CNX2 WB Correction Confusions

^{[ These are notes for my WB hacking with CNX2 - it's not meant to be a WB tutorial ]}

Still trying to get to grips with CNX2 white balancing for skin tones. I understand that skin tones should result in R>G>B, with a ratio of [ 1 | 0.85 | 0.75 ] being 'reasonable'.


^{red top | blue bottom | neutral third left}

However, most skin tone tutorials refer to corrections in CYMK but CNX2 gives us RAW development corrections with red-blue values only, although it does give us colour balance corrections with CYMK in the adjustment section.

What are the problems with performing development WB corrections with red and blue only?

Single/Double/Close In Diffuse Action

Lighting shiny products and options: bounce-style softbox (Westcott Apollo) vs straight through softbox (Ezybox)




Vanilla modifier vs extra diffusion vs vanilla modifier close in.

Manfrotto 498rc4 - Not quite like a 486

Manfrotto's ballheads are reasonably priced items that will last a lifetime. I had a 486rc2 compact ballhead that served me well but wanted something that was a little bigger.



Step in the 498rc4 midi ballhead.

Cumulative Key and Fill

^{fill only | key only | key and fill}

Maths seems to rule the world and normally in a complex way. These are notes to allow us to approximate the final exposure based on an overlapping key and fill light.

Wet Spring Cleaning

As with most things commercial, there are a million different products claiming to be the ultimate solution. However it is difficult to narrow these down without recommendations and worse (if you are in the UK) then once you have decided to follow a recommendation, you are likely to find that what you want isn't readily/easily available.

Reaching for Another 50mm: 50mm f/1.4 AI-S

The 50mm 'standard' lens was the 'kit' lens of yesteryear but that didn't mean that they were poor quality. In recent times, the 'basic' Nikkor 50mm was the very affordable and highly competent 1.8D but how does this compare to it's older uncle, the 50mm f/1.4 AI-S?

Going Old School

Who said all design in the 1980s was bad?

No Excuses Allowed

^{image (c) Jonathan Mak}
As the web weeps with it's tributes to Steve Jobs' passing this month, there have been some interesting items from business publications that have come back into the light. Of particular interest is Jobs' handling at Apple which may not be to everyone's tastes.

The (Apollo) Clones are Coming

The Westcott 28" Apollo softbox has been long admired for it's quality of light, but as with most things in life, quality costs. For a long time there were no other softboxes like the Apollos and it appeared that Westcott had survived the attack of the clones (unlike the Lastolite Ezybox), however recently there has been a number of umbrella style hotshoe softboxes appearing: the Westcott Apollo clones are coming.

Love that Magick

There is nothing like a good trick and ImageMagick (IM) has plenty of them - if you need a command line swiss knife image toolset then this is it.

White Balance Targets: WhiBal vs Digital Grey Kard

A colour correct image is important for the basis of any post processing: there are a number of white balance targets on the market (such as Xrite ColorChecker) but the 2 reasonably inexpensive options: the WhiBal vs Digital Grey Kard (aka DGK).

Look closer: The Man. that is older than AI

I don't shoot your traditional macros: I tend to shoot people although I do shoot products occasionally, but never enough to justify a dedicated macro lens. Not until a recent discovery, a Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 AI.

Embedded in RAW

One of the most common debates (ignoring brand wars) in the hobbyist/amateur camera world is whether one should shoot RAW or jpeg (or RAW/jpeg with varying degrees of jpeg quality). For me the decision is easy: shoot RAW.

Virtual Nerd'ing

[ non-geeks need to look away - notes about virtualisation on Linux ]



Years before I became a photo nerd, I was already a computer nerd with C/C++ and UNIX being favourite no-girlfriend past-times. Roll forward the years and now I can both.

Trap Focus: Shutter de-coupled, AF-ON and Fluxing

Hidding in a bush/behind the garbage waiting for something to come into view/focus and immediately want your Nikon to snap it? Trap focus is your friend. Along with the bugs/rats that are in your hidding place.

PocketWizards: Triggering a Remote Camera

This is one of those things that I always have to think twice before getting right, but this is how to remotely trigger your camera AND your lights which are attached to your Pocket Wizards PlusII units.

Prints: Holding on to the Physical - RAW workflow

Whilst all my photography has been limited to digital, there has always never been anything that compares to holding a physical (RGB) print. However, ensuring that your images are printed correctly needs careful attention and involves dealing with colour space/profiles and generating a final print in the print lab's required PPI.

Numbers: Show Me the Numbers..

I like numbers. Good numbers, like 8, and it's just so that I should get to know some more numbers when using my flashes/light modifiers.

Soundtrack to My Life

Music is a powerful thing and has always been around in my life. However, there have been some songs that have burned themselves into my mind as the definitive soundtrack that has punctuated my years.

High Speed Sync: Nikon Options (Revisited)

If you've ever needed to kill ambient midday or required to freeze action, then you'll know that insane shutter speeds are your friend. However, less friendly comes when flash is thrown into the mix.

With Nikon bodies and SB units you've got 3 options to acheive high speed sync (HSS) or auto FP sync (as per Nikon literature): CLS, radio triggers and optical slaves.