Enable best settings for Photographs in Firefox

Friends you all know I am great fan of the Mozilla Web browser Firefox. Along with tech and Linux Digital Photography is also something that makes my heart flutter :) Here is a quick guide to enable optimal setting in your Firefox for displaying the best looking photos.

Go to address bar type about:config  and press enter.. now in the search bar type gfx.color
press enter. You should see the following entries with there default values.

gfx.color_management.enablev4   ----- false

gfx.color_management.mode    ------- 2

gfx.color_management.rendering_intent ------ 0

gfx.color_management.display_profile ----- blank

Now before we go on tweaking the settings make sure that you are set to use Color management at the OS level. I use Fedora Linux with KDE 4.10.x which has system wide color management enable.
For Windows look under Control Panel > Color management. Make sure the OS load the correct ICC profile for the monitor that you have.

You can also use the model specific tool for this.. for e.g my Samsung SyncMaster came with software to load the correct monitor profile and color setting tools. Check you vendor web site for updates or patches for your model. Now once we have a color profiled monitor and OS ...

Toggle gfx.color_management.enablev4   --- True.

Possible values and their effects

False    (default) Version 4 is not enabled
True    Version 4 is enabled

gfx.color_management.rendering_intent   change to    -1

Possible values and their effects

-1   

Honor the rendering intent specified in the image file.

0    

Perceptual 

(Default)

1    

Relative colorimetric

2    Saturation

3   Absolute colorimetric

gfx.color_management.mode  change to 1 

Possible values and their effects

0   Disable color management.
1   Enable color management for rendered graphics.
2  Enable color management for tagged graphics only. (Default)

"Value 0" equals "Color management disabled" — This means different things depending on the Operating System:

OS-X, Windows: RGB 'numbers' are passed straight to the monitor unchanged. 

"Value 1" equals "Full color management" — This means everything tagged is Converted to Monitor RGB, and everything untagged is Assigned sRGB and then Converted to Monitor RGB.

"Value 2" equals "Color management applied only to tagged images" — This means Tagged files are Converted to Monitor RGB and untagged RGB is sent straight to the monitor unchanged.

That's all it that simple to have better Photographs in Firefox, restart the web browser. If you find all this manual editing a bit of hassle use the "Color Management" add-on to do the same. Have fun :) 

RAW vs JPEG file showdown

Well some times I get mails and questions like ....  keep hearing about something called RAW what is a Raw file ??? Should I use the RAW mode of my camera ??? RAW mode is slow why should I use it.. Jpeg or RAW which is the best and why ???

OK so here we go ...

What is a JPEG file:

Simple answer: A graphic file type that is almost universal and can be opened anywhere. Is small in size. Offers good to decent image quality.

Technical answer: The name "JPEG" stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the name of the committee that created the JPEG standard and also other standards. The JPEG standard specifies the codec. A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder".

Which defines how an image is compressed into a stream of bytes and decompressed back into an image, but not the file format used to contain that stream. The compression method is usually lossy, meaning that some original image information is lost and cannot be restored, affecting image quality. There is an optional lossless mode defined in the JPEG standard; however, that mode is not widely supported in software products.

What does a JPEG file contain: 

•     Color space definition
•     Component sub-sampling registration
•     Pixel aspect ratio definition.

What is RAW file:

Simple answer: A graphic file type that is different for each company or even camera model no. (e.g Canon .CRW and .CR2 files). RAW files are much bigger in size. Offers the best image quality. RAW files require special software to open and edit. A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited. Normally, the image is processed by a raw converter software.

Technical answer: Raw image formats are intended to capture as closely as possible (i.e. at the best of the specific sensor's performance) the radiometric characteristics of the scene, that is, physical information about the light intensity and color of the scene. Most raw image file formats store information sensed according to the geometry of the sensor's individual photo-receptive elements sometimes called pixels rather than points in the expected final image: sensors with hexagonal element displacement, for example, record information for each of their hexagonally-displaced cells, which a decoding software will eventually transform into the rectangular geometry during "digital developing".

Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as negatives in film photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image. Likewise, the process of converting a raw image file into a viewable format is sometimes called developing a raw image, by analogy with the film development process used to convert photographic film into viewable prints. The selection of the final choice of image rendering is part of the process of white balancing and color grading. Like a photographic negative, a raw digital image have a wider dynamic range or color gamut than the eventual final image format, and it preserves most of the information of the captured image. The purpose of raw image formats is to save, with minimum loss of information, data obtained from the sensor, and the conditions surrounding the capturing of the image.

What does a RAW file contain:

• A short file header which typically contains an indicator of the byte-ordering of the file, a file identifier and an offset into the main file data.
• Camera sensor metadata which is required to interpret the sensor image data. This includes the size of the sensor, the attributes of the CFA and its color profile.
• Image metadata which is required for inclusion in any CMS environment or database. These include the exposure settings, camera/scanner/lens model, date (and, optionally,place) of shoot/scan, authoring information and other. Some raw files contain a standardized metadata section with data in Exif format.
• An image thumbnail. Optionally a reduced-size image in JPEG format, which can be used for a quick and less computing-intensive preview.
• The sensor image data

Ok all this info is awesome and all but, too much info and computer tech doodle. Can you give me some simple easy to use information ;) ...Sure

JPEG versus RAW:
JPEGs are:
Faster to shoot
Faster to Save
Smaller in file size, consequently you can save many more panos/images on a drive.
Can be opened/edited in just about any graphics program
Cross-platform
Little or no learning curve
Anyone or almost any camera can shoot JPGs
8-bit files (only 256 color per channel)
Limited ability to color correct
Generally, you need to bracket in ONE f-stop increments.
Very limited in overall detail, but especially in highlight and shadow details
(in other words dark areas go black quickly and highlights go completely white quickly)
Better for shooting "journalistic" or fast moving/changing scenes, especially with people in them.

RAW files are:

Slower to shoot
Slower to save (More bits = bigger file size = more hard drive space needed = less images can be saved to a hard drive)
Larger in file size (14-bit RAWs are about 25% larger than 12-bit RAWs)
12-bit files have 4096 colors per channel and 14-bit files have 16,384!
Are "proprietary" per camera manufacturer and even within a single manufacturer
(i.e.: Canon) they have multiple RAW formats (i.e.: .CR2 and .CRW)
Much more exposure latitude, consequently fewer photos to cover a large exposure range.
(i.e. 3 RAW files can cover a range that 5 or 6 jpegs would be needed to cover)
This also means less bracketing!
Ability to change color temperature after its been shot.
Have to be "processed" in a digital darkroom (i.e.: Adobe Lightroom) and then saved as secondary file such as Tiff, JPG, EXR, etc.
Are Non-destructive! At this point, RAW files cannot be saved. Therefore you can always go back to the original and make additional corrections.
Are naturally a bit "soft" looking. RAW files are INTENDED to be sharpened, so some photographers have a hard time switching for that reason alone.

**Special note -- Cameras with a small sensor size like many Pro zoomers and Four-micro systems. Using ISO speeds of over 800 or more generally results in bad quality or lot of digital noise. Using a RAW file will always give you better results after De-nosing/noise removal than using a jpeg.

In terms of colors, what is the difference between 8-bit, 12-bit, 14-bit, and 16-bit files?
    • 8-bit files: 256 colors (shades of gray) per RGB channel
    • 12-bit files: 4,096 colors (shades of gray) per RGB channel
    • 14-bit files: 16,384 (shades of gray) per RGB channel
    • 16-bit files: 65,536 colors (shades of gray) per RGB channel

Cool so still why use RAW ??
In terms of practical application, having more bits per channel basically means more subtle/smoother color variations, more highlight, and more shadow details are
available.This simply means that you will have more rich and bright, vibrant colors = better looking photographs. Personally, I always try and shoot RAW. Once you go RAW, you never want to go back to the “old” way. (Assuming you know how to properly process them)

Nice how do I start with RAW files and what software is needed???

Set your camera to RAW mode. Start shooting. For basic simple level editing of RAW files use IrfanView free get it at http://www.irfanview.com/

For proper full "processed" RAW file in a digital darkroom use Adobe Lightroom or
Raw Therapee free get it at http://rawtherapee.com/

Then saved as secondary file such as Tiff, JPG, EXR, PNG.
I recommend using PNG over JPG much better quality and decent file size.

Why not use RAW files ??
You have a old and slow computer.
Full and proper RAW processing requires a fast computer with lots of RAM.
RAW files take a lot of space, so if you are running out of disk space it is better to use JPEG.
You mainly shoot to upload the photos online, best possible quality is not an absolute requirement.
You do not want to learn new software and do any type of digital processing.
Developing/Processing RAW files is a time consuming activity. Which may lead to excessive consumption of Coffee, jolt cola, red bull and other such energy drinks ;)
You are pressed for time, you just need basic edit, crop, save. Use jpeg
You are just plain lazy ;)

Disclaimer: Parts of this post were sourced from the Internet and placed here for easy and quick reference.

Ridonklus I say!!!!!!!!!!!

Woke up this morning and logged into my Google+ plus account was checking out the updates from my various circles and enjoying my morning coffee. Noticed that the order of my circles were not at what I had set them at. Did not make a big deal of it... more coffee and surfing at Google+ ... As many of the regular readers of the blog will know that I am a big fan of KDE and digiKam photo management software. That from time to time I keep posting bits about both and beta test/file bug reports for them.

Along the same line I was testing and reporting an update for digiKam 2.0.0 ... it kept giving me an error "post could not be saved" as we know Google+ is still a public beta I thought it may be a temporary snag. Logged into my Facebook account and checked few updates ... the works ... now tried to post the update again on Google+ same error. Hmm what is going on ... well more checking of cool stuff at Google+ ....

Just happen to click on My Home link and BAM there it is !!!!! Oh the horror it seems my profile is suspended!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW wait a minute for what I say. I don't post Porn, nudity or hate speech in my circles. On the contrary have always helped fellow Google users with there problems. Have even help resolve and mitigate a nasty JavaScript worm that was spreading at Orkut in the past. Yes I am an early adopter of Google's Orkut Social network, have successfully manage and run huge community's at Orkut. My account is a verified one, have won several badges including "Uses most of orkut's features".

All the hoopla seems to be over the usage of "Monts Here". Well if it helps since day one I have had the same name on arch rival social network Facebook. All my friends know and call me 'Monts'. I am a amateur photographer and watermark/label my photographs with "Monts Here". I have the same name/id on Google's another social network photo sharing site Panoramio (http://www.panoramio.com/user/5700136) This was indeed much before the launch of Google+. On another popular photo sharing site Flickr I go by the ID 'Monts 4 ya' and that is indeed an old account. I have even posted photos back in 2006-2007.

"Please remember that we are currently limiting profiles to individuals and will be launching a profile for businesses and other entities later this year." Is what G+ says. I clearly state that I am a passionate armature photographer. It is not my profession, I do not make money from it. Nor do I sell any photography related product or services. I am a computer tech by profession and very clearly stated that on my G+ profile as well as my blog over here. however I do not sell any computer product, service or even support of any type on these social networks. The Google+ profile just like my Facebook profile is a personal one.

Well as a popular joke goes in India .. does all this has the hand of a foreign conspirator power ;) :p :p  or have I irked someone so much they are reporting that my profile is a fake one ??? hmm well could be or then maybe not... thought it does feel flattering to think so ;)

Google+ has been suspending the accounts with commercial id's and pseudo names... so for now at least I will rule the above conspiracy theories out. Do I think it is a bad thing ... well not really. It is a good thing and will keep things clean, good for security. Thankfully Google is not a one way street and they do listen to user feed back. All other Google services are working like gmail, blogger etc .... If those were blocked too that would have really made me mad indeed. 

So I here you saying 'Monts... so what is the ranting all about...' Well for once I would like to leverage the power of social networking for personal ends. I would request you to share the link to this post in your circles and friends on Google+. I have already filled the form to remove the ban. I have good faith in Google, but it never hurts if you have a few friends lobbying for you cause. Please post and re post on Google+ Thanks

Feedback from the whole episode :

• If and when a Google+ account is suspended for now you do not have any auto feed back. A mail would have been very polite. Thank you Google.
•  If you are active on a social network, normally you fill out 'about me' once and hardly update/edit the details every other day. No I am not self obsessed and do not check the about Me page everyday.
• By default one goes to the Stream page on Google+. The suspension note should be displayed there. UI/coder at Google+ should look into this. Accessibility tip :) 
• Kudos to Google of having the common sense of not disabling/suspending all other Google services linked to the account. As was reported before, that would have enraged me.

It is good that there is a link that lets you appeal against  the ban. But then "Reviews are usually completed within a few days." Bummer. Need for speed faster and better please few hours not days ... :D  Now hoping that the account will be back to normal very soon. :D Thanks all.

How to make HDR (High Dynamic Range) Images the quick and easy way

Often while surfing the Internet, Photo Blogs you come across some stunning landscape. You wish you could also capture photos like that. You do some digging around and come to know that the photo is of  HDR type (High Dynamic Range). You search the Internet for more info.. after few hours your head is full of so much technical jargon. You actually forget what you set out to do. 

It does not have to be this way. Today I will show you a step by step way to make your own HDR images. As always we will preffer to use Open Source tools and programs to do so. The program that we will use today is called Luminance HDR 2.0.2 It works under Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Digital-Photo-Tools/Luminance-HDR.shtml  To get the Windows version.

http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/?cat=5   To get the Source Code or Mac OS version

Download and install the version that fits the version of your O.S We will be using the Qt version on Fedora Linux, all the versions should look the same. Before we go on. Making good HDR images takes time and a lot of patience and experimentation. So enjoy and love the learning process. Now launch Luminance HDR 2.0.2 Click on New HDR Image. The HDR Creation Wizard will open.

Click on Next

Now Click on Load Image, you can choose Jpeg, PNG, GIF and even RAW files 

Select a file and choose Open.

Now change the EV value and Click Next.

Don't make any changes on this screen and Click Finish.

Now the Real experimentation begins, change the value of Mapping and see the change.

Now Click on Tone Map HDR Image (this will save the HDR image to a LDR format like Jpeg). Tone Mapping uses complex math algo to give it the HDR look. At this stage we have to select the size of the Image. You can keep the original size and re-size it. The bigger the size more time and CPU power is needed to make the HDR.Play around with the Operator Drop Down menu. See how the samples are rendered. Click of any one and Use Save As.

.  

A Sample HDR Image that I made.This was a quick how to on how to create a HDR image using one file (jpeg/Raw). Remember it's all about the experimentation. Good luck