Understanding the Difference Between Catalogues, Folders and Collections.

When you have been working with a programme for years you can sometimes forget how confusing some of the basic concepts of that application can be to someone just starting out with that programme. A case in point is Lightroom. I have been using the programme pretty much since it’s inception. At first I only really used it to catalogue my finished images, preferring instead to rely on Nikon’s slow but image quality superior Capture NX 2. When Nikon ditched upgrades to their app, I was forced to swallow the Adobe pill completely. Still, this has meant working with Lightroom in a limited or full capacity for the last 10 years. Sometimes, as my assistant reminds me, I forget that the way Lightroom handles files can be confusing and frustrating to many. The single biggest ‘issue’ I have come across is the confusion between Catalogues, Folders, Files and Collections. Here is a rough guide to work one’s way through the confusion.

Wandering The Wild Coast 2016

I happen to be extraordinarily lucky that I get to visit some amazing places with photographers of a similar minded disposition. That would be: individuals who are basically obsessed with photography and with the way that it allows us to view the world. A recent jaunt with a Nature's Light workshop down the Wild Coast was just such a trip. Incredible star studded nights, phenomenal morning light and an epic night shoot over one of the Wild Coast’s most iconic geographic features made this year's Wandering the Wild Coast workshop truly memorable.

Stolid and Dependable - The Sirui N-3004x Tripod Review

Choosing a tripod can be quite a difficult decision. There is always a compromise that you have to make somewhere. We want stability, light weight, low price and large size pretty much as an ultimate goal when selecting a set of tripod legs. The problem is that we rarely get more than two of those options ticked off. So we have to make a compromise. Good tripods essentially manage to tick off three of those four. Great tripods tick all four boxes with the large caveat that one of those criteria are in relation to its peers (for example ‘well priced’ in relation to its competition does not mean cheap). Aluminium tripods are an attempt to get the most bang for buck out of a tripod, but they come with the hefty (excuse the pun) drawback of increased weight.

Why Photograph? - The Experience, and why Canikon fails to excite.

In a TED talk by Joseph Pine on what consumers want, Pine discusses the fact that we are in a experiential economy. Marketers sell an experience. This is very different to selling a commodity, a good or a service. The gist behind the talk though, has more to do with the sense of authenticity that a particular product engenders. Further to this is the argument that there is no such thing as authenticity as all experience is manipulated in some way or another by humans (going for a walk in the mountains, a supposedly authentic activity, is done while wearing synthetic clothing to protect against the elements, a gps and map to help with navigation, a cellphone in case said navigation isn’t that effective while wearing boots made from cow skin and shod with rubber formulated in Italy…all manmade). Still, the idea is that manufacturers are trying to sell authenticity to their customers. The talk, which is a good one, had me thinking, but not necessarily about photography.