If you are interested in Photography, you need to view your images on a monitor that is accurate for color rendition. Looking at your images on just any monitor is like looking through a window that may be dirty or could have a tinted film on it. What you see on such a monitor is not really what you saw in the camera. And editing when you cannot see an image accurately is a complete waste of time. The monitors intended for photographers or graphic designers are excellent, however they tend to be rather expensive. So for the high end hobbyist or someone just getting into photography, or anyone on a limited budget, the best monitor for image viewing has been way over budget, until now. 

    BenQ has released a new 24 inch monitor at a price point that opens accurate color to everyone. With a 1920 x 1200 screen size and 16:10 ratio, the new BenQ SW240 can display more than one billion colors with its 10 bit display, thus eliminating the banding that appears with lower end monitors. The BenQ can also show 99% of the Adobe RGB colors space, meaning that it shows a greater range of colors, and a more realistic color representation, particularly for outdoor photography. You can read more about color rendition and accuracy at BenQ’s website, BenQ.com. Just be sure to select the Photographer Photo Editing Monitor Series.

    All monitors, including those on laptops, should be calibrated on a regular basis using a hardware colorimeter or spectrophotometer like the ones from xrite.com to make sure the colors shown are accurate and stay accurate. With the BenQ SW240 you can use various hardware colorimeters (a must for photographers and graphic designers) with the free Palette Master Element software or use the x-rite software. Both software applications make calibrating the monitor very simple.

    Glare from ambient light can alter your view of what is on the monitor. Although BenQ’s larger sized Photographic monitors come with a shading hood, with the SW240 the hood is an optional but still affordable accessory, and anyone doing photographic or design work should have a monitor hood.

    The SW240 is easy to set up and even easier to adjust to the best height and angle for your viewing position. And to make photo and artwork editing even more convenient, the SW240 can quickly swivel around so you can view a vertical image in portrait mode - and yes, the hood can be used in both orientations!

    The SW240, like BenQ’s other photographic monitors, should definitely be considered a part of any-level photographers’ tools.

    With such intense days and often a lack of sleep, mistakes happen.

    You hurry to get up one morning, gather your camera gear, reformat the memory to card to get ready, and AAUURRGGHH… you just remembered you had not downloaded the contents the night before because you were too tired after the blue hour shoot…

    It happens…but there is help in the digital world!

    If you make such a mistake, try not use that particular memory card again until you have time to run Stellar to get the best results! 

    Stellar Data Recovery and its little brother, Stellar Photo Recovery, can both “recover” or get back almost all of the images you just deleted when you reformatted the memory card.

    And Stellar’s straightforward interface makes it easy to master. This software makes what would be a nerve-racking task feel like a simple step through plan.

    The screen grabs below are from Stellar Data Recovery because that is what I am using for the added benefits of data recovery from external drives and not just images. Stellar Photo Recovery’s screens appear to be almost the same on the Stellar website: 

https://www.stellarinfo.com

    You start the Stellar software and it prompts you through the process. You select the card you want Stellar to scan, and what you want it to recover. By default all files are selected for scan and recovery, however you can customize the selections if you want.

       You then select the drive to be scanned.

        The scan runs and goes through the reformatted card.

          When the scan is complete, you can "recover" the images and save them to another location.

    Stellar data recovery and Stellar photo recovery can recover deleted files from SD and CF memory cards, files from a reformatted SD or CF card, and even create a image file of a SD or CF card  if the storage media has bad blocks. It can even recover files from unmounted SD or CF cards. 

    What is an unmounted card, you ask? 

    Sometimes a memory card does not show up on your desktop when you insert it into a card reader. The card has probably been corrupted and the system does not see it. You launch the Disk utility to locate your SD card and it is grayed out - or not available for read/write access. OK - this is panic time! However with Stellar Data Recovery or Stellar Photo recovery you can access and save the data and photos on media that the system cannot mount! The same is true of external media such as hard drives, CDs and DVDs if you are using Stellar Data Recovery.

    Is it expensive? That depends on the value of what you will lose if you reformatted  a memory card without downloading the images first!

    For a traveling photographer, having a tool available to recover photos or better still a tool that can recover all sorts of data from a variety of media and even corrupted media seems worth more than the $49 for photo recovery only or $99 for  the full data recovery with photo recovery. 

    First in the size of the trade show, where the early days it was a really small group of vendors with small booths to then super huge booths and too many vendors to see in one day in the years between 2010 and 2017, and now back down to a very manageable size trade show to take in all the new products for wedding and portrait photography or photography in general.

    Another change we’ve noticed over the years is that while the first shows were predominantly male oriented, the tide shifted around 2010 to many more and younger women photographers in the classrooms and wandering around the trade show floor. 

    Last year, the show was at the Las Vegas Convention Center with the classrooms in that same location. The trade show floor was too large for the number of booths and basically everyone seemed to get lost or be late for whatever they were trying to do. In 2018, WPPI was again based at one of the large hotels. For 2018, and probably for the next few years, WPPI was at one of the Mandalay convention centers, and the size of the room felt right for the number of vendors at the trade show. The classrooms were around in the same location, however we did see a lot of people moving quickly through the convention lobby and halls trying to find their classes. 

    And this year, for the first time since we started attending WPPI, the trade show seemed smaller than the previous few years. The classes were as diverse and plentiful as in the past, however, there were not as many divergent product manufacturers, like gizmos and gadgets on the show floor this year. There were fewer print houses, studio management software booths, and studio insurance companies in the room. The equipment deals were still abundant however, there were fewer retailers - Only Adorama, B&H, Samys, with one local retailer that we could find. So in 2018, the show actually seemed more focused than previous shows- pun intended.

    What did we see that was special this year? The big camera manufacturers each had large booths with great displays of the cameras and lenses. With the smaller crowds, it was much easier than in the past to actually get to talk with someone in the booth and test products. As in the past, camera manufacturer also held classes in the booth with several of their professionals teaching lighting, lens choices, posing, etc. And these classes in the trade show were all free and for once, not overcrowded. You could actually see what was being presented. Each camera brand also offered free sensor and lens cleaning if you brought your gear in and were willing to wait.

    Adobe had a theater-styled classroom on one side with fabulous classes throughout the day. Sony showed their new AR7 III with reportedly much better battery life and other new features. We loved testing the Zeiss lenses with different camera bodies. Basically a great show and useful classes for a variety of photographers. And yes, we plan on returning in 2019.

    So what was the coolest thing we saw?

    Canon demoed a new flash unit that not only works as an affordable flash for any Canon, but also has some AI built in to help the photographer learn where and how to bounce light. This “R2D2” type flash spins around, measuring distance to the subject, and looks for a ceiling then angles the flash head to what it estimates is the proper angle and distance depending what you are photographing. And if you turn the camera to shoot in portrait mode (vertical), the flash swings around to aim the flash head the way it should be pointed! Not only is it a wonderful learning tool for the photographer, it would make a great flash unit to have in your bag all the time. This flash unit would be ideal for any photographer,  especially when you suddenly are asked to photograph a person when you had not planned to, when you are not in “work mode” and might forget to perfectly angle the flash head as you quickly take some shots! Happens to everyone and Pros some point!

https://www.wppiexpo.com
Canon USA    

Laptops are great for travel. But to replace a desktop? 

Oh those dongles and plugs!

Having just upgraded my 2013 MacBook Pro to a late 2017 MacBook Pro of identical screen size, I was surprised by the lighter weight of the new model.  The 2013 was really lighter, especially for those of us who have used the original “PowerBrick” from Apple - way back when! Still this new model is so light, I can pick it up with two fingers. That really helps with travel and weight restrictions, plus it is all around more comfortable to use.

However, I was still clinging to my old modular Mac Tower, loaded with RAM and cores - you know that silver box that takes two people to carry it somewhere if it needs a repair? Why? Not because the processors are any faster, because they are not compared to the new MacBook Pros! It is all about the ease of connections - the ports - the ability to connect multiple USB devices, memory card readers, internet cables, and firewire and some from legacy external drives that are still working well for storage.  The new laptops may have up to four ports, with one needed for charging, and even with a USB powered hub, I found it limiting. And then when you take your laptop somewhere, having to disconnect and reconnect a plethora of plugs and dongles or reconnect them when you get back! Well that is just inconvenient.

When I read that OWC (MacSales.com) had a "Thunderbolt Dock,” i thought it worth looking into. I have used OWC (Other World Computing) products a number of times, including "geeking out" my old MacPro Tower with various internal drives which are faster than the original ones it came with, and also for adding internal PCI cards which gave me USB 3 connectivity for various external devices. So I was already familiar with some of their products and also their "live" tech support (a real person answers the phone, how novel!). And they also have numerous How-To videos that enable even the least techie person to successfully do some technical installations and upgrades - such as internal hard drives and PCI cards!

My new MacBook Pro has Thunderbolt 3, also known as USB-C connecting ports, so that is the version of the Thunderbolt Dock that I tried. Just to be clear, OWC also makes a Thunderbolt 2 version of the Dock for MacBooks and Macbook Pros that use USB 3 with the original type connectors, called Standard A ports.

The TB3 Dock is a sleek and relatively small box with many connection options. Plug the TB3 Dock into power and connect it to the laptop, and suddenly any connected external drives, card readers, external monitors, and more have power and are available.  I simply connect my MacBook Pro with one cable, boot up, and I can use all the externals without connecting and disconnecting anything. My screen appears on the external Monitor I love, my Wacom tablet is ready, and the card reader, external speakers, and external drives are all good to go.

In the past, I had to purchase a second MacBook Pro charger so I could leave one in my travel case and not have to crawl under the desk to disconnect or reconnect the charger for my laptop when taking it for travel. The OWC TB3 Dock comes with its own power supply. So now I just keep the original charger the laptop came with in my travel bag. The Thunderbolt dock has the power for my laptop and all my devices, and it is ready and waiting for me when I reconnect the laptop. That's it, one cable to connect  when I use my MacBook Pro at my home office, one cable to disconnect when I take my MacBook Pro on the road. And I did not have to purchase another MacBook power charger.

In fact, the OWC Thunderbolt dock has proven so convenient that when a friend was debating between using a 2013 MacBook pro and getting a new iMac, I showed him the connective simplicity and he bought the OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock to match his MacBook Pro. It was less expensive than purchasing another iMac and it gave him everything he needed as well.

This OWC Thunderbolt Dock just works and its affordable! 

Finally, I can use my laptop conveniently without 

dangling dongles and a plethora of plugs!

Store More with Faster Access and Keep it all Safe!

I live in earthquake country, and they say it is not IF but WHEN an earthquake will happen. It would be nice to know when a quake is coming so I could plan and prepare.

l use computers for a variety of tasks, both personal and work projects. It would be convenient to know in advance when a problem is about to happen which could put my data at risk. Well, I can prepare for problems with my computers, with SoftRAID, as I just found out!

If you use any type of computer, you are using some sort of disk drive, or probably multiple disk drives. And like with earthquakes, it’s not IF but WHEN any disk drive might fail.

However, unlike with earthquakes, it IS possible to know when a disk is about to fail!

Using a simple application called SoftRAID, you can be aware of a drive that is about to fail, so you can prepare a replacement to save your work and files. 

I did not know this was possible until recently when I bought a brand new disk drive. After installing it, the drive was not showing up on the desktop. I called the manufacturer who then asked if I had checked the SMART system. 

Yes, I said, the Disk Utility application did show the newly installed disk had passed and yet, it just did not work. The manufacturer said that sometimes a disk will fail even when Disk Utility shows the disk as operational. The manufacturer suggested I try running an application called SoftRAID. I downloaded the free trial and it definitely showed my brand new drive as failing.

The SoftRAID application can check a new disk when you first install it using a “certify” feature - and sure enough, my new disk was problematic! So the manufacturer replaced the drive immediately. Problem solved…however I also learned that SoftRAID has many more useful features!

SoftRAID monitors your disks and lets you know if one is becoming unreliable! That could be really useful - like an early-warning earthquake system!! 

Although this product has been around since 1996, I had never considered getting an application called SoftRAID, nor setting up a RAID system at all because my data storage needs were not that large. I did not need the speed nor the redundancy of a RAID for my single computer or even my small business.

Plus I had heard early on that a hardware RAID is better than a software RAID. So why should I consider a SoftRAID system?

Since that experience with a non-working new drive and the suggestion from an unexpected source (the drive manufacturer), I have now learned a lot more and really do see the need for SoftRAID, both for protection from any single drive failure and for setting up a RAID.

So why a RAID?

In the most basic terms, a RAID consists of multiple drives working together as a single drive. The RAID is managed either by hardware, where the drive controllers are built into an enclosure for the multiple drives, or by software, where the drives are controlled by a software application on your system.

First, here are 3 simple advantages of the SoftRAID application over a hardware RAID:

1. Redundancy:

With a hardware RAID, the enclosure controls the multiple drives it contains. If a drive fails, the RAID maintains redundant information on the other drive or drives in the enclosure so your data is safe. However, if the enclosure fails, you could lose data. 

With a software RAID your data is also split across separate drives. In fact the data can also be split across separate enclosures. With SoftRAID even if the enclosure were to stop working, your data is still safe, because the RAID is controlled by software not the hardware box that failed. So although a hardware RAID has redundancy by using multiple drives for protection, a software RAID, which also uses multiple drives, has an added level of  protection. Plus you could even gain another level of redundancy by “Raiding” multiple enclosures.

2. Obsolescence:

The speed advantages of a RAID comes from the RAID box controller chip. As technology advances and chip speeds improve, your hardware RAID chip eventually becomes obsolete with newer chips and faster speeds hitting the market so quickly.With a hardware RAID, the speed of access to your data on your hardware RAID will not improve even if you were to get a new faster computer. You would have to purchase a new hardware RAID system and then move all your data over from the old one to take advantage of the newer speeds. 

- SoftRAID uses the power of your computer’s CPU. When you need more speed or newer tools, you will most likely upgrade your computer. You simply use your existing RAID ( your series of raided drives) with the new computer and the SoftRAID application. Your Software RAID can take advantage of the newer speeds.

3. Updates: 

Firmware updates vs software updates:

The hardware box and its controller is most often proprietary to that particular brand, so if the RAID box itself (the enclosure or the controller) were to require an update or fail, you need to repair it or you may have to purchase a newer model.

- SoftRAID can use online updates to take advantage of improvements and new tools without changing hardware, which is also a time saving in of itself. And SoftRAID has been around since 1996! In Technology years that is a long time!

Second, RAIDS are used by most companies for speed of access and ever-increasing storage needs. However, even my personal files and data are starting to accumulate and I now need more space and speed to use them efficiently. Plus the applications I use seem to require more and more speed to be convenient or just function. Today the idea of creating a RAID solution with my stored data for my personal files seems a great way to go.

- So yes, a RAID system does makes sense, even for individuals. 

Third, with SoftRAID, you can create a mirror clone of your system drive. Then if your computer is ever destroyed, or stolen, and you have to replace it, SoftRAID can actually help you keep right on working without loss of either time or data.  You won't lose the time it takes to restore old data onto a new computer and you won’t lose the data that was on the old computer.

- With a new computer and a SoftRAID mirror of your old one,  you can start working right away on the new computer without having to wait hours and hours for data to be restored onto it from a backup.

Imagine this scenario to simplify setting up any new computer: 

• First create a SoftRAID “mirror volume” of your existing drive using an external drive of at least the same size. 
• Update this mirror volume on a regular basis using SoftRAID.

• When you need a new computer, plug your SoftRAID mirror drive into the new computer and turn it on.

• When you hear the startup chime, hold the option key down until you see the ‘boot selection menu’.  Select your SoftRAID mirror volume to boot up from it.

Instead of having to wait to start working while you update the new computer, you can start working right away from the SoftRAID volume, while it is restoring all your old computer files onto the new one. Essentially it’s just like using your old computer at the same time you are rebuilding your new one from your SoftRAID mirror volume.

Finally, you can double your drive preparedness and data protection with SoftRAID, and be totally covered for both loss (from earthquakes or fire or theft) and disk failure.

Simply create a second SoftRAID mirror volume, but keep this one off-site, bringing it back to mirror it on a regular basis. Although this would not be a constant backup, if your computer were to be stolen or destroyed in an earthquake or fire, your off-site mirror volume would have your data saved and ready to begin just about where you left off! 

 SoftRAID offers a lot of protection - and it’s a lot less expensive than earthquake insurance!

After years of keeping documents, photos, and other digital files on multiple external hard  drives,

I recently found a more practical, compact, and still affordable solution.

Over the years, I had purchased multiple 1 TB drives to store files, because one TB was the largest I could afford.

And now after a good number of years, the 1 TB drives could not hold everything, so I had accumulated a bunch of them. 

It sure would be more practical to not have to label each drive with what it contains and then search the pile of drives,

and connect one at a time to figure out where that document I wanted to use again was stored. 

Today with the cost of larger hard drives going lower and lower, purchasing a 4 TB drive or larger is more affordable.

So I purchased two 4 TB drives. Two? even though my storage needs only required less than 4 TB?

Yes! The golden Rule of Computer storage: Never have less than two back ups with the same items on them! 

Ok so if two is necessary and good, wouldn’t 3 be better? 

Yes, three duplicates of every important digital file is a great idea! Why 3?

You keep one off-site - i.e. at a friend or family’s home or in a safety deposit box.

You keep the other two on-site, so if one goes down, you can immediately use the other one.

And you rotate the 3 copies, by updating the two on-site almost daily, and then change one with the off-site unit on some regular basis

So after copying all the data from my original 1 TB drives onto a new 4 TB drive, I duplicated or cloned that 4 TB drive to another 4 TB drive.

Then I checked the 4 TB drives - using both repair software and visually scanning and comparing the folder structures

- just to make sure all my documents were there and that I could open them.

Making back ups is important, and testing the back up to make sure it works is essential before you erase or repurpose any older drive!

So now, I had a bunch of 1 TB drives left over. The information on these 1 TB drives was already duplicated twice on the 4 TB drives,

so I really did not need them, however I did not want to throw out those 1 TB drives, and I did want a third back up.

Of course, I could purchase another 4 TB drive to have a third back up, however there was a less expensive and still very simple solution!

I purchased an OWC Mercury Elite Pro Qx2, basically an empty aluminum hard drive box with an internal power supply and a fan,

that can hold 4 separate bare drives. That “box” was not expensive - especially compared to another 4 TB drive. 

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/M3QX2KIT0GB/

I opened the housings of the external 1 TB drives to free up the bare drives. Then using the instructions that came with the Qx2

and the online OWC- MacSales videos, I simply installed the bare drives into the Qx2 housing and set the Qx2 up as a “span” drive. 

Then I plugged it into my computer and it showed up as a 4 Tb drive. Ta da - my third back up!  

Of course the Qx2 can also be set up as JBOD - just a bunch of drives - or as a RAID system, 

using a simple dial on the front of the aluminum housing. OWC has clear explanations of what RAIDs are and how and when to use them.

And you could also purchase an OWC enclosure with space for only 2 drives inside.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MED3FR0GB/

Now here is the interesting part! You do not need to be an engineer to accomplish this technical project!

OWC has easy to follow directions and videos that explain and show you every step.

And they explain the different RAID options  - or how you can choose to set your external drives for different purposed from storage to speed. 

OWC has storage options galore with clear explanations and live tech support!

That's great for us non-engineer types who only know a flat from a phillips type screw driver!

MacSales (OWC) now sells a larger capacity EnvoyPro Mini. You can now have up to a 480GB SSD drive to use as a travel back up system or any other external drive purpose.

Not only is this a small and easy to carry anywhere device, the storage capacity is huge.

As a travel drive back up, it is a fantastic solution that won't take up space or weight in your carry-on bags!

Just wear it around your neck like a necklace! 

So now there are three sizes on Envoy Pro Minis: 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB.

I just cloned my laptop drive, including my image editing and viewing software onto a 240 GB Envoy Pro Mini.

And even though it is an external drive, starting up from the external 240 GB Envoy Pro Mini is super fast. 

In addition I also put some repair software - like Techtool Pro, Disk Warrior, and ProSoft Engineering Data Rescue and Photo Rescue on that Envoy Pro Mini boot drive.

I carry that one as a back up to my computer, and I can also use it to trouble shoot my laptop, by starting up from it….just in case!

I now use two (or three) of the Envoy Pro Minis - 480 gb or 240 gb depending on the length of my trip -  as back up photo storage.

By copying the photographs I take to my internal laptop drive and then making copies to two 480 GB or two 240 GB Envoy Pro Minis, I always have three back ups of the image files.

And if my internal laptop drive were too small, I would simply put all the photos on one Envoy Pro Mini 480 GB, and then make two backup copies on two other Envoy Pro Minis.

So basically I now travel with 3 or 4 Envoy Pro Minis - one with a start up system and some photo and repair software on it, and the other two or three to hold 3 copies of the travel images.

These little Envoy Pro Minis house some serious storage space, and because they are solid state drives (SSD), they are also very responsive.

Copying or cloning images or anything else is so easy and fast, and I need nothing other than these drives - no additional cables or power supplies!

And did I mention I can wear them around my neck?

 … Excessive compulsive about backups? true, but you never know!

As a “BackUp Guru” I am always looking for more and better external drives that I can use to back up my system and/or my images, in case of disaster. And because I like to travel, I am also looking for external drives that are small and lightweight so I can keep a back up with me. 

I just found a fantastic solution to both situations: A very small, very lightweight, portable external drive that fits both those requirements and in addition is very fast! 

The new Other World Computer Envoy Pro Mini - the name is much larger than the device - looks like a larger than average thumb drive but has the capability of an external back up drive. And it is super fast because it is an SSD (Solid State Device) as opposed to an external hard drive with moving parts. The 240GB model can hold not only a trip’s worth of RAW images, but also a minimal boot system  - so I could start up my laptop in case of an internal hard drive failure. OWC also makes a 128 GB model, which would still hold quite a few images. 

It uses a USB 3.0 interface but is backward compatible with USB 2.

Does the OWC Envoy Pro Mini read and write data as quickly (433MB/s) as the makers claim? I am not going to compare advertised speed to bench tests - there are plenty of internet sites to do that. I am more interested in how it works for my purposes - that is as a lightweight, super small, storage device I can stick in my pocket for travel.

Still I was curious to see if it really would be faster at copying data both to and from the computer than my previous travel drives.

I plugged the Envoy Pro mini in and copied 32 GB of Raw images and then repeated the same exact task using the external portable hard drive I normally take for travel. And both were using USB 3. 

In my unscientific comparison the OWC Envoy Pro Mini was several minutes faster at copying the same relatively small amount of data to and from my laptop as compared to my normal external storage drives. So, I consider the OWC Envoy Pro Mini fast!

As for it’s size and weight, it is larger at 31/2 inches long than most standard thumb drives, and it weighs about 1.5 ounces. The Envoy Pro Mini is encased in a solid aluminum housing which not only protects the drive but helps dissipate heat. This drive does feel warm to the touch when it is working, which is to be expected with the amount of data moving to or from the drive. As a test, I ran it continuously overnight, again an unscientific test, and although it was warm to the touch, it never stopped working and cooled down immediately once I disconnected it. It even comes with a 3 year limited warranty and of course is both Mac and PC compatible.

I have now changed my set of digital travel tools and my recommendations. My latest travel solution?Travel with at least 2 (or more) of these Envoy Pro Mini thumb drives so you can have two back ups of all your travel images and more without adding weight to or taking up space in your carry on bags!

Check it out:  http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ENVMKU3S240/

 Here are a few links with great resources for learning more about Lightroom CC or Lightroom 6, or just learning Lightroom.

From Victoria Brampton (lightroomqueen.com):

http://www.lightroomqueen.com/whats-new-lightroom-cc-6-0/ 

From Laura Shoe: (laurashoe.com)

Adobe Releases Lightroom CC and Lightroom 6 

Lightroom CC/6 Free Tutorials

From Piet Van den Eynde: (!CraftAndVision.com)

Lightroom 6 Up to Speed 

From Colin Smith: (http://photoshopcafe.com)

videos on the new features right here!

From George Jardine: (mulita.com)

http://mulita.com/blog/?p=7835

Adobe just released Lightroom 6 also known as Lightoom CC.

This is the first major upgrade in almost 2 years, and includes some truly workflow-altering changes!

So has Photoshop been updated also?

Not at this time, however, Adobe Camera RAW has been updated to 9.0,

which matches the changes in the Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC Develop module.

Some major changes:

• You can now merge multiple RAW images into a Panorama right from Lightroom.

• You can now do an HDR merge of RAW files, without going into Photoshop or another application.

• And the resulting merged images are RAW (dng) files, giving you all the editing options of the Develop module. 

• The result is quickly shown to you in a preview JPG and the work is done by handing it off to the GPU

   on your graphics card so it all works much faster than ever before.

• That speed enhancement basically helps everything in the Develop module.

Other major additions include:

• Face recognition and face tagging.

• Additions in the Slideshow module

 - including a controllable pan and zoom option on slides

 - the ability to add multiple sound tracks

 - to sync transitions to sound track

 - speedy previews of your slide show using a reduced quality on playback just for previewing and testing.

• Ability to apply a radial or gradient mask and then “brush” out areas of the mask to exclude them.

• CMYK support in soft proofing

• Ability to reposition the Adjustment Brush Pins

• An auto Crop that levels and crops an image

• A “pet eye” correction (similar to red eye correction)

• Import directly into a collection

• “Paint” a  whole set of keywords with the keyword painter tool

• Improvements to Lightroom mobile on iDevices and Android

And

• Tons of lens profiles have been added

Of course there are basic system requirements to take advantage of all the new features:

Minimum system requirements: 

• 64-bit only

• OpenGL3.3and up

• Mac OS 10.9 and higher 

• Windows 7 and higher

And make sure your video drivers are up to date!

For Mac users, these are updated with the Operating System updates.

For PC users you may need to check your video card manufacturer’s website

to be sure there are no updates - even if your system is saying your drivers are OK!

SO what is the difference between Lighroom 6 and Lightroom CC as a subscription?

For one, no Lightroom Mobile on Lightroom 6.

And the continuos updates and additions will only show up on Lightroom CC,

as part of the “Creative Cloud Photography Plan Spring 2015 update”

- that’s the $9.99 a month subscription version for which you not only

get the latest Lightroom but also the full version of Photoshop CC.

In the next post, we will list some great resources for learning Lightroom!

You’d think by now I would have all the camera bags I could possibly need. After all, I have been searching out camera bags for well over 12 years now. My storage space for the bags is overflowing. And yet, I just found, despite the family’s objections, a couple of new incredibly useful camera backpacks that I really, really need!

(The word “need” here is the way to convince others that you want and must have a new bag!)

But seriously, this new camera bag, a backpack, will be a great fit for our next photo trip. No,  I am not a serious hiker, nor backpacker. It is just that when you have to walk through long airport corridors, bustling with people dragging their roll a boards behind them or slinging large duffles on the side, a back pack makes it much easier to maneuver. Plus if I do have to carry any gear for a while on a photo walk, I can put just the essentials in the backpack, carry my camera, and comfortably walk and record images, knowing I have a change of lenses handy, as well as a bag to stash the camera in for inclement weather. 

I am not a tall athletic man - quite the contrary! I am a short woman. To answer the obvious question: “Doesn’t having that weight on your back make you hunch over and make it difficult for you to walk?” Not if that backpack fits well and has specifically adjustable straps to evenly distribute the weight!

I do have other camera backpacks that also fit me well, it’s just that I cannot fit all my needed camera, lenses, and other photographic necessities into them. In other words, if a back pack fits me, it is usually a small bag that can only include one DSLR camera  and a minimal amount of gear. And yes, I have that type of backpack and will continue to use it - for specific photo projects. But when I am getting on an airplane and traveling to a destination to take photos, I do not want to check my camera gear somewhere in that plane’s belly - for obvious reasons! So this GuraGear backpack can serve both purposes.

GuraGear has a number of different backpacks that all look good. The trick here was to find which one fits me while all my needed photo gear fits inside.

Actually, I tried two different models: the Bataflae 18L-which stand for 18 Liters of capacity, and the Bataflae 26L, or 26 Liters. And surprisingly, both these backpacks fit my short stature comfortably. Even with each of them loaded with gear and weighing a total of more than 24 lbs, I could easily stand straight and walk comfortably. 

Although both these bags share the name, Bataflae, they function a bit differently. Both have a water resistant coating and YKK RC Fuse zippers, and both come with a separate rain cover that fits into its own small zippered compartment on the front of the bag. And on each of these two bags, you can carry a tripod or monopod attached either at the center back or on one side. In addition,  both offer  two full length zippered accessory compartments on the front of the bag for storing anything from travel documents, to cel phones, light meters, and the like. 

Other than their overall size, these two backpacks vary in the way you can access the gear inside.

 The 18L opens completely as a traditional backpack revealing all the spaces at once, while the 26 L offers the user the option to open it like any other backpack, or to open only one 

side at a time, like individually articulated butterfly wings, making it easier to pull out just one lens or a camera and lens combination. A 300mm f2.8 lens did not fit as conveniently into the 18L, however it seems the 26L was made to carry this and even a longer lens on one side, with the rest of the equipment on the other. The Bataflae 18L has a separate back compartment for a 13 inch laptop or iPad, while the Bataflae 26L is all about camera gear. On the 26L You can stow the backpack harness to make it fit more easily in an overhead bin and it has an additional side handle which is angled to make it easier to carry like a small suitcase.

Of course it is important to balance the load inside the bag as well as adjust the straps properly for your body. Still both of these backpacks worked for me. So which one will I purchase? Ahem - both! The 18L for me, and the 26L for my six foot tall sherpa, my husband. And surprisingly, both these backpacks also fit him perfectly with a different adjustment of the straps.

Now I just have to decide which color…..

The technique is simple and he details the steps very clearly. I've tested it on a catalog and it did reduce the catalog size.

However, please read the article twice and carefully. These steps delete the editing history that accumulates when you work on images, thus trimming down the overall size of the catalog.

You first need to ask yourself:  if I were to revisit the images at a later date, would I want or need to go through the editing history of the images in the catalog?

If you do decide to follow the steps, and have read through them twice, be sure to back up your Lightroom Catalog and store it on another drive or separate location before your start.

You do keep at least one back up of your catalog or catalogs, right?

 Remember, the Lightroom Catalog is a database that stores information. The Lightroom Catalog does not store your image files, which should also be backed up to another a separate drive, a different one than where you keep the main folder of images.

Here is a link to the article:

http://regex.info/blog/2014-06-26/2434

     “Just make sure you have your filters on and get ready!” For 11 days, Phillip had found incredibly beautiful spots for us to capture the varied landscape of New Zealand’s South Island. But this time the view across a lakewith mountains on the horizon, was no more than any other viewing point.

     “Take a few shots to set up your composition and then wait,” Phillip repeated. Click, the blue tone-mountains appeared on my camera’s LCD. I changed position and clicked again, setting the horizon in the bottom third of the frame and adding a graduated neutral density filter to adjust for the sky. 

     All of a sudden, the clouds turned an iridescent pink. I took several shots. The whole sky then turned several shades of red, pink, and orange, as if there were glowing embers in the clouds. Several camera clicks later, the peaks of the mountains in the distance glowed red. The only sounds were those of our shutters clicking away. 

     And then it happened! How could Phillip have planned this? How could he have known exactly where to stop and set up the cameras? A bright rainbow formed from one mountain peak to the other, just as the sky flared it’s richest reds. The shutters clicked and clicked for about 3 minutes. 

     And, just as suddenly as it had appeared, all the red in the sky was gone and the scene looked like any other early morning mountain view. 

     Another car stopped at the viewing point. The passengers pulled out their cameras, looked at us and our equipment, wondering what we were photographing, took a few shots, and got back in their car and drove off. They had totally missed the extraordinary light show.

     Traveling with a photographer and guide who not only knows how to use a camera but also knows the landscape can make all the difference in a photographic adventure. Phillip Bartlett knows New Zealand, has scouted out locations for years, and understands photographic light. As we now look through our many extraordinary landscape images, we have already decided to plan another photo trip with Capture New Zealand.

     Check it out:

http://www.capturenewzealand.co.nz      

If you use your DSLR to shoot video and find that squinting at a 3 inch live view screen is difficult, Marshall Electronics offers an easy to use solution. 

The Marshall CT-6 is a 6 inch portable field monitor that fits in the hot shoe of the camera and makes it easy to see exactly what is in the shot. It works with Live View and an HDMI connection.

For those who create training videos, the Marshall CT6 is an indispensable tool!

You can turn the monitor forward, put yourself in the frame and see your video as you are recording it! This also works for self portraits, or when you shoot stills with live view and want to see what you are recording!.

The field monitor connects to the camera with the included cables and works on its own batteries so you don't run down the camera's battery. In fact, you can choose several different battery options, or get the universal one that uses AA batteries.

If you plan to shoot outdoors, do make sure to order the Sunhood! And we recommend using a tripod because the 6 inch field monitor on the camera is a bit awkward to handhold!

The Marshall CT6 field monitor is a great solution for seeing what you are recording as you shoot.

http://www.marshallmonitors.com/products/monitors/M-CT6/index.html

I originally got this case for myself, put my new iPhone 5 in it and thought my iPhone was well protected. This case is very affordable, slim, feels good in hand, and does not obstruct any of the ports. I watched the "drop test" on the manufacturer's website, however, I chose not to test it with my own iPhone. However, when a friend purchased a new iPhone 5s last month, I immediately gave him my NuGuard KX case. He had dropped and broken his iPhone 4 over 3 times. He had not dropped it onto concrete, but rather a padded gym floor. And each time, no matter what case he had on his iPhone 4, the  screen had shattered and the phone never really worked correctly afterwards. He had the first phone replaced, and the next one repaired. By the third time, he just lived with the shattered screen and a partially working phone.

When he received his new iPhone 5s, my friend immediately put the NuGuard KX case on it. Now, a month later, he has actually dropped his new iPhone already twice!! 

But Wait…. both times after dropping it on the same gym floor and once outside,  the iPhone completely survived the drop, not a scratch on the screen, and it continues to work perfectly!!!

This case really does protect your iPhone!!!!!!!!

I am getting another NuGuard KX case - this time for myself!!!

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple/iPhone_Accessories/cases/NuGuard_KX

SO much to learn - SO little time

SO how about a free, easy to read, introductory book on Lightroom? Oh and did I mention it was free?

From the LightroomQueen (aka Victoria Brampton), this 76 page very clear eBook will help you get started with Lightroom 5.

If you enjoy photography - from advanced "Happy-Snapper" to Pro, you can get a great start with this ebook.

Click here - long link but it works!

http://www.lightroomqueen.com/free-downloads/quickstart/lr5/?utm_source=Lightroom+Queen+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=6738660984-Newsletter_2013_10_1410_15_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_17d5f8afbe-6738660984-332958229

The easy solution? Get an SSD that can store your Lightroom catalog and the previews, with  some spare room for growth. Check the size of the existing folder containing both these files.

Then copy the Lightroom catalog folder onto that new SSD.

***Why copy and not move the folders? Safety step! You want to make sure everything is working before you move something permanently!

Next open the Lightroom catalog that is on the SSD drive. Click the question mark on one of the photo previews and direct Lightroom to your image library, that is, the folder where your photo files are stored. And update all so Lightroom will know where the photo files are stored.

Once you are sure everything is working, you can delete the original Lightroom catalog and previews from the original location - probably that old hard drive. Or if you are paranoid, rename that original catalog folder so you will know that is the old one and keep it for a while!

So where is the Lightroom folder with the Lightroom catalog and previews? Depends where you put it when you first started to use Lightroom. The default location is the Pictures / My Pictures folder. Many people put it in a separate location or even on a separate hard drive. Either way, it is one folder probably called Lightroom catalog and inside are at least two files: ~ catalog previews.lrdata and ~ catalog.lrcat.

If in Lightroom's preferences, (Lightroom>preferences>Presets tab>Location on Mac or Edit>Preferences>Presets tab>Location on PC), you chose to store the Lightroom presets with the catalog, then the Lightroom Settings folder is also inside the Catalog Folder. Either way, you want to move the whole Catalog folder to your new SSD drive.

And if you are looking for an easy to install internal SSD - check with the people at MacSales.com also known as Other World Computing. They have a Chat function with an incredibly knowledgeable staff! Tell them what type of computer you have and they will suggest the easiest way to add an SSD drive! www.macsales.com

1. The first thing to try is to restart Lightroom. This step refreshes the memory, like giving the application a clean slate. It does not delete any work you have done in Lightroom!

2. The amount of available RAM is important (the minim of 2GB really is not enough). If you have other applications open when working in Lightroom, try closing these down.

3. If you use Lightroom with Photoshop, make sure you check the RAM allocated to Photoshop in the Photoshop Preferences. You may be using most of your computer's RAM on Photoshop and not leaving enough for Lightroom to work efficiently. 

4. If Lightroom seems to have slowed down when you edit your images, try increasing the Camera Raw cache. This should help the performance in the Develop module. With Lightroom open, on a Mac, select Lightroom > Preferences >File Handling. On a PC select Edit > Preferences > File Handling. Now increase the Camera Raw Cache number which is set at 1 GB in the defaults. Try 3 GB to start. Depending on the available space on the hard drive where the cache is stored, you can increase this number even more. 

These are just the first four steps to try. There are others and we will write about those later.

People learn in different ways. Some of us like to read an instruction book, others like to watch videos.

Some like one instructor's methodology, others want multiple instructors.

Laura Shoe is another great instructor. She is an Adobe Community Professional and an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop Lightroom, and teaches at Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, Washington. She also taught for many years for the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. 

Check out Laura's video workshop, "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5: The Fundamentals and Beyond"

and take advantage of this 10% discount code:

lrdiva10

http://laurashoe.com/lightroom-video-tutorial-training-dvd/lightroom-5-video-tutorial-training/

Another great way to learn Lightroom!!!

Not really ready and don’t have the funds to get a new model?

You may be able to satisfy your speed need without breaking the bank. OWC - Other World Computing (MacSales) - has a line of do it yourself bundles ranging from about $100 to $650,  so you can replace your laptop’s internal hard drive with a Solid State drive. The kits come with all the necessary parts and tools and you can choose the amount of space you want from 64 to 480 GB. 

Or better still, get the ultimate in speed and space by replacing the super drive (DVD) in your laptop with an SSD, put the super drive into an OWC external enclosure, and use the super drive as an external CD/DVD drive. You then can use the SSD in your laptop as your start up drive with the operating system and applications on it, and use your original internal hard drive for storage. The 480 GB can hold a system and quite a few applications. 

You can do the work yourself following the video tutorials on the OWC website.

This is the easy and affordable way to get more speed without buying a new computer, and without spending a fortune. Your older laptop will just feel like a new computer.

www.macsales.com

Check them out at:

Click here to visit Craft And Vision.

Have you been using Lightroom 4 and wondering what's new in Lightroom 5? 

Here is a fast and very affordable way to find out quickly!

Adobe Certified Expert, Piet Van den Eynde, created a little ebook that not only

describes all the new features and how to get started using them, it includes video tutorials!

All for just $5.00 !!!!

Check it out by clicking the link below:

Click here to view more details

Lightroom is a powerful image editor, so learning the best ways to use the editing tools in the Develop Module will help you create a better photograph.

Lightroom is also a powerful digital photo manager. And after all, getting your photos organized so you can edit and enhance them is the first step. You need to learn how to build your own personal photo library in the Library Module.

There are many Lightroom tutorials available online and in books. You can also spend days in the classroom learning Lightroom.

One of the best tutorial series we have ever found for learning Lightroom - really learning Lightroom, by learning to organize, build a custom library of images, and then edit or develop your images with finesse - comes from George Jardine. 

Check out the multiple Lightroom tutorials  - great learning, great value, just plain great! 

http://mulita.com/blog/

What is behind door number 1, door number 2 or door number 3?

       A photographer recently told me he preferred Photoshop Elements to Lightroom because he could easily see the before and after views of his editing. Hmmm, he obviously does not know Lightroom!

Not only can you easily see the before and after edits for comparing, with Lightroom, you can compare multiple variations of those edits and you can also compare multiple similar images shot of the same subject.

Lightroom is simply the best for onscreen comparisons.

Comparing Multiple Images

       Although “Happy Snappers” - those point and shoot people - generally take one shot of their subject, photographers generally record multiple images of each scene or subject. With Lightroom’s Library module “survey” mode you can compare multiple images at once. 

       Then as you make selections, you can close the images you do not want and keep comparing until you find the one you prefer.

       In the Develop Module, press the YY compare button in the tool bar. Continue to edit and the changes appear in the “candidate” window.

Lightroom’s Virtual Copies

       If you want to compare different types of edits, like a black and white version, a sepia toned version, and an enhanced color version of one photograph, Lightroom offers a unique viewing option - Virtual Copies. You simply make as many virtual copies of one image as you need, change each one for a different style, and you can compare these on screen in the Survey mode of the Library module. 

Can you do that in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements? Yes, sort of.... 

       In Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, you could “Save As” multiple times, and make changes to each individually saved file and then look at them at the same time by changing your View to multiple windows tiled on screen. However - and here is the big difference  - you have just created multiple files. And each file is at least the size of the original photo file, taking up more space on your hard drive and taxing your computer processor to display those all at the same time. 

Lightroom’s Virtual copies do not exist as actual photos or duplicates of photos. They do not take up more space on the hard drive. Virtual copies are just metadata in the catalog that stores the different sets of adjustments. In other words, they live up to their name...virtual copies!

       You can apply different adjustment settings to virtual copies of the original (master) photos and thus have multiple versions  of your edits. 

       Start by creating one virtual copy of a photo and then apply adjustment settings to it. Add another version of the master photo by creating another virtual copy and apply the new settings to it. 

Lightroom lets You be the Master of your photographs!

       You can create as many virtual copies of a master photo as you want. You can even make one of the virtual copies a master, making the previous master a virtual copy.

       When you create virtual copies, they can be stacked with the master photo, and “Copy 1” “Copy 2” and so on is added to the Copy Name field in the Metadata panel.

       In the Grid view or the Filmstrip, the master photo displays the number of images in the upper-left corner of the thumbnail. The virtual copies show page-turn icons on the left side of their thumbnails.

Create one or more Virtual Copies

       In the Grid view in the Library Module, click Photo > Create Virtual Copy, or right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) a photo or multiple photos and select Create Virtual Copy (Copies) from the context menu.

       In any other module, click Photo > Create Virtual Copy, or right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) the photo or multiple photos  in the Filmstrip and choose Create Virtual Copy (Copies) from the context menu.

       Edit the virtual copies in the Develop module as you would any other photo. 

       If you want to establish one of your virtual copies with the edits as the new Master copy, go to the Library module, click that virtual copy in the Grid view of the Filmstrip and click Photo in the top menu and select Set Copy As Master.

To delete one or more virtual copies

       In the Library module, expand the virtual cop stack by clicking it and pressing S or clicking Photo > Stacking > Expand All Stacks. Then in either the Grid view or the Filmstrip, right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) the virtual copy to be removed and select Delete Photo form the context menu.

NOTE: You must view the stacks in their folders to expand and collapse them. You cannot change stacks if you are looking in a Collection.

       And if you want to keep a virtual copy you have edited, you can. Virtual copies become actual photos once exported as a copy of the master photo or when you edit as a copy in an external editor such as Photoshop.

       Lightroom is definitely the best place to compare multiple images and different versions of one image. And with Virtual copies, you can see and work with multiple versions of your images without adding more overhead or taking up space on your hard drive. With Lightroom, you do not have to close one window to open another photo. 

So no more guessing what is behind Door #1 or Door #2 or Door #3.

It's all virtual!

Check them out  and get a 10% discount on any new paid account by using this code when you sign up at Zenfolio.com:3A9-EVE-T3Z