book release: Color Pipeline

[teddillard]

This is partly self-promotion, but also just to post a rave about ColorThink...

ColorThink is a really sweet color management tool, one of the many things it does is to give you an illustration of gamut.  Fine, a few other (free) applications do this too, (like Apple's ColorSync Utility) but ColorThink also will show the gamut of an image.  You load in an image file, it shows the colors in the file.  You can then compare them to a color space, the gamut of a printer, and so forth...  

Here's the Chromix site: http://www2.chromix.com/colorthink/index.cxsa

This got me to thinking.  

Suddenly, using this program, I could actually see colors on the color space.  I could see changes that will happen when you make moves from one space to another, (like ProPhoto to Adobe), and changes from one rendering intent to another.  Thus, Color Pipeline was conceived.  

I wrote this book as an analysis of the path of color through the digital system- and started from the subject.  In it I'm watching, and working with, colors from when the light falls on the chip reflected from the subject right through to the experience of viewing the print.  I go into detail, at each step, on how and what your controls are, and how you can use them to fulfill your vision when you first saw the subject.  I use ColorThink throughout the book, not to control the colors, but  to illustrate how the tools you have are controlling the colors.

My little personal subtitle for the book is "color management now that it actually works...", after suffering a lot of the early years of what was wistfully called  a "management system".     It's a little different approach to looking at Color Management, and for me, personally, a true "eureka" moment.  

I'm really excited to announce the release of the book last week...  it's available at most Barnes and Noble stores, and online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble's site.  
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Color-Pip...00593925/?itm=1

Here's a screen shot of part of the "Color Journey", showing the ColorThink screens.  

[attachment=10200:Picture_1.png]

I'd also like to, here, publicly thank Andrew Rodney, the first guy that explained anything (via an online post) in Color Management that made sense to me, and Joe Holmes for repeated smacks upside my head correcting my photographer's translations of the language of color science.  You all know the Digital Dog, not sure if you know Joe: http://www.josephholmes.com/

[Mark D Segal]

Ted,

Congratulations - writing a book and getting it published is no easy task so kudos to you.

Now, I ask this question not only to satisfy my own curiosity, but that of others in a similar position who may be considering buying your book. For those of us who already own Andrew Rodney's Color Management for Photographers and Bruce Fraser's et. al, RWCM 2nd edition, could you briefly explain what differentiates yours from theirs, or otherwise put, what approaches or perspectives or information do you bring to the table which they don't? I'm looking to understand the value-added I would obtain from buying a third volume on this subject.

Mark

[teddillard]

Ted,

Congratulations - writing a book and getting it published is no easy task so kudos to you.

Now, I ask this question not only to satisfy my own curiosity, but that of others in a similar position who may be considering buying your book. For those of us who already own Andrew Rodney's Color Management for Photographers and Bruce Fraser's et. al, RWCM 2nd edition, could you briefly explain what differentiates yours from theirs, or otherwise put, what approaches or perspectives or information do you bring to the table which they don't? I'm looking to understand the value-added I would obtain from buying a third volume on this subject.

Mark

Thanks Mark!

That's a very valid question, and actually one that I ask myself before starting, or even proposing any book to my publisher.  There's no need to re-do what's been said before...  and many so well, yet, learning is almost always about restating in different ways, until the parts fit, or the light goes on.

As I've said above, this is a very visual approach.  You can literally see the colors' relationships change, and you can start to understand, again, very visually, what is happening in the color management system when this information is processed.

I've got nothing but respect for both those authors and all the work they've done, but having said that, it wasn't until a cryptic clue from Joe Holmes about how the math works, that is, how values are essentially "graphed" in three dimensions, and those "graphs" are compared mathematically, that the entire color management engine became something more than a black box for me.  (I'm using quotes because still, Joe rails on me for calling it a graph...  heh.)

If you're well versed on Color Management and feel you understand how the system, and the math works, I'd think you may get more out of just messing with the ColorThink Software.  If you're trying to get your head around how color management works, as a system, but more importantly how and when you can use that system for making better images, then I think this is a unique approach.  Also, being as immersed in capture and RAW processing as I am, a lot of what I'm trying to explain is the RAW file, and how that works within the color management model.  

I tried very hard to always keep this in the context of taking, processing and printing a photograph, rather than becoming a color scientist...  

[Mark D Segal]

Thanks Ted.

[nik]

Congratulations on the book, not an easy subject to put in to words. I also would like to thank the likes of Andrew Rodney and especially Joe Holmes for the private and public forum lessons on color management.

-Nik

[Mark D Segal]

I've ordered it and look forward to reading.

[teddillard]

I've ordered it and look forward to reading.

Thanks Mark!  I look forward to hearing what you think of it.

[francois]

…
I look forward to hearing what you think on it.

Me too! I'll have to wait until after Christmas to order it, postal service is a mess at the end of the year.

[David Good]

Congratulations Ted, you have taken a unique approach to this and I look forward to reading your book. I have had ColorThink 2.2 on Windows for quite a few years and use it often to better visualize what is happening with an image and/or profile.

Are you using ColorThink 2.2 or Pro for your illustrations?

Dave

[Jeff-Grant]

Thanks for the heads up, Ted. I just ordered it on Amazon. It sounds like just what I was after.

[teddillard]

Congratulations Ted, you have taken a unique approach to this and I look forward to reading your book. I have had ColorThink 2.2 on Windows for quite a few years and use it often to better visualize what is happening with an image and/or profile.

Are you using ColorThink 2.2 or Pro for your illustrations?

Dave

Thanks, Dave!

I think I tried both, but to be honest I can't remember what I actually used.  (I'm not at that workstation right now...)  I'm thinking 2.2, the Pro just seemed a whole lot slower and didn't give me any advantage for what I was trying to do.

[teddillard]

Congratulations on the book, not an easy subject to put in to words.

-Nik

yeah, that's why I like the pictures...  heh.