DSI Blog

We just came back from a road trip that took us up to Maces Bay in NB Canada (part of the Bay of Fundy) and then back down through Portland, ME.  I am still editing all my infrared shots I took up in Canada.  We have a Nikon D80 that was converted to Infrared and I am still working on the files in Lightroom and Nik Silver Efex Pro. 

The coast is amazing up there; very rustic and rugged. This photo is actually from Portland; I don’t have any of the other shots edited yet, so you’re getting one shot from the iPhone!

During our stop in South Portland (we were looking for a lobster roll!) we came across Meredith Perdue and her photo studio on Prebble St.  She had a lot of black & white photographs hanging in her studio, so we had to stop in and introduce ourselves. She does very elegant portraits and other photography.  She is conveniently located next to the best ice cream shop I have been to.  You’ll have to visit Meredith at her photography studio to find out the name of the best ice cream in Portland, ME. You can tell them Eric & Syb sent you!

I’ll have more of the infrared shots to upload here soon.

The DSI Booth featured black & white print samples from our true silver gelatin printing process.  We showed examples of the RC and fiber prints from a variety of photographers, including Ron Rosenstock, Andy Ryan, Brian Marcus, and Herbie Greene.  Visitors were interested in learning about this photo chemical process as an alternative to inkjet printing.  We had some great examples of infrared photographs taken by photographer Ron Rosenstock.  We had converted his Canon 5D to the 715nm wavelength and had 3 large 20×24 black & white silver gelatin prints on display in our booth.

William Barnett‘s presentation “Beyond Human Vision – Infrared Photography” drew large crowds.  His knowledge of this creative art form is spectacular.  He explained many of the unique aspects of how cameras can be converted to capture in IR and the various wavelengths one can select for their camera.  He favors cameras with an electronic viewfinder, or live view, that make it easier to preview the image in infrared. Digital Silver Imaging is offering infrared camera conversions at a reasonable prices.

Victor Ha and Janice Wendt from Nik Software were also there doing presentations on the various plug-ins for Photoshop and Lightroom.  DSI sold copies of our favorite B&W; plug-in, Silver Efex Pro and will have it on sale through the end of the month.  Photographers like the ease of the U-Point technology and control points and the black & white film grain works very well.  DSI had a drawing for a free copy of Silver Efex Pro and the winner will be announced on Monday the 19th.  Nik is also sponsoring a black & white photo contest in July.

The exciting news from Nik is their new HDR plug-in that is expected in early September.  The presentation on the software looks great and I’m sure this will be another great product from Nik.

I also spent some time talking with Alicia from Shuttbug Bag Designs. She just started her company in January and NECCC was her first trade show.  Her booth was very active for most of the show and photographers liked her new bag concepts.


We enjoyed being there again.  I got to hang out with my friend Paul from Lens Pro To Go and test out some of the great Nikon and Canon gear he is renting.  Call and ask him about his new “equestrian” lens!

Andy Ryan’s serene images of the sleek and mind-boggling-massive landmark projects of Beijing sparked awe-inspired conversation well past the viewing hours of the opening last night at the Griffin Gallery at Digital Silver Imaging.

Architects marveled at the scale and scope of Steven Holl’s Linked Hybrid complex including sky bridges containing a suspended swimming pool, gallery, theater and auditorium.  The bird’s nest design of the Beijing National Stadium, home of the 2008 Summer Olympics, was dwarfed from a distance. In comparison, the close-up capturing the broom-welding harnessed workers cleaning the façade brought home the magnitude of this $500 million feat of engineering and was a favorite among viewers.

Photographers marveled at the 3 sepia-toned prints from Polaroid Type 55 negatives which exemplify DSI’s mission of the art of B&W; in a digital world. The fairy tale quality captured in “Heaven” belies the gritty reality of this dangerous construction site. Kudos to our intern extraordinaire, Anna Rotti, who mastered this tricky technique.

The talk of the show were the fiber based prints flush mounted to aluminum. The unique sizes and ability to have the print float off the wall make for a stunning, clean and modern presentation. It amplified the starkness of the cutting edge architecture.

DSI had our own feat of grandeur in creating the workflow to provide these beautiful pieces. We are excited to add this output option to our services.

Andy provided a comprehensive presentation of the landmark projects in a digital slideshow. The show will be up for the summer and Andy will have a gallery talk on September 9th. Don’t miss it.

Digital Silver Imaging
Belmont, MA

Our new show featuring photographs by Charles A. Meyer captures a slice of life rarely seen by anyone not buying or selling a mule. Vintage in feel and intimately voyeuristic the images were shot over the past five years at the Dickson Mule Auction, the countries oldest and largest, held outside Nashville TN. Meyers’ explores the intersection between commerce and community, tradition and innovation, supply and demand, humility and profit.

Who knew these sterile crossbreeds to be such a complex and current topic? See Susan Orleans’ New Yorker article, Riding High: Mules in the Military, in the February 15 & 22nd issue.  Alongside the Mennonite, Amish and Mid-American family farmers buying and selling these exceedingly strong, intelligent, and endlessly tolerant, pack animals is the U.S. military – looking to fly some to Afghanistan.

Our opening was full of it’s own intersection of tradition and innovation, including friendship and state-of the-art technology. Charles A. Meyer taught Digital Silver Imaging’s owner, Eric Luden, traditional darkroom photography at Boston College twenty-seven years ago. Meyer shoots with a traditional medium format Hasselblad fitted with a 645 back and Ilford Delta 3200 film. DSI scanned his negatives to create digital files and used Nik Silver Efex Pro to retouch, edit and enhance the detail of his warm and moody images.

The crowd was filled with fellow photo professors: Peter Laytin, Lisa Kessler, and Rachel Loischild. Barbara Hitchcock, former Director of the Polaroid Collection and painter, Mark Cooper, joined Griffin Museum staff and Griffin family members at the show.
We were pleased to welcome newcomers to our gallery including the in-coming PRC director, Glenn Ruga, Stan Trecker, Director of The Art Institute of Boston, and freelance writer Delia K. Cabe. BC students came to see Meyers’ work and were introduced to the new technology by DSI production manager, Christopher Bowers. They stated; ”It smells like a darkroom in here” and were “blown away” by the capability of DSI’s Durst Theta.

The exhibit is on display through June 6th and the gallery is free and open to the public Mon – Fri from 9 – 5:30.  All of the images are custom framed by Ava Art of North Andover, MA.

Now that New England has finally thawed out, the trees are beginning to show signs of life and the warmer weather is bringing new growth.  For some, this is time to start gardening and preparing the lawn.  But for photographers, the photosynthesis and all that heat energy make us want to shoot infrared photographs.  Shooting in infrared is another way to create stunning black and white images.

Once Kodak stopped making the infamous HIE-36 Infrared Film, many photographers were left with few choices to create infrared photographs.  Many people have tried to recreate the IR look in Photoshop, but these are not authentic infrared images. With the advent of digital cameras, many photographers are discovering that they can convert an older model digital camera to capture in true infrared. The IR blocking filter is removed from the camera’s digital sensor. It means that once the camera is converted, it becomes a dedicated IR camera. But, the advantage is that you don’t need any special filters on  the lens (like we did with film) and you can shoot at any ISO, handheld, and be able to see what you shot on your camera preview!  If you have a newer model DSLR with liveview, you can actually see the image before you shoot.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of infrared photography.  The interest in this medium continues to grow and more photographers are looking to find reliable and affordable ways to convert their cameras to capture in infrared.  Digital Silver Imaging has been chosen by Precision Camera as their key partner in Infrared conversions.  Precision is able to provide top notch conversions with spectacular service and turn around times.  As their largest customer of infrared conversions, Digital Silver Imaging’s IR Conversion Service is competitively priced.  Compact cameras are only $149 and DSLR’s range from $299 -$349. We can convert in three different wavelengths, depending on the photographer’s interest.

The chart shows 2 different wavelengths, 665nm and 715nm.  The 715nm is your typical Infrared Conversion. It blocks wavelengths shorter than 715nm and allows those longer than 715nm to go through. It is a true Infrared filter that should primarily be used for B&W; photos, although very limited color Infrared pictures are possible. Conversions performed with the 715nm filter are capable of rendering beautiful and rich Black and White images with a dramatic Infrared look to them.

The 665nm is a specialized Infrared Conversion. It blocks Wavelengths shorter than 665nm and allows those longer than 665nm to go through. This conversion is especially well suited for color Infrared Photography because of its broader transmittance properties. With this conversion a more saturated color infrared image is possible. B&W; Infrared is also possible with the 665nm although the results will not be as dramatic as the 715nm.

The 830nm is also now available.  Deep Infrared Filter which allows for a very dramatic B&W; IR look. Not suitable for color work. Filter has a cutoff point of 830nm, which means that only wavelengths over 830nm will expose the sensor. Since visible light cuts off at 720nm, the 830nm will give you a deep infrared look which is reminiscent of the old IR Black and White films.

Once a camera is converted, the file is still captured in RGB, so some post production is always necessary.  We have been working with Nik Software Silver Efex Pro   for all of our black and white work at Digital Silver Imaging.  DSI’s exceptional silver gelatin prints are enhanced by the power of Nik Software’s Photoshop plugins.  Silver Efex Pro has become our standard for all of our black and white printing at DSI.  It does an excellent conversion from color RGB to black and white RGB by preserving all the values in each of the 3 channels.

We have found that the Infrared files out of any of the 3 choices work very well with Silver Efex Pro.  One of the presets provided in their software is called “High Structure” and this does a very good job of enhancing the file.  The software works with Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture and most versions of Photoshop Elements.  It is easy to learn and use.  We recommend downloading their 15 Day Free Trial and trying the software.  But remember to save some money, buy the software from Digital Silver Imaging!

As an authorized reseller for both Nik Software and IR Conversions from Precision Camera, Digital Silver Imaging has been leading the way in providing exceptional black and white workflow solutions for today’s digital photographers.   Combine these two creative black and white digital solutions with our true black and white silver gelatin printing and you can recreate the beauty of classic black and white photographs without having a darkroom.

As part of our ongoing campaign to help educate our clients about the benefits of Nik Software, we are sponsoring a free 1 hour webinar on Silver Efex Pro on Wednesday April 21st.  Vistor Ha will be leading the online seminar and the best part is, you can join in right from your own computer! Registration is required for the online training.