Apple Fan Boy " Why I choose Mac as my computer platform"
I am a Apple Fan Boy! The first step is admitting that you have a problem. LOL This blog is about why I chose the Apple/Mac platform for all of my computing needs. First I want to say that this is not a Windows/PC bashing blog. In my real job " not my want to be job as a full time photographer" I use the Windows/PC platform. I have 4 computers on my desk and they are all Windows/PC based and they work fine. But for my personal work and my photography I choose to use Apple/Mac. And there are many reasons why. Here are just a few. Like I said before I am a Apple guy. I have iPhone, iPad, iPod , Macbook, iMac and even iTV. So all my personal devices are Apple/Mac. One of the main reasons is the ease of use. For a long time Apple had the easiest interface with touch screen phones to the ever popular window based operating systems long before Windows was called Windows . I chose all Apple devices so no matter what device I'm using its very similar and easy. Now I have to admit when I first got a full blown Mac computer there was a learning curve but after I found my way around to me its much easier to navigate. Another reason is that the graphics on Apple/Macs resolution , picture quality is better on Apple/Mac thats not to say that there are some great windows stuff out there , there defiantly is, but as a whole I prefer Apple/Mac. Most creatives use Apple for that very reason. I also like that Computer Viruses do not attack Apple/Mac as often as they do Windows. Windows based computers are generally cheaper and there are far more of them in the world and most of the Malware and Viruses are aimed at them. If you have a windows computer you know when you first get it its very fast but the longer you have it the slower it gets unless you really manage malware/virus detection very closely. Another thing that Windows based computers do a lot is updating . It seems that you always have to update the software with them. Apple does update also but not as much. Which to me means they got it right in the first place and didn't need to update to fix bugs in software. Now as I said windows based computers are cheaper or should I say "less expensive" but sometimes you get what you pay for. Customer service on windows based computers tends not to be very well where as Apple's customer service is excellent! Apple/Mac computers are made from High Quality materials only! There are no inexpensive models. Where as in Windows/PC based products you can get many levels of quality. Now that can be good if your on a tight budget but the lower end models can give you problems in the long run. Now when I talk about customer service let me give you and example of what just happened to me with my Macbook. I purchased my Macbook Pro in 2012 and it comes with a 1 year warranty. Last month I had a hardware crash and my computer would not start. I tried all of the online fixes but nothing would work. I was very upset because this was my main computer because my cheap Windows based desktop had died months ago. So here I am a photographer without a means to process photos. I couldn't stand it so I went out and purchased a iMac because I didn't want the hassle of a windows computer and made the iMac my main computer. I used a backup I had made from my Macbook just a few days before my Macbook died (Make Backups!) and used that backup to restore my iMac so I had all of my files and more important all my settings to my iMac. But I still didn't have a laptop. I decided to take my beloved Macbook to the Apple store knowing that the warranty was two years out. I figured I would have to pay up to 500 dollars to get it fixed and to me it was worth it. Well after I got to the Apple store and the Genius Bar the technician found the problem very fast and told me that it would be repaired at no cost to me! NO COST TO ME!!! Now how can this be its not under warranty. He told me that in 2011 when this computer was made that some of the video chips (from another company) that were soldered to the motherboard could be faulty. Apple took the ethical stance of standing behind their name and equipment and is replacing all of the motherboards that show this problem and my computer fell in this category. So they took my computer on a Saturday and they shipped it off to get fixed and on Tuesday it showed up on my door step! Hows that for service and its warranted for another year! All this was done after I had made alterations to the computer like increasing the memory and replacing the hard drive with a solid state one. You would be hard pressed to have that kind of service with any company especially electronic type companies. So whats to come of all of this. Nothing really, its like the Ford/Chevy or Nikon/Cannon debate. Just pick one you like and stick with it. I really love my Apple/Mac products and I'm sure a Windows/PC guy will say the same about his. Its just what you come comfortable with. So thats my two cents. Keep Shooting!
Adobe Lightroom Develop Module Part 2 "Detail Corrections"
Cloning can be done with the clone tool that will copy parts of the photo to another that is handy when removing things. You also have a heal tool that looks for the same type of texture in the photograph that you are trying to repair that is handy in cleaning up faces in portraits. Graduated Filters act as neutral density filters and come in two different types a Graduated one and a Radial one that is round. You can use these filters to correct exposure problems with your photo or emphasize a part of the photo. There is a red eye reduction tool that can be used to correct the red eye effect that can happen with flash photography. There is also a red eye reduction for animals that can be useful in keeping the family pet not looking like Cujo. And then there is the brushes! There are countless things you can do with the brushes that than touch up enhance hide or brighten up parts of your photo. Too numerous to mention all of the things you can do with the brushes. Please go to the link below and watch my video on Lightroom's specific detail corrections. Adobe Lightroom Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-AmCBiuMME
Lightroom Develop Module Part 1 "Global Effects"
Global corrections is what Lightroom does best in my opinion. If you want to make a lot of specialized adjustments Lightroom can do some but Photoshop is the place to be. But for general global adjustments Lightroom is great. If your a Photoshop person than the develop module is just the same as the camera raw plugin in Photoshop. Looks different but is basically the same thing. Adjustments in the Develop Module are made with sliders. You can click and drag the sliders to make the adjustments. This is about as easy as it gets. Not a lot of thinking just looking and sliding. If you don't like what you see you can reset and start all over all without damaging your original image. Non destructive editing! Lightroom Develop Module Part 1 Video Link: https://youtu.be/e_Gg__d4UcQ
Fall Colors Workshop
The fellowship of like minded people (Photo Nuts) and being able to talk about our craft and our perspective on how we see the world was the best part to me. We had many people from different walks of life different ages,backgrounds,ect... But we all had one thing in common. The love of photography and being out in nature with each other. We were like little kids out playing in the school yard with enthusiasm and we were as excited as we could be. Leading up to the workshop people started getting
Day 1- Travel to Cabin and Soco Falls in Maggie Vally Day 2- Cades Cove Tn. and Mingus Mill Day 3- Looking Glass Falls , High Falls, Triple Falls, Cabin Day 4- Elk at Cataloochee NC and Shoal Mill Falls at Living Waters Day 5- Rainy day and ride back home
Adobe Lightroom "Map Module"
How do I geotag my photographs? Well there are many ways to do it. Once your in the map module you could simply click, drag and drop your photo onto the google map where you took the photo. If your like me you don't always know the exact location on a map you could use a GPS device or your cell phone with the correct app to create GPX tracks. Then you could import the track (which is like a digital breadcrumb trail) and then you could auto tag your photo's and they will appear on the google map with all the right coordinates on them. You do have to be careful and make sure your camera and your GPS device or phone are at the same time or they might not sync into the correct spot on the map. Here is a quick video on how to use the Map Module in Lightroom : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH6sg5Yzhwg
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