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The
content of DigitalTruth: Photo Source proves that digital
technology can peacefully coexist within a web site focused
on traditional photographic imaging.
Photos © 1999, Jon Mided, All Rights Reserved
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This issue's Web Site
of the Month is DigitalTruth: Photo Source, which can be found on the
World Wide Web at www.digitaltruth.com.
The content on this web site is real proof that digital technology can
peacefully coexist within a site that's mostly focused on traditional
photographic imaging.
As befitting the worldwide nature of the web, DigitalTruth: Photo Source
was created by Jon Mided who is based in the United Kingdom. The web
site's opening screen is attractive, deceptively simple, and features
a table of contents of what's available for reading or downloading.
Even a casual glance at the major sections listed tells you there's
a lot of information available for photographers interested in film
processing and darkroom technique. Significant features of the site
include:
The Massive Dev Chart. Mided claims to have created
the "world's largest list of development combinations"
and who am I to argue with someone from the home of the Guinness Book
of World Records? The development times shown on the chart are primarily
oriented toward 35mm camera users and include a combination of data
from manufacturers as well as independent information obtained from
the author's own experience along with other contributors listed
on the page. To find a specific developing time, simply choose your
favorite film from a pop-up menu that includes a long list of black
and white films beginning with Agfa Ortho and ending with several Tura
films. After selecting your film, you'll be hyperlinked to another
page showing charts listing developer, film speed, and development times
for those specific film types. If you prefer, you can download all of
the data for every film covered by The Massive Dev Chart. All of that
information is contained in a text file that's only 92K in size,
which the Webmaster claims is regularly updated. In addition to developing
times, the same start page lets you access a time/temperature chart
as well as the steps required for push processing film.
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You
can use The Massive Dev Chart to find specific developing
times for a long list of black and white films starting
with Agfa Ortho and ending with Tura films.
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Photo Links Meta-Index.
Links are the glue that holds the WWW together and lets you move
seamlessly from one home page to another. This set of links is designed
to help you find "just about any photo site of the Internet."
It's a good source of data for web sites about photographic techniques,
and you'll find information on traditional as well as digital imaging
techniques. Given the film and darkroom orientation of Digital-Truth,
I was surprised to find that the numbers of links for digital imaging
are greater than the links for traditional photography. There are few,
if any manufacturer's sites listed, so I'd suggest another
place to compliment the links you'll find here. The Meeting Place
for Photography (www.fotograaf.com/
links3.htm) is a comprehensive listing for most photographic manufacturer's
web sites that are located in the US, Europe, and Japan.
Web Forum. This is the location on DigitalTruth: Photo
Source that serves as a bulletin board, where visitors can post queries
(and hopefully get them answered) as well as discuss various photographic
and darkroom related topics. So far, this seems like the least visited
section of the web site, but I did find an interesting discussion going
on about the merits of using Perceptol with Tech Pan and Delta 3200 with
XTOL.
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The
web site contains a selection of Mac OS and Windows freeware
and shareware that's useful for the traditional photographer
or digital imager.
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Technique And Data
Sheet. There's tons of photographic darkroom advice to
be found here, beginning with information on reciprocity failure and filter
factors, but also tips on making a cyanotype along with how to make and
use a chromium intensifier. Darkroom fans will find the formula for Farmer's
Reducer--subtractive and proportional--along with instruction for its
use. When I last visited not all of this section was complete. The information
on sepia toner, for example, was not completed, but the formula and instructions
for using Fix Test were. All of the formulas shown in this section contain
weights and measures in grams or milliliters, so the Webmaster kindly
includes a brief conversion chart for those of us who are not Metric-aware.
Deals And Bargains. The content of this section is sparse
but includes information on how to get a subscription to a free photography
E-zine, as well as discounts on a modest selection of photo books and
magazines. If you're not familiar with the E-zine concept, read
the sidebar "Here To Stay?"
Photo Booth. You don't have to be William Wegman
to have a sense of humor and this section certainly proves it. Mided suggests
you have a JavaScript-enabled browser to take advantage of this "latest
technological breakthrough in interactive imaging" and since most
browsers these days are JavaScript aware this may not be a big issue for
you. If you have an extra minute or so, click Photo Booth and follow the
instructions. I won't ruin the surprise by telling you what happens
next, but if you visit the site more than once, try it each time you do.
Shareware And Freeware. This contains a modest selection
of Mac OS and Windows software that will be useful to the traditional
photographer or digital imager.
DigitalTruth: Photo Source is not fancy. There's no color or animations
(thankfully) to rob system resources and slow loading on your screen.
Instead, you'll find gobs of practical information and links to
useful web sites wrapped around a great-looking design. Occa-sionally
you'll see an advertising banner--especially on the Web Forum --but
they are few in number and tasteful in size. This simplicity translates
into a site that pops on screen when you move from one page to the other
or are searching for processing information for a specific type of black
and while film.
When I contacted the Webmaster to obtain his permission to feature his
site, here's what he had to say about Shutterbug: "I pick
up a copy whenever I'm in the US. It's a treasure trove for
bargain hunters and camera enthusiasts and has been a favorite publication
of mine for many years." Thanks Jon, we think DigitalTruth: Photo
Source is pretty special, too.
In selecting potential Web Sites of the Month, I use Macintosh and Windows
computers with a 56K internal modem installed in each one. My Internet
Service Provider is CompuServe Information Systems and I use the current
version of Netscape Navigator as a browser, but that's always subject
to change. If you would like to nominate your own home page or your favorite
web site, drop me an e-mail at: editorial@shutterbug.net
Here To Stay?
Webzines or E-zines--call them what you will--are never going to replace
Playboy, Shutterbug, or even the Brighton Standard-Blade anytime soon.
You can't take an E-zine to the restroom with you and if you fall
asleep under your laptop while reading the latest monkeyshines in Primates
Monthly on the WWW, you're liable to wake up with some dents in
your physiognomy. Nevertheless, a Webzine offers many advantages over
a conventional paper publication. There is immediacy. New products or
information can be rapidly posted, without waiting the two-three months
a print deadline typically imposes. Multimedia is another advantage. Video
clips can show some photographic techniques better than print media enabling
readers and browsers to understand how a situation was in real time--not
just for 1/125 of a sec. Webzines are interactive. Readers can instantly
respond via e-mail, with no stamps to lick or post office or mailbox to
visit. Finally, E-zines are cool. That should be a good enough reason
for Web-centric Shutterbug readers to check them out.
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