Who remembers using these?

Momma

I shot this yesterday when crossing Ocean Parkway. I saw this family and I knew I wanted some shots of them. I just aimed my iPhone and popped about a half dozen shots and hoped for the best. This one came out great, in my opinion, especially with the black and white treatment.

By the way, I shot and processed this on my iPhone (using Snapseed)

When I hear that desktop apps like Lightroom are making their way to these devices, I'm first thinking to myself, this could be cool. It'd be fun to play with my pictures on my iPad, pushing those pixels around like so much goo. Unfortunately, I find the reality is far, far away from my fantasy thoughts. Very far.

Here are some scenarios where I imagine an iPad/RAW workflow and my thoughts about them:

1 – Shoot images on a DSLR then transfer the RAWs to iPad. How? With a computer? Why bother transferring them? What's the point because you've now just doubled your workflow time? Also, tablet storage is a serious, albeit temporary, issue here. Rename and convert RAWs to DNGs (storage space again an issue here). Keyword and create collections & albums. That probably wouldn't be too bad once the images are on the iPad. Start to process RAWs. Ugh. Scroll around a 4000 x 6000 pixel image on a 7-9″ screen can be a pain. Well, a Retina display here would help. Still, that's a lot swiping across a tiny screen. Maybe it'll use smaller proxy images, but then can you view the images at a true 100 percent?. Also, the iPad screen isn't calibrated (more about that below).

After you process them, then what? Transfer the RAWs via wifi? That'll take forever. Copy them back to memory card? Can you even do that with an iPad? Connect it back to a desktop computer and transfer back into Lightroom with all the work done? But will you then need to double check the work now that you're back on a calibrated, big-gamut monitor? Maybe you now need to do further work in Photoshop. How is this better, faster or even fun?

2 – Shoot your RAW images then transfer to computer and convert RAWs to preview DNGs. Send them to an iPad. Go in living room to process images. When done, go back to computer and transfer images back from iPad to desktop. This makes sense how? Why wouldn't I just process them properly on a computer where everything is going to end up anyway? Well, maybe I want to sit near the pool to process them. Really? Have you tried to even read a book on the iPad in the sun? Can you imagine doing critical editing, outdoors with all the reflections of the screen?

3 – Here's a fantasy scenario. Shoot DNGs in camera. The camera also makes preview DNGs at the same time, like RAW + JPEG. The camera or memory card has wifi. The smaller preview DNGs get quickly uploaded to the Cloud. Lightroom on iPad can then access these smaller DNGs in the Cloud. You keyword, create collections, albums, websites, slide shows, maps, from the iPad having access to these cloud DNGs. This way, the iPad doesn't have to store the full res files. Also, you have access to some limited image processing, perhaps some basic global adjustments, white balance, clarity, etc. These edits are stored with the Cloud-stored preview DNGs. When you're back to your home desktop, you can download the larger RAW images from the memory card and sync those files with the Cloud preview DNGs, and voila! All the edits and key wording and global adjustments sync to the larger proper DNGs. Because you're only syncing metadata, the information transfer is fast.

[note: I wrote this before watching the Scott Kelby preview on Lightroom on the iPad. Seems that Adobe is thinking the same thing here]

The main problem with this scenario is that cameras will need to shoot in DNGs. Some cameras do this now, but the vast majority don't. I don't know what is wrong with Canon & Nikon in this regard. I wish they'd just get over themselves already. If cameras could shoot in DNG, one bottleneck to the RAW/iPad workflow has been solved because you wouldn't need to convert the images to DNG in the first place.

Now, I do use my iPhone and iPad in my photography workflow, but mainly to process and share images which I've taken on those devices themselves. So far I've found working on the iPad and iPhone with images images I've shot on them easy and pleasurable and it has little to no impact on my overall workflow.

My idea of workflow is to make work “flow” easier. Anything added to the “flow” has the potential to slow things down, or even plug it up completely. If Lightroom on a tablet is to be truly useful, it needs to not get in the way of your workflow. It needs to make things easier, not more complex. To augment and be seamless. Once workflow steps get duplicated or sidestepped, all the advantages of the iPad are removed. Workflow ceases its flowing and chaos is not far away.

There is no workflow solution I see here which would make anything truly easier. So far everything still involves the use of a desktop computer somewhere in between getting your images to the tablet or off the tablet. I don't have an solution to this dilemma, but from what I've seen and read so far, I don't think Adobe (or anyone for that matter) has one either.

By the way, you can see the preview of Lightroom on the iPad here. They are only showing the processing part of the app and nothing else, so don't get too excited.

As an important side note, fast-forward to 35:37 in the preview video. Here, you hear Scott Kelby say, “I think you should absolutely be editing on an iPad because that’s where everyone is going to be looking at your images.”

I won't get started here about how bad that “advice” is, but listen to me now: DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM. HE'S WRONG. VERY WRONG. Discuss this in the comments if you'd like. I might write up another post about this issue of calibration in the future.

I just installed a solid state drive into my Mac Pro to store my very large LightRoom catalog in. I currently have over 215k images and LightRoom is slowing to a crawl. It doesn’t help that the catalog was installed on slower 5,400rpm “green” drives. I decided to move the entire catalog over to a 256GB SSD to see what would happen. Night and day difference. LightRoom now works in real-time again, even with 215k images. This screencast is just a demo of the speed differences. Very dramatic increase.

Where is everyone?

Miele Rosario EnFoco Workflow Workshop from Jean Miele on Vimeo.

Now, if you have the Flipboard app on your mobile device, you can subscribe to my new curated photo magazine “photo mOjO.” Just click on this link to subscribe. You'll need to do it from a mobile device like an iPad or iPhone and you'll have to download the newest Flipboard app if you don't already have it.

This is an amazing sculpture at Green-Wood Cemetery. While all the other angels are standing and pointing at the sky, this one isn't. Just poignant emotion.

Poked the camera into a crypt window and saw this.

I really dig the pano features of the iPhone. That, and the processing apps, can turn out some impressive shots. I know this is a little grainy, but I like the grain.

My friend Jean Miele made this great shot of me the other day using Hipstamatic. I really, REALLY like it, so it’s becoming my profile pic for the time being.

Another shot from the Coney Island Gala from Saturday. I love the way this one came out. Processed with VSCO Film 3 pack and some Lightroom and Photoshop splendidness. Yow, HOT!

Found a processing I liked, using the VSCO Film 3 pack, with some extra tweaks by me and some floor cleaning. I like the results.

Our first shot of the evening.

She’s WAY taller than me.

Guess who visited the Coney Island 2013 Gala last night?

This is one of the most amazing exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum. “Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works” by El Anatsui is a series of huge pieces of what amounts to “fabrics” made of connected found objects, like metal strips from bottles, can tops, labels and all sorts of other items. These objects are all tied together with copper wires and the effect of all this stuff is like large sheets of draped fabric. If you're wanting to see a great show, head on out to se this show at the Brooklyn Museum. It'll be we'll worth it.

Click on for some more images.

Here are a few more shots taken at Green-Wood yesterday. Overcast, grey nasty days are perfect for shooting at this location. Click on for more.

A few more images from my Green-Wood excursion last Saturday. Click on to see more.

A wonderful old-style shot of Mercy. Her pose and expression really fits the style this shot was taken in.

Some treasures are just found in a pike of junk. Some things just stand out.

The RØDE iXY looks like an awesome attachment for an iOS device. Looks to be only compatible with devices that have the 30-pin connectors, so iPhone 5s & newer iPads are out. At least for the moment. $200. Available now but sold out at Rode’s store.

Just trying out the iPhone’s panorama feature, in vertical, on this great house in Ditmas Park/Flatbush. This is after the snow storm we had last Friday, which I refuse to call by the stupid storm “name” the Weather Chanel has conjured up.

As beautiful as ever. You're one of my favorite places in the city.

A toy, about an inch long, found in some of the belongings from the house my mom grew up in.

A quick tip about how to quickly remove the horrible color fringing and chromatic aberrations in a high contrast image. I discovered a neat quick way to do this. Amazed I didn’t find it before.

Until Aperture can process and correct for an extreme condition like this, Lightroom, and, by extension Adobe Camera Raw, will keep it’s place on the top of my list of great raw processors. Don’t get me wrong, though. I do like Aperture. A lot. I just want it to do these kind of corrections. If there is another version on the horizon (something I don’t think is going to happen – but I’d love to be proven wrong), Aperture will need the ability to correct for color fringing and lens distortions as well as, or better than, Lightroom. Let’s hope.

Is he an assassin sent by grocery clerks?

Someday I’m going to get my hands on some real wet plates and do some amazing portraits. Until then, I can simulate the look.

A shot from 2011 while visiting friends in Connecticut. Something about the framing and their expressions like I really like.

And while I’m at it, this was the second and last calendar I did for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The idea for this one was to shoot the garden from a variety of different and obscure angles, not generally seen in most photos of the garden. I originally floated the idea that I use their cherry picker truck to shoot some of the shots from, but that never happened for a variety of reasons. What I ended up doing was rigging my camera to a sturdy monopod and using it, along with a remote trigger for my Nikon, to extend the reach of my shots. I either held the camera over my head, at about a height of 12-13 feet, or used it to dangle the camera in areas I could not reach by hand. Some of those high and low angle shots are in this calendar.

I think this is my favorite grouping of shots from the Garden. They really make the BBG look like the rich and vibrant place it is.

The next year, the BBG crowd-sourced the photography of the calendar.

These images were from the first calendar I shot for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 2010. That year, the BBG was celebrating its 100th anniversary and my images were paired up with the some original old images shot by the BBG’s long-time photographer, Louis Buhle.

Funny how this is little different from using Instagram or Hipstamatic today.

That’s variety!

Last week I had the great pleasure seeing my friend Mel DiGiacomo speak at B&H Photo, showing a small selection of his fantastic photos. Head on over to Flickr to see just a tiny bit of his great photography.

Mel is one of the best photographers you would ever meet. If he speaks again at B&H, I highly recommend you go see him.