always, I greatly appreciate y'all's input!
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> Remko Jansonius
>
> Collections and Archives Manager
>
> Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
>
> Miami, FL
>
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--
Tim Atherton
Assistant Curator
Mus?e H?ritage Museum, St. Albert
(780) 459-1594
tatherton at st-albert.net
___
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