When did you first understand the importance of color to the photographic process?
During my education in photographic science at the Polytechnic of Central London (now Westminster University), one of the bibles we studied was “Reproduction of Color” by Dr. R.W.G. Hunt. Already then chromaticity diagrams and the C.I.E. (Commission Internationale de lÉclairage) standards became a daily bread during my education.
What is the most important aspect of color management that an aspiring photographer should know?
That color and tones of subjects are converted to digital numbers in digital processes, and when we view, save or transfer image date, those numbers change both themselves and in relation to other color and tone values. A photographer needs to understand this transformation and to know the workflow of using or making the right translators during any digital image workflow to master his process.
Give an example of the ways in which a solid knowledge of color management (or an accurate color environment) helped you – on a project? In a consultancy situation?
They are so many it is difficult to pick one out. But I terms of expenses I have taken a test print for a large photographic exhibition to the gallery where it would be displayed to view it, not under the right or standard conditions, but under the actual conditions it would be displayed under. And with that knowledge the whole exhibition was printed. Another example happened just couple weeks ago. I had a whole book publication, which I was the image editor of, reprinted, because of a bad-printing work. By measuring values of several black and white CMYK images on screen and measure the printing sheet values I proved to the printer the inconsistency in his printing process. The whole book publication was reprinted, without a single argument.
How long have you been associated with X-Rite?
In 2010 and I am so immensely pleased and it is such an honor to have been invited by x-rite to join their Coloratti Family. For me it brings together the value of my education, experience and knowledge.
Why are you committed to using X-Rite products?
All I need here is one word: Quality.
How important are the latest color management tools in today’s industry? Why?
In the analog film and processing image systems many people became the masters of the medium they used. They knew its behavior by heart. To day with out color management tools in the digital environment it is the easiest thing to do, to destroy the original images, by wrong treatment of the files. In that sense and in the sense we are working in the environment where the same digital original can go through so many different processes, I would say that color management tools are more important than ever before. If we take it only so far as in the last 10 years the human beings have produced more image material than in the thousands of years before, the answer is obvious.
What does the (near) future hold for the photo industry, in your opinion? Do you think color management will be more or less important – why?
Higher quality, higher resolution, more bits per channel, more dynamic range and more variations in equipment to process and view images means more need for high color management. High quality methods and standards to control details that in some intermediate stages are far outside the capability of the human eye.
How is color management related to your artistic process?
If we expect a good painter to be a master of his paint material and his brush strokes, in the same way color management is the only means of being a master of digital artistic processes.
Do you see color management as an advantage for saving money?
Yes. Not just in terms of material like ink and paper, but not the least in terms of the value of digital images as a historical documentatio