Ctein is one of the great photographers and writers of our time, as well as a wonderful person. I've met him on several occasions and, like may who meet him, I instantly liked him as if he were an old friend.
His new book is available at Amazon. It is a tour de force - several hundred pages, all in color and on glossy stock. It is chock full of examples and images, and specific techniques that you can use immediately.
I have glanced through a couple of chapters, and will have more to say later - for now, this is an excellent book that I recommend highly not just for restoration, but for new techniques in masking and color correction.
Mike
New Book by Ctein: Digital Restoration From Start to Finish
Can anyone compare this book to the two classics by Eismann and Margulis? Duplicated or new material, etc.? I'm a real sucker for new books but don't want to re-invent the wheel. OTOH, I have a great deal of respect for Ctein.
"Masking and Compositing" by Katrin Eismann
"Professional Photoshop 5th Ed." by Dan Margulis
Does anyone have Ctein's book?
"Masking and Compositing" by Katrin Eismann
"Professional Photoshop 5th Ed." by Dan Margulis
Does anyone have Ctein's book?
I have Ctein's book. It's a very thorough discussion of almost every aspect of photo restoration. For example, he has a chapter on different types of photograph emulsions, and the unique problems each of them is likely to present for restoration. There is a discussion of how to remove the metallic sheen the develops on some old black and white photos. A list of plugins (including Curvemeister) is given and their relevance to restoration.
The book is not particularly photoshop centric. I've glanced through Eismann's book, and there is much material in the Ctein book that is not covered.
Ctein is not particularly in agreement with Margulis re color calibration, 16 bits, histogram worship, etc. In this, he is more in line with Rodney and Fraser.
Mike
The book is not particularly photoshop centric. I've glanced through Eismann's book, and there is much material in the Ctein book that is not covered.
Ctein is not particularly in agreement with Margulis re color calibration, 16 bits, histogram worship, etc. In this, he is more in line with Rodney and Fraser.
Mike
I'll answer my own question, I guess. Thanks for the comments, Mike. I ordered two of Ctein's books, the new one and his older "Post Exposure: Advanced Techniques for the Photographic Printer, Second Ed." I suspect this is a wet darkroom book, but it should be interesting nonetheless.
I consider myself a moderate when it comes to the philosophy of color correction. I am a scientist by education and profession, and I try never to take a hard line on one side of any argument until all the facts are in and all opinions have been heard. I use histograms sparingly to evaluate my tonal balances. I do not get excited when I see gaps in histograms, as the so-called "missing" colors are so closely matched as to be invisible. The main exception is when doing tonal work in B&W where you can get some banding, and/or in photos in subtly transitioned areas such as blue skies. I do shoot in RAW format, import into either Lightroom and/or CS2/3 and then make adjustments with Curvemeister before cutting back to 8-bit for web or print output. My computer handles 16-bit in good time.
I consider myself a moderate when it comes to the philosophy of color correction. I am a scientist by education and profession, and I try never to take a hard line on one side of any argument until all the facts are in and all opinions have been heard. I use histograms sparingly to evaluate my tonal balances. I do not get excited when I see gaps in histograms, as the so-called "missing" colors are so closely matched as to be invisible. The main exception is when doing tonal work in B&W where you can get some banding, and/or in photos in subtly transitioned areas such as blue skies. I do shoot in RAW format, import into either Lightroom and/or CS2/3 and then make adjustments with Curvemeister before cutting back to 8-bit for web or print output. My computer handles 16-bit in good time.
Regarding being a moderate, I agree, to a point. I see many people laboring under the yoke of calibrating their equipment to the hilt, then still being disappointed when their skin tones are not spot on, and display and printer are not an exact match.
Although Ctein has calibrationist leanings, and still uses film instead of digital, I find him fascinating as an artist, and in his writings what he does say is backed by examples, a rare characteristic that he shares with Dan Margulis.
Mike
Although Ctein has calibrationist leanings, and still uses film instead of digital, I find him fascinating as an artist, and in his writings what he does say is backed by examples, a rare characteristic that he shares with Dan Margulis.
Mike
I received my copy of Ctein's new book "Digital Restoration From Start to Finish" today and quickly thumbed through the table of contents. Superficially, it looks very similar to Katrin Eismann's book on "Restoration and Retouching", and does rely on digital image editors as the tool for most of the repairs. I'll comment on it a bit later after having time to dig deeper.
I also received his older book "Post Exposure - Advanced Techniques for the Photographic Printer, 2nd ed." As I suspected, this is a film-based book, copyright 2000. It does have a wealth of good information relating to handling film and prints, but would perhaps be of limited use to digital photographers. It is an excellent collector's item, if you're into that.
I also received his older book "Post Exposure - Advanced Techniques for the Photographic Printer, 2nd ed." As I suspected, this is a film-based book, copyright 2000. It does have a wealth of good information relating to handling film and prints, but would perhaps be of limited use to digital photographers. It is an excellent collector's item, if you're into that.
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