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The Lens Paper
March, 2004
Page 3
File Structure: All images must be in the root folder of the
CD. In other words, no sub-folders or directories are
permitted. We can't expect our projectionist to go hunting for
your images in the middle of the meeting.
Sharpening: Not required, and not recommended. Our
system applies its own sharpening, so if you add your own, it
will probably look over sharpened.
Color Profile (optional): sRGB only. If you don't know what
this is, don't worry about it. Most cameras do this anyway.
Our system assumes an sRGB profile and ignores everything
else. If you use another profile like Adobe RGB, the colors
will appear duller or worse. If you did use another profile on
your image, convert it in PhotoShop before putting it on the
CD. You can do this through the menu, Image/Mode/Convert
to Profile/sRGB.
Color Space: RGB. If you have a B&W that is not RGB, use
the menu, Image/Mode/RGB Color, to convert the image
before you put it on the CD. Don't bring images that are
CMYK or spot color files. Always convert these images first.
Bit Depth: 8 bits/channel. This is the default, anyway. You
won't be able to save your image to a ".jpg" file if it's not an 8
bit image. If you do need to convert it, use the menu
Image/Mode/8 Bits/Channel.
No Other Files or Programs: This means there should only
be the .jpg files on the CD. No programs, no HTML pages,
no .exe or .ini files, etc. This is especially important, since
other programs could hang our computer, forcing us to reboot
and waste everyone's time while we're waiting.
By adhering to the above guidelines, you can make things
easier on our projectionist, and allow our members to enjoy
your images. Thanks for your cooperation.
NEW NCPS WEB SITE by Tom O. Scott
Increasingly, photographers are going digital, even if their feet
are planted firmly in the film world. Whether it’s scanning a
transparency, or working with PhotoShop, or downloading a
memory card from a digital camera, the color of the analog
world at some point enters the digital realm. And that means
the Internet can become a powerful resource.
In line with that, the NCPS Board has authorized a complete
redesign of our web site with these aims:
Make the site attractive and easy to use
Inform members and the public about NCPS and
member activities
Provide dynamic content to attract readership
Become a valuable resource for members and the
photographic community.
Our new site is located at <http://www.nc-photo.org >. This
domain is almost the same as our old one, <ncphoto.org>,
except that it has a dash in between “nc” and “photo”.
In redesigning the site, I kept these principles in mind:
Consistent Look and Feel: Use the same color
scheme throughout. Provide navigation in the same
place on every page, and use the same links. Use
standard fonts. Use a logo that directs people back to
the home page.
Dynamic Content: Sites easily become “static”
when content never or rarely changes. The home
page is the most important area for dynamic content.
That means that the majority of the home page is
devoted to items that change either every week or
every month.
Navigation: Make it easy for the user to “find their
way” on every page. Provide navigation links on
every page. Avoid creation of new pages, except
when linking to non-NCPS sites.
Usability: A site fails when it can’t be used by its
readers. Our new site can be viewed on 800 x 600
pixel monitors, even though it is best viewed at a
resolution of 1024 pixels wide or above. The font
size is large enough for people to read without strain.
Utility: Offer features that are useful to the
membership. This includes photo galleries for
members and photo shoots, forums, current exhibition
information, etc.
Maintenance: Of course, users don’t care what’s
“under the sheets” in a site, but this is one of the main
reasons many sites go static. If a site is difficult to
maintain, it becomes too hard to update, or updates
are only done infrequently. As a result, people stop
using the site, and then there seems to be less urgency
in updating the site. This becomes a self-fulfilling
prophecy. Our new site makes extensive use of the
latest W3C standards, including style sheets. This
means that new features and ideas are much more
easily implemented. Also, the photo pages (galleries
and photo shoots), as well as the Lens Paper pages,
are created by separate software programs that
generate all the pages in minutes.
Room to Grow: Photos, even when scaled down,
take up a lot of room. We wanted a site that gave us
plenty of room at a low cost.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the features of
our new site:
Home Page: The new home page has our logo in the top left,
but on the top right are direct links to the newest content
added. These links will be changed regularly. On the left
side, there is a navigation bar with links to photo shoot
galleries, member galleries, calendar, digital group, the Lens