Larkmetals, why was this guy banned?

Gollnick said:
It sort of makes you wonder about the majority of the best knife images out there... doesn't it?
Click to expand...
He he he! ZING! ;) :p :eek:

The requirements for a semi-clean slate from this one NEW publisher to the knife industry are not going to trivialize all the great multiple image works by Point Seven, Chuck Ward, myself and others. That would be letting the tail wag the dog.

I suspect they are going to have a great book with a different look and lots of appeal. I am happy to attempt to fulfill their requirements. If they need fresh untouched images, then so be it. This may be a disservice to many makers, but not because I didn't previously deliver a product that wasn't filled with value for them.

Anyway, we'll see what they really need.

Coop
 
When I take a digital photo with my camera, they look anemic and dull. Due probably, to not enough light. Also the colors are not always accurate. Digital photograph needs editing and I feel the knife photographs do a very good job of portraing the knives accurately.

I have been very pleased with Coop's work :thumbup: and do hope we can work with Lark Books on this project.
 
I just received this email from Lark Books. Marthe seems like a very nice Lady to deal with. I would like to apologize for referring to her as a 'he' in the start of this thread, I didn't know.



> Dear Don,
>
> Thanks for bringing this to my attention. If the images are edited by highly
> skilled professionals, such as Jim Cooper and Eric Eggly, then they should
> be perfectly acceptable to reproduce in the book.
>
> It is only the nonprofessional photoshop jobs that are unacceptable. You
> would not believe how many poorly edited images we receive for each book. It
> often seems like anyone with a camera and a computer thinks they can produce
> an image that is worthy of reproduction, and as we both know, this is not
> the case.
>
> I will reword the digital specifications and repost them on our website.
> Thank you so much for the very valuable insight. I am deeply indebted.
>
> With Kindest Regards,
>
> Marthe
>
>
> Marthe Le Van
> Jewelry & Metals Editor
> Lark Books
> 67 Broadway
> Asheville, NC 28801 USA
> 828-253-0467 Ext. 749
> 828-253-7952 Fax
 
I also had an email exchange. Here is what they say:

Joss,

While it would be great to get an image of a neutral grey card for color correction, I’m sorry to say it won’t help. I can’t guarantee that the separate image of the grey card will follow your digital image entry to the color separator for color correction (we don’t do color correction in-house). If you wanted to put a small grey card in the corner/edge of the actual image (and it doesn’t obscure any part of the main shot), that would probably be acceptable. But again, I can’t guarantee any kind of color correction.

Thank you,

Shannon Yokeley
Associate Art Director
Lark Books
67 Broadway
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 253-0467 ex. 721


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Joss Delage <j.delage@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 15:53:30 -0700
To: <digitalquestions@larkbooks.com>
Subject: Digital images for "500 knives" work
- Hide quoted text -


Hi,

Could you tell me whether you would like to get a duplicate of the image with a neutral grey card in the picture, in order for you to do the color correction? It would seem that otherwise you would have no way to assess the real color of the object.

Many thanks,

Joss Delage
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In the other thread on the subject, I explained a bit about how digital cameras work and how digital photo editting works and about red/green/blue and such.

Now you need to know that you can't print red/green/blue. RGB is a transmissive system. A picture does not transmit light. A picture reflects light. Think of it like a teeter-totter at a playground. To make the other end go up, you have to make your end go down. You have to do the opposite of what you want the result to be.

If you illuminate it with white light, then to make a surface appear red, that surface must absorb the green and blue components of your white light and reflect back the red component. To make a surface appear yellow, you need to absorb the blue and reflect back the red and green. If your goal is not a pure yellow but more of a gold hue, then reflect back more red than green.

To print, you need a color system such that when white light hits the page, it will reflect back the correct color in RGB space. The most compact of the reflective systems is Yellow, Cyan, Magenta, Black.

By mixing red, green, and blue light, you can create a light source that transmits any color. By mixing Yellow, Cyan, Magenta, and Black, you can create a printed (or painted or any other finish) surface that will reflect white light back as any color. Some printers use YCMB. But Magenta has proven a difficult color to formulate. My Epson 1280 printer uses Yellow, Cyan, and three intermediate shades of ink around Magenta, plus black.

A computer printer like mine sprays the ink on the page. But, when a book is printed, it runs through the press multiple times, or through multiple successive presses, each pass applying a single color.

To make this all happen and happen correctly, you must first translate the RBG digital image file into whatever reflective color space you're going to use, YCMB or, more likely, a more complex color space such as my Epson printer uses, YC1C2C3MB. Then, you have to separate all the colors out and prepare separate files for each of pass through the press. The exact colors of the inks used, the exact presses used, the type and color of paper used (and there's really no such thing as white paper), even the temperature and humidity in the plant will affect the final color. So, this has to be done by someone who is intimately familiar with the exact process and materials that will be used.

These processes, color space conversion and, to a lesser extent, separation, are more digital signal processing operations, mathematical operations, wherein there is a potential to introduce noise and loose color depth. That makes it even more important that a digital image file heading into this process be clean and have as much color depth as possible.
 
Please accept my deepest apologies for not following the posting rules. I certainly did not intend to conduct myself improperly or show any disrespect to the community. Eric Isaacson was kind enough to allow me back on to the forum, and I am tremendously grateful.

To properly introduce myself, I am the metals and jewelry editor for a publishing company, Lark Books, which is owned by Barnes & Noble. We have been producing a high-quality series of "500" books for many years. Please visit our website at www.larkbooks.com to see samples of the books.

The original call for entries has been reposted in the Knifemakers Forum, General Knifemakers Discussion. Please do not hesitate to reply with questions or comments anytime.

With Kindest Regards,

Marthe Le Van
 
Marthe,

Welcome back. One question that was raised was with regard to makers who do not have (good) photos of some of their best pieces. How best can collectors contribute some of those pictures, when they own the pieces? Would it be best to have the collectors consolidate pictures and send to the maker, who will then send to you a consolidated folder? Or would you rather have the collectors each send you 1 or 2 pictures?

Thanks,

Joss Delage
 
It's great to see you back, Marthe. I was hoping that everything would get worked out and that you would be back.
 
Joss said:
Marthe,

Welcome back. One question that was raised was with regard to makers who do not have (good) photos of some of their best pieces. How best can collectors contribute some of those pictures, when they own the pieces? Would it be best to have the collectors consolidate pictures and send to the maker, who will then send to you a consolidated folder? Or would you rather have the collectors each send you 1 or 2 pictures?

Thanks,

Joss Delage
Click to expand...

Dear Joss,

Thank you for your excellent question. In this specific situation, it would be best for the collectors to send their images to the artist, and then for the artist to make one, consolidated submission for the book. On the entry form, there is a space to credit a collector or gallery. The last line of the caption can read, "Collection of (the person's name)" or it can read, "Private Collection" if the collector would rather remain anonymous.

Thanks,

Marthe
 
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