new sharpening system

Well, it has been a while since I posted anything here. I bought myself a new sharpening system for my lathe tools. it is a Robert Sorby ProEdge Sharpening System. It is based on a 2" sanding belt and is really sweet. It is super easy to sharpen my scrapers, skews, and gouges. For sharpening the skews and gouges, there is a guide included. The only issue I am having is in figuring out how to sharpen my side-grind fingernail bowl gouges. The jig included with the machine is set up to handle only the default grind on the Sorby fingernail bowl gouges. Mine are Sorby, but I do not use the default, factory grind. Instead, my grind is more like an Irish or Ellsworth grind with long wings on both sides. I am working with Ron McKinley on an adaptation that will enable us to use the Oneway Vari-grind to sharpen our gouges. Ron and I have exchanged several emails on the subject, discussing the issue. Hopefully, we will figure it out soon.

until next time...

New camera

I just received a new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30 in black. This seems to be an excellent camera, from it's Leica lens to it's magnesium frame. Among the features that attracted me were the 28-100 equivalent zoom, image stabilization, manual white balance, and live histogram. At 7.2 mp, I'll be able to take photos with lots of resolution. Although it lacks RAW format, it will be great for documenting my world. This camera is tiny, about the size of a cell phone, and it only weighs about 5 ounces.

until next time.

Announcing: KZArts.com, version 3

Greetings All,

I am pleased to announce the launch of version 3 of my website, KZArts.com . 

This is a complete redesign from version 2 and every page is new.  I got rather frustrated with version 2 because I could not add new pages myself because I don't know the language it was coded in.  I have now included pages for my woodturning in addition to my photography.  There is new functionality too.  First, the home page now has samples of my photos and turnings that change each time you go to the page, or refresh it.  Also, by clicking on a thumbnail on any gallery page, a larger image will appear in the center of your screen.  Click on the large image or on "Close", and it disappears.  I think it will be easy to use.  These new function use JavaScript, be sure it is enabled on your browser.

I will be adding more content as time goes on.

I would be interested in any comments or suggestions anyone may have for me.

Keith

Observations on my latest printing experiences

I have been making some prints on 8 1/2 x 11" papers over the past couple of weeks and have made a couple of observations about printing on my Epson R2400. I am using the Epson driver and Epson's K3 inks, using MK. I have done a lot of proofing on both 1/4 sheet and 1/2 sheet sizes on all my paper, and full sheets of EEM.

When I sent my original R2400 back to Epson, they told me to keep the ink, so I have an full set of carts that are 2/3 full. They told me specifically to install the new carts in the new printer and not use the partial carts.

After all the proofing and finished prints I have made, I noticed that the inks that were used fastest were the LK, LLK, and LM. Not the MK. In fact, when I ran out of LK, LLK, and LM, the MK was had 2/3 thirds of the cart left. This really surprised me. I installed the partial carts of these colors and continued printing and am again going to have to replace the LK,LLK, and LM carts.

until next time

First Series Printed

I printed my first series last night.  It was was done for a print exchange for the Yahoo group Digital.  The series consisted of 14 prints, printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 paper on my Epson R2400 printer.  I used the Epson driver and their K3 inkset.  I was very impressed with the prints as they came off the printer.

Procedurally, I had to manually load each sheet of paper using the rear load tray.  This was a new experience for me.  I had always loaded papers through the sheet feeder.

As I looked at the prints, I was amazed at the quality of the image on the paper.  The ink seemed to merge with the paper and the texture of the Photo Rag paper seemed to disappear.  The blacks looked very rich and deep and there was a wonderful scale of grey tones ranging all the way up to almost paper white.

The one thing that surprised me about the entire process was the inks that were used most.  I expected the Matte Black ink to be the most utilized color, but the Light Black and Light Light Black, along with the Light Magenta and Light Cyan were used the most.  Hardly any Matte Black was used.  This really surprised me.  I will have to do some research about this.

All in all, this was a pleasant experience for me and, other than having to manually load each sheet, was not particularly inconvenient.

until next time

Oh Well...

Well, I heard about my entries into the PhotoCentric exhibition and it was not good news. The juror chose not to include any of my photographs in this years exhibition. While I am disappointed, I am not discouraged. I will continue to work on my photography and perhaps I will be more fortunate next time. There will be other exhibitions and I'll keep submitting work to them.

I have been doing more proofing of photos and testing of inkjet papers. I am really pleased with results I have been getting with the Epson K3 inks in my R2400. This printer will service more quite a while.

The process I am using for proofing is to do a straight quarter-sheet print of each and every photograph using my default setting in the Epson driver. Basically, I am printing each image on Epson Enhanced Matte paper with each photo as a greyscale tiff and using Dot Gain 20% as my default profile. I will use this print as a starting point for tweaks to achieve the print for final printing.

The process I am using for tesing the papers is to print the same image on each paper with the same default settings of a greyscale tiff with Dot Gain 20%. The only variable is the paper, everything else is the same. Making this series of prints will allow me to compare the appearance of an image on different papers.

Well, it's on to more testing and proofing.

until next time.

Recent events and proofing continues

This past Tuesday, Central Illinois was hit with 10" of wind-blown snow, a true blizzard. It was the second such snowstorm since the beginning of December. Everything stopped, including a planned trip to Minneapolis, during which, I was planning on attending my first Camera Works Group at the Minnesota Center for Photography. I postponed until the next day and left to a bright sunny day with 30-40 mph winds still blowing all that snow around.

I arrived in Minneapolis in plenty of time to attend the function and was pleasantly surprised. Here was a group of people with photography in common getting together to discuss various topics. After a lengthy discussion about photojournalism, four members posted photos on the wall to be discussed. The first was a series of black & white photos taken of a local football team during the past season, along with photos of people watching the recent Winter Carnival parade in St. Paul, while the temperature was below zero. The second batch were some surreal black & white photos taken with a fish-eye lens. The third batch were black & white street photos taken in New York City. The last batch were color photos taken over four years of the changes the land goes through because of urban sprawl.

While all four sets of photos were powerful in their own right, I was particularly struck by the surreal wide angle photos and the NYC street photos. The discussion about them was extremely enlightening to me. I have always enjoyed shooting wide angle and the fish-eye photos used the inherent distortion from the lens as an important element of the image. The street photos struck with their starkness and the way they made the elements in the image seem to be alive, whether it was a person or a shadow. This is an aspect of black & white photography I have always admired.

I have continued working toward my goal of creating a proof of each photo on my website. today, I bought some Hahnamuhle Photo Rag paper in 8 1/2 x 11" and 11 x 17" sizes. I intend to make letter sized prints for filing purposes. I bought the 11 x 17" so I could print and frame a few photos. I am also looking forward to the 23rd. That is the day I should hear about my submissions into PhotoCentric at the MCP.

until next time.