I have been logging many hours in the darkroom and digital labs. What I am learning in the DigiLab has made me aware of the serious shortcomings inherent in the US university system, one of which is laziness and the other is a jealous regard that some teachers have towards their students. It is true. There are many teachers who will not teach their students all they know, but rather keep information to themselves lest their students rise above. I mean, I had never heard of ICC profiles before I came here, and that, as well as other tools, is essential for properly printing photography in the digital format. Without these tools the computer and printer will never agree on the colors and tones appropriate for each brand and style of paper. I know, for example, that Bard College never used this system until a student fro The Aegean Center went back there and told them they were doing it wrong. So next time you go to a “professional printer” and give them some business, ask them what their paper stock is and whether they have an updated profile for that product. If they give you a result on paper that doesn’t look right, watch out when they blame your camera…Ask to see the ICC profile.
This weekend is Easter and in the Eastern Orthodox Church it is the single largest holiday celebrated, without question. The island is packed with people coming home for the event and ending their Lenten Fasts. The primary church here on the island is called Panagia Ekatontapyliani or “Church of Our Lady of 100 Gates (or Doors) and no ordinary structure either. It was built by the Emperor Constantine’s mother (St. Helen) and pre-dates any other Christian church in the world. Construction began in the 6th Century. The story goes that St. Helen, the young Emperor’s mama, put in at Paros during a storm. As is the custom in Greece, she vowed to build a church on the spot where her life was saved. She died before that could happen, but she was able to inspire others to make it happen. Pretty cool. I’ll be there tonight and tomorrow for the festivities, along with about 300 other people. I’ll try to get some good night shots, in RAW of course…
Tomorrow night at midnight, Lent ends and the whole town will descend on the restaurants and tavernas for the traditional meal of ‘Gut Soup’, which is a soup made from lamb tripe and vegetables–dee-lish. A whole bunch of us will go out and experience this event as well. Sunday is not a public day, but rather reserved for family. We are having a lamb roast, with the whole lamb on a spit over a charcoal grill, turned by hand for several hours. On Monday the bus and boat schedules change, heralding the real spring season with schedule and fare changes.
More to come…
JDCM
