PAGE Jack and Sue Drafahl

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Steel Etch filter. Original in upper left, filter effect in background (zoom section), and Studio image of watch. Original zoom in section on left, and Steel etch effectfilter menu in lower right. on right. Full image is display in navigator in lower center of screen.

Andromeda

LensDoc filter can correct for pincushion and barrel distortion created byvarious lenses.

Original stock image of covered bridge Covered bridge image after is was cor-taken with fisheye lens. Notice barrel dis- rected with LensDoc filter.fort/on in the roof lines of the bridge.

AS PHOTOGRAPHY makes itsmove from film to digital, there are somechanges in hardware that are occurring.Take photographic filters, for example.Before digital, photographers had filtersof every shape and color in their camerabags and relied on these photographicfilters for image correction, enhance-ment and image manipulation. Star,halo, rainbow, split-focus, soft-focus,color correction, multi-image, and

refraction filters were just some of thefavorites used by film photographers.

With the introduction of AdobePhotoshop plug-in filters, several com-panies like Andromeda Software Inc.,have created Photoshop compatible soft-ware filters designed to duplicate thesefilter effects. The difference is that theireffect takes place after the image is taken.Photographers can now capture thescene normally on film or digital, and

then add the desired effect later by usingplug-in filters. The software version evenallows you to adjust the strength of thefilter. Best of all, you can try completelydifferent types of filters and previewyour results before saving them to a newfile.

Andromeda's basic filter groupsinclude Photographic Tools and LensEffects, Artistic Screening Tools, andGraphic Design Resources. The three

58 RANCEFINDER • JULY 2002

most recent introductions includeScatterLight Lenses and LensDoc Filterfrom the photographic group, andEtchTone filter from the artistic group.

The EtchTone filter can take any typeof black-and-white or color image and,using a special process, add a steel etcheffect. When you open the EtchTone fil-ter menu, you are presented with ver-sions that illustrate the before and aftereffect of the filter. You have the choice ofconverting the entire image to steel etchor blending and overlaying so that a per-centage of steel etch blends into the orig-inal image. The option is also available toposterize the image and increase the etcheffect with various levels of sharpening.A threshold control adjusts how the finalimage is affected in the shadows, mid-tones and highlights.

We found that some of the best sub-jects for this filter were those with metalobjects in the original scene. Don't limityourself there, though, as the previewimage function in the filter will help youdetermine which images are best suitedfor this filter.

The ScatterLight Lenses are similar todiffusion filters as they can create thebrightest area in a scene to be renderedin various degrees of soft focus. These fil-ters are extremely well suited for portrait,wedding and product photography,where you want to create a foggy ormisty effect. Our favorite is called theDreamOptic Lens where you can select f-stop settings from f/4 to f/16 to providea range of effects from extreme soft focusto just a slight soft focus.

The LensDoc filter is unique as it cor-rects problems with perspective distor-tion, ban-el distortion, pincushioning,image leveling and rotational adjust-ments. When you open this filter menu,you are given the option to fix perspec-tive, fix distortion or fix rotation. Withfix perspective, you align special markersalong the line that you want to correct,click the correct button and magically abuilding that was falling over, nowstands straight. If you select the fix dis-tortion, you must first indicate whichcamera and lens were used to take theimage. You are then presented with twosets of markers that you place on distort-ed lines that should have been straight.

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Press the appropriate lens setup adthe correction is made. If you have atitling image, the fix rotation allowsyou to align a few points that youwant to be horizontal or vertical,press the align button and theimage is fixed.

Andromeda has more than adozen other filters that duplicatemany of the traditional photo-graphic filters. Log onto www.andromeda.com and look at thesamples. You can even download atrial version of the programs beforeyou buy. So, what are you waitingfor?

lack and Sue Drafahl are freelance journal-ists/photographers living in the PacificNorthwest. They have owned and operat-ed a custom lab and service bureau, ImageConcepts, for many years. They can bereached at: concepts@pacifier.com. TheDrafahls new web site is: www.jackandsuedrafahl.com

ScatterLight filter was used to give a diffused fog appear-ance to lamp posts.

ScatterLight filter, left, was used to create a misty moodfeeling with a sequence of wedding images.

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