NPPA workshop attendees create DTP newspaper - National Press Photographers Association Electronic Still Journalism workshop

Edgartwon, Mass -At trade-show demonstrations, the salespeople make it all seem so easy, but what really happens when a nifty new layout software package meets real-life publishing? That's what participants at the National Press Photographers Association's (NPPA) Electronic Still Photojournalism workshop, held in October on Martha's Vineyard, wanted to find out.

For the first time ever, representatives from major newsmagazines and newspapers gathered for a week on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts to create a picture paper using the newest in publishing technology.

The heart of the system14 Macintoshes-arrived in boxes on the first day. By the third day, photographers were importing still video images, made with electronic cameras, into the Macintosh network. By the week's end, workshop participants produced proofs and finished film for a 24-page paper, complete with color separations. Despite bumps along the way, the technology-some of it not yet released to the public-worked.

This shows what could happen in a true visual reporting situation, as opposed to a studio setup," said Larry Nighswander, illustration editor at National Geographic World and managing editor/designer for the NPPA workshop. About half the participants had little or no experience with Macintoshes, yet by the end of the week, each had created a page using either Letraset's DesignStudio, Adobe's PageMaker, or Scitex'Visionary (a color system based on Quark XPress). They had written text using MicroSoft Word and had experimented with negative scanners and still video cameras. Easy-to-use electronic darkroom programs, such as Adobe's PhotoShop (in its first public showing; it is scheduled for an early 1990 release) were winning rave reviews.

By Thursday, the mood had changed from caution-"I'm an editor, not a computer technician," grumbled one attendee early in the week-to typical newsroom deadline demeanor, with participants working until midnight several nights in a row and disputes breaking out over which story deserved front-page attention. The technology was doing its job and the editors and photographers were doing theirs.

"It was exciting," said Shelly Katz, a Time photographer. color markers today. It doesn't take a computer person to run a computer."

For many, this workshop was an important step toward embracing tomorrow's tools. "There was interfacing that had never been done," said Katz. 'It was exciting for everyone who wanted to see the future of journalism ... and this is the future."-T. Martin

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