Julian Opie
(Wikepedia)

Julian Opie was raised in Oxford. After the Dragon School, Oxford, he spent some time at Magdalen College School, in Oxford. Once his studies were completed, he returned to the Chelsea College of Art and became a teacher there.

He is a former trustee of the Tate Gallery.

In his portraiture, the human face is sometimes characterised by black outlines with flat areas of colour, and minimalised detail, to the extent that an eye can become just the black circle of the pupil, and sometimes a head is represented by a circle with a space where the neck would be, Opie tries to portray someone's personality in as little detail as possible. Opie uses computers in art for other works. HisImagine you are... series, demonstrated how activities such as driving, walking and climbing could be represented by simple reductions. In addition, Opie uses sculpture and light installations to present items of everyday life.

Julian Opie also implements computer technology by cutting out the outlines and coloured shapes, sometimes on vinyl, as in large display banners at Tate Britain. Opie is a former trustee of the Tate Galleryand exhibits with Lisson Gallery and Alan Cristea Gallery in London, England. His studio and workshop is based in Shoreditch, London. He was also the subject of a book by Mary Horlock published by Tate Publishing as part of their Contemporary Artist series.

His pictures continue to look incredibly realistic.

Pictures Are Files - File Formats


When an image is captured by a camera or a scanning device it has to be saved or memorised in a 'file format'. The information can only be read and understood if the software recognises the format.


The dominant formats are - 
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group).jpg
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format).tif
PSD (Photoshop Document).psd
RAW (Raw Unprocessed Information)


File>Save as - This opens numerous options for the Photoshop/P.C user. For simplicity it is advisable that you save your work as either TIFF or PSD file because they support all of Photoshop's features. Note - Not all formats support layers.


TIFF - This format generally regarded as the industry standard because it is the most universally recognised format. Photoshop's variant of this format supports image layers, adjustments, layers, paths, clipping paths and ICC profiles. It's the most popular format for photographers delivering RGB and CMYK files to clients. It's good practise to flatten recognised files because only Photoshop supports layered tiffs.


PSD - Photoshop's native format supports everything Photoshop can do including ICC profile. Until version 6 it was the only format that supported layers. This format is only by Photoshop so it is not advertisable to hand PCD files over to clients.


JPEG - The most commonly used file format. It has 'lossy' compression that transmits what it deems to be 'important' content and discards colour information hat it considers redundant. There are no options to save without compression but embedding ICC profile is optional.


JPEG allows you to make trade off between image file size and image quality. JPEG compression divides the images in squares 8x8 pixels, which are compressed independently. As you increase compression the squares become more visible.


100% Quality JPEG - Is very hard to distinguish from the uncompressed original typically taking up to 6 times as much storage space. 


80% Quality JPEG - It still looks good although it is 10 times smaller than the uncompressed original. Some deterioration will occur however. 


60% Quality JPEG - 20 times smaller than the uncompressed original. Sufficient for website use.


10% Quality JPEG - This will show image degradation with very visible 8c8 jpeg square. It is unlikely that you will ever use this level of compression but it illustrates what JPEG is doing at higher quality levels.


Photoshop - 3SD (Portable Document Format) - This format can support layer files, they can be re-opened and edited in Photoshop.  A group of images can be saved as a multi page document. PDF supports various compression amongst them are ZIP, JPEG and JPEG 200.


Upon close inspection of compressed JPEG blocks of 8x8 pixels can become evident. Because of this degration it is advisable to avoid saving in this format for high quality images. JPEG can use several layers of compression dramatically reducing the size of closed files compared to their open state. If an image is shot on JPEG avoid re-saving as a JPEG as it will further degrade the image, save as a TIFF.

the clash - Death or Glory - London Calling Legacy Edition

A Guide To Workflow

Workflow is a popular term for establishing a series of steps to achieve a final finished product, in your case a final print.


1. Capture - 
This is what most people think photography is all about, searching, shooting, camera work, lighting, film or digital. 


2. Downloading - 
Downloading or importing gets your captured images from the camera and puts them into your computer so that you can complete the rest of the steps.    The computer is the command centre for all your workflow. Downloading images onto your hard drive also frees the cameras memory card so it can be reused. Scanned images are sent directly to the computer.


3. Organise your images - 
You may soon have thousands of images stored onto your hard drive and you will need to locate them easily.  Sometimes it can be like finding a needle in a haystack, if you are in business you need to find a systematic method of storing images.   Essential information can slip from your memory if there are delays between shooting and organising work. Try and make time to put your files in order a the end of every day of shooting and label files accurately. 


4. Editing - 
The traditional meaning is letting the 'good' images rise to the top of the pile.


Digital image editing, or post processing, opens up a can of worms, as it encompasses a wide range of alterations that go way beyond the choices that can be made when printing in most of the standard image adjustments - cropping, rotating, changing size, modifying hue, value and saturation.  


Image editing is used to prepare an image for the next step, output. Image editing has its own workflow.




5. Output - 
Output is not limited to printing, although this may be your primary focus. You might want to show a prospective client work on your laptop or email images to a gallery or website. To create the best file for each use will require several editing strategies.


6. Archiving -
This means keeping your work in an organised way so that it is preserved against damage and loss and so that individual items can be retrieved and found when necessary.


Digital files present unique challenges for long-term storage but they have a big advantage over most materials in that they can be duplicated. A copy of a file or an entire drive is called a back up.    All media on which files can be kept are vulnerable to theft, dust, magnetism, heat, shock, fire, flood etc. Your best defence is to make multiple copies of everything you do. The best thing is to create two identical archives stored in different locations. A digital can vanish in an instant and once its gone, its gone forever.