Mac experts: need color help

[MovieStuff]

Okay, here's the deal. I have a friend in California and he uses a Mac for internet access. He and I are both painters and we trade photos of our work. When he emails me photos, they seem to look okay. But when I send him a photo, he says they look dark and brownish. For instance, here is a photo of a recent painting:



Larger version is here:

http://www.rogerevans.tv/leather_big.html

We have 5 different internet computers, all with different displays, and they all look fine and all look the same. The metal on the gun barrel looks bluish in tone, as it is supposed to. On my neighbor's computer it looks fine, as does on my stepdaughter's computer. Even my brand new laptop that hasn't been calibrated looks perfect! But my friend in California says he sees zero blue tones in the gun barrel on his Mac and that it all looks dark and brown in tone. BUT, when he takes the JPEG into Photoshop and does an auto level correction, he says that the gun barrel then looks okay.

Anyone have a clue what's going on here?

Thanks to anyone that knows.....

Roger

[DriveIn]

Mac Model?
Mac OS?
Mac Browser and Version?
Monitor used with Mac - proprietary or other brand?
:?:

[mattias]

the file is saved with a color profile embedded (srgb in this case). thus it will look correct on all macs while your pc's show it the wrong way. technically that is. since the way it looks on the pc is the correct way you need to adjust your color profile or lose it completely. if you're running photoshop using "save for web" will take care of it, or you can of course use a calibrated profile, but then it will look wrong on non color managed displays, i.e. most pc's.

/matt

[MovieStuff]

the file is saved with a color profile embedded (srgb in this case). thus it will look correct on all macs while your pc's show it the wrong way. technically that is. since the way it looks on the pc is the correct way you need to adjust your color profile or lose it completely. if you're running photoshop using "save for web" will take care of it, or you can of course use a calibrated profile, but then it will look wrong on non color managed displays, i.e. most pc's.

/matt

Okay, I'll look into the "save for web" function. In the meantime, why does it look correct on all the PCs that I've viewed it on? Also, I had a graphic artist friend in Houston take a look at it on her calibrated Mac and it looks okay there, too. Obviously, I'm not there to see if it looks the same as it does on my PC but she sees the blue tones of the gun where as my friend in California sees zero blue tones.

You use a Mac, Mattias. Does the gun barrel look brown to you? Just curious.....

Roger

[ALAN]

Remingtons rock!

That's a painting?

[MovieStuff]

That's a painting?

Yep!

Roger

[fogo]

Hi roger,
i'm viewing it on an iMac and the closest tone to a 'blue' is the beltbuckle area, but I probably wouldnt describe it as a blue....

ps nice work, my old dad machined up a replica of one of those in the 60s..not 100% authentic but extremely weighty!

ade

[MovieStuff]

Hi roger,
i'm viewing it on an iMac and the closest tone to a 'blue' is the beltbuckle area, but I probably wouldnt describe it as a blue....

Even when you view the larger version?

http://www.rogerevans.tv/leather_big.html

The mid and darker tones of the gun barrel should be gun-metal blue.

ps nice work.....

Thanks! Just curious about how internet display can look so damned different between PCs and Macs. Very annoying.....

Roger

[fogo]

ps Roger,

you got Big Iron or Saddle Tramp as ur telephone waiting music?

ade

[MovieStuff]

ps Roger,

you got Big Iron or Saddle Tramp as ur telephone waiting music?

No but I do listen to Asleep at the Wheel when I'm painting, along with Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys.

Roger

[fogo]

Well Ill just continue humming Big Iron, it was the first thing that came to mind!

Even in the close ups closest tone to a blue on this mac is in the buckle area...the plating/sweat oxidising tones above the trigger led my eye in another direction tho...

ade

[mattias]

i see some blue. it looks right on all pc's because they are not color managed. mac's are, which can be nice but i must admit it's usually a drag.

/matt

[MovieStuff]

i see some blue. it looks right on all pc's because they are not color managed. mac's are, which can be nice but i must admit it's usually a drag.

Ah! Thanks for the info. So I guess looking at the internet on a PC is like watching television and you just adjust your monitor until the image looks like you want; every PC set up could be totally different. Whereas looking at the internet on a Mac means that all imagery passes through a color management system that interprets the color data and alters it before display. Assuming that you have your Mac monitor set up the same as all other Mac users and you are all using the same color management profiles, then that would guarantee consistancy if transferring information between Mac systems, which I can see would be handy. But, like you say, it can also be a drag if the Mac has to deal with information from the "real world", which often never follows the rules. Interesting.....

Roger

[S8 Booster]

dont know if this may visualise how it looks on a MAC but it is a screenshot as u see. the barrel does not look brownish but not too much blueish either - more like heavily worn steel/shiny/white.

MAC Powerbook G4.

shoot.....

click image for bigger size:

[Chinese Belle]

Roger

Macs and PCs have different gamma standards for monitors.
Mac is set to 1.73 and PCs are at 2.53.

every PC set up could be totally different. Whereas looking at the internet on a Mac means that all imagery passes through a color management system that interprets the color data and alters it before display.

You can adjust both - but there is still an underlying gamma standard for both.
And also, certain file types you can embed gamma profiles if you like. (Photoshop will ask you to load profile for PSD files and adjust the image color).

HTH