I'm trying to decide whether to keep or sell my 70-200mm lens, so was using it on my tripod to experiment with long exposure results of light trails and light bursts. Top two photos are looking at the Kennedy Expressway and the Lake Street elevated -- green line on the upper left; pink line on the upper right. Lower shots follow the light trails of the expressway as cars wind through the city towards or from O'Hare Airport -- broader view on the left, cropped in on the right (need to click to see on black for this to make sense). I like the results with this lens, but I almost never use it (70-200mm) because I go with the lighter weight but slower and lower quality glass 70-300mm. Mmmmm....not sure what I'll end up doing...
After today, my posting and commenting for the next few months will be spotty. After two years of 365, I need to reorganize all my photos, migrating from Aperture to Lightroom. I have "the" book, a set of video tutorials, and the program is on my computer. MUST put aside the time to do something about actually using the program.
Advice from the more experienced is very welcome (I know it's a good program from what some of you said earlier, but any advice about HOW to get started or even mistakes to avoid would be great).
As I'm totally addicted to the site, I know cutting back will be tricky...P3 will continue to post on the Toys site, on Thursdays. And I'll be stopping by whenever I can to view and comment.
Wow - this is awesome!! I also just got and installed Lightroom. My son showed me some of the basics when he was here and I have watched lots of videos and ordered 'the book'. My biggest challenge at the moment is importing and cataloging. Happy New Year, Taffy!
@jankoos So interesting to read that cataloging and important is your challenge as that is where I am starting. I need it as much for setting up a long term system as for the processing part which I think won't be as hard for me as the workflow part! Any advice you have would be GREATLY appreciated!! I'm taking a photo class in Death Valley in a few weeks and am hoping that will jump start my use of it.
@taffy My laptop with 50K images on it died in September. Fortunately I use an external hard drive and an online back up system (back blaze). My pics are saved however they are all over the place and I am trying to figure out how to get them on Lightroom and organized. I haven't played with it much yet so I am pretty useless. The editing part seems pretty straightforward. I will let you know if I have a 'lightbulb' moment and it starts making sense. Your Death Valley class sounds fabulous.
Wonderful night shots. I have been using Lightroom for a few months now but I haven't done much with regards the catalogue. I do really need to make time and learn it. I'm seriously considering getting Scott Kelby's book on Lightroom. Unfortunately for me doing a course or taking a class that is not online is a problem due to where I live.
Taffy, I've been moving into Lightroom over the last few months, more I use it, more I love it. I found YouTube really helpful. Happy to help you out where I can :)
Forgot to say, great light trails. I personally wouldn't get rid of the better glass unless storage is a problem, I can always tell the difference in the quality of my photos between the two.
I am the same in terms of time taffy. I bought elements months ago but never had time to play due to spending evenings on here. Great set of shots. Keep the lens.
I really like the upper right shot in your collage, Taffy. Wish I could help you with Lightroom but learning about my DSLR at the moment and my two lenses. My photos are in need of cleaning up too as I just have way too many that I am hanging onto. Will miss you on here and hope you learn all you can. I bought a book about my previous camera and found you tube much easier to learn from as reading can sometimes make no sense to me. Have fun at your upcoming class. I must move to manual settings for all of my photos so I can learn to control my photos in my camera. Lots to learn always.
Fabulous collage. I love the top right one and the bottom right one too. Can't help you with Lightroom. I have it on my computer but tend to use Photoshop more.
fabulous collage! Before you start importing to LR think about what kind of system you want to organize your files. Getting it right from the start is important, else you have to redo everything later on! I import my files by day, so put them in a folder with that date. Then in LR I give the shots tags so I can find them again. But i tend to be kind of lazy with that as well ;)
To organize in LR think about how you look for photos, I file by year and tag by subject plus use the map for locations. Takes time and I am behind. Too much commenting. But the most important thing you can do is think about how you look for photos. After all this is what a catalogue is for, to aid in the sorting out of things. Don't accept necessarily how a book says to organize if this isn't how you look for things. Also when organizing it is a good time to clean out photos that are repeats and ones you can't remember who, where, when or why. And should you have any that are disappointing. And if setting up Keyword tags think carefully about that and what you hope to accomplish. Remember you can use multiply tags. Organize tags into groups. Like have a major group called Toys and sub keywords for each toy. It is about how you use your photos and how you search for one.
I love lightroom, but I am not one to talk about organising, I do the bare minimum although one of my resolutions was to do better! Good luck with it, it's fantastic, I find.
All the best with Lightroom. Kelby has lots of good stuff to say, I just find his chatty style annoying at times. I use Lightroom basically for cataloging and organization. The "Develop" module is Photoshop's Camera Raw with a slicker interface, so I never use it for that.
The 70-300 (Nikon D610 camera, right?) is a perfectly adequate lens, and with the lens correction profiles in Lightroom, any potential distortion problems are quickly disposed of. One reason to keep your 70-200 is the f/2.8 and low light shots, particularly for the Auto Focus on the camera, two stops faster wide open as it is and the D610 not all together comfortable as the light drops. But yes, it is a heavy animal to lug around for any time. Ken Rockwell, if you read his stuff, likes the 70-300 a lot for its convenience and extra reach. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/70-300-vr.htm
Happy New Year, Taffy.
I enjoyed this LR tutorial (it's a bit long). Really made it clear to me about having all photos in one place and how important it is to work out how you want to store them - by date/by travel etc etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSwkDC3q7uk
I find Lightroom too invasive. I organise my own photographs (where they go, what they are called etc). I use Adobe Bridge, DxO Optics Pro (for Raw processing) and Photoshop for tweaking. It might seem long winded but it is a workflow that has stood me in good stead through the years but everyone has their own workflow so go with what suits you.
A fabulous set of shot! I am going to go the Lightroom route when I get a new computer - I have PhotoShop Elements now and not too thrilled with it. I hear Lightroom rock! I will be interesting to hear (read) how you like it! Happy New Year!
Great night shots, Taffy I took a lightroom class at our local community college.I was very lost in class but understanding more as I play with it. I'm hoping to carve out an office space so I can use a monitor.
@taffy If you get stuck I can try and explain with screen shots via email...(mine is in my profile if you need it) If you are organised with your photo 'filing' getting your catalogue up and running should be easy as you can walk away from the pc while it is doing its thing. I run 3 catalogues 365, Holidays and , Photos, this is because I have them separated that way in my file structure on our NAS drive
Taffy I have the Canon 70-200mm which I don't use very often but when i do I just love it!! I have too many lenses and keep thinking about selling some plus extra cameras I have (350D 40D to name just 2 of them) I have just never got around to it.
I file my photos in LR by year then month within the year. If it's a holiday I add the place name to the title. I started to use tags at the beginning bit just kept forgetting so now don't use them. As you can tell I am a totally disorganized person which is probably why I am useless with the computer!!
I have always organized my photos as I take them. I start with a folder for each month, within that, use a six-digit number for the day (010215 for today) and then a word or two in the folder title to help me remember what I shot (WoD ___ or TripName SidetripName as examples). This last trip, I did three shoots a day and, so, have three folders each day with descriptors in the folder titles so I don't get too confused. Once a month, I move the monthly folder onto an external drive, adding a numeric to keep them in order visually (1 2015 Jan, 2 2015 Feb).
It keeps all my work in EASILY accessible format and doesn't take much time at all bc it's habit and part of my work flow. My trouble with moving to LR (I've now had it for almost 6 months and haven't used it) is the cataloging isn't as intuitive to me as my own system. However, I've decided I'm going to give it a try for Jan and see if I can meld the two of them.
You have my email addy if you want more specifics. ~~JT
I've used LR for more than 2 years now. The thing is I kept my original filing system, folders for main subjects (e.g. macro, travel) than in those folders subfoldes by date. I do tag every import so I will be able to find back my shots but certainly not using it as intended. I do really like the program though, it works perfectly together with the NIK software and Photoshop CC.
Lovely collage of shots, will miss seeing you around here regularly
@leonbuys83 Thanks Leon. The main thing I'm concerned about from what I've read is getting the catalogue set up so it fits how I want to use it. I've been cataloguing in Aperture by month, then day within month, for the past two years, with separate libraries for things like "Chile" or "graduation14" where there are a bunch of photos. I don't want to end up with tons of clutter so getting that set up right is what's holding up getting to processing with LR, which I'm sure I'll like a lot from what I've seen on the site. I'll be on the site, I'm sure -- too addicted to just stop! And I'm hoping to continue to learn re the LR focus, from those with more experience.
@voiceprintz You and I use a similar approach, as I also import by date/day, label that day and sometimes title it. That's set up in Aperture. When you say that LR isn't intuitive, is it that it can't handle this kind of a system? Or that it isn't obvious how to set it up?
@taffy The latter...I don't see how to set it up that way quickly and easily. So, I've not set it up at all. I'm hoping you get some great insight here and I can steal it! :)
btw, I'm not surprised we file similarly...our backgrounds are similar enough that it just seems logical to do things this way. ;)
I'm not a certifed expert on Lightroom, but I think I can give you a few pointers. I'm going to be a Garfield Park Conservatory on Sunday from 1:00 pm for a few hours. I'll bring my laptop just in case you can make it.
To get you started, use one catalogue, organized by month/day as you've been doing in Aperture, and use collections and collection sets to organize specific events / types of events. And tag your pictures as you import them!
@danielwsc That would be great. I'd marked this in my calendar to go...I wanted to ask you for help but was reluctant as I know you're really busy. See you Sunday! Have you ever imported from Aperture? I'm trying to figure out where the photos actually exist but the only thing I see is an 'export originals' option to create new folders. Have the new hard drive to put them on, but can't figure out how to bring in existing folders once I get them set up.
I have a few days off (the weekend!) so I have time. I have not imported from Aperture, but we will work it out. Bring the new hard drive. I will have to take 30 minutes to get my daily picture (which will also be for my 100 strangers project).
These shots look pretty good- can't really give you advice on whether to sell or not! Can't help much with LR either as I don't use it. But one thing I do know- if anyone can learn it and then master it, it would be you! Will miss your comments but certainly understand how time must be managed. Glad you'll still be doing the toy thing though!
For better or worse, I use my Tamron 16- 300 for just about everything. I lugged a 7 Kg bag of photo gear on my last o/s trip and will not do that again!!
Great collage of light trails...makes an excellent collage. Each one awesome. Don't know if I had a chance to tell you Happy New Year! Been so busy and distracted lately. Wishing you the best ever and hoping that you will back in your own home soon. Will check in from time to time to see what you are up to ..in case I miss your postings on the "home page! Cheers to you and your family.
The 70-300 (Nikon D610 camera, right?) is a perfectly adequate lens, and with the lens correction profiles in Lightroom, any potential distortion problems are quickly disposed of. One reason to keep your 70-200 is the f/2.8 and low light shots, particularly for the Auto Focus on the camera, two stops faster wide open as it is and the D610 not all together comfortable as the light drops. But yes, it is a heavy animal to lug around for any time. Ken Rockwell, if you read his stuff, likes the 70-300 a lot for its convenience and extra reach. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/70-300-vr.htm
I enjoyed this LR tutorial (it's a bit long). Really made it clear to me about having all photos in one place and how important it is to work out how you want to store them - by date/by travel etc etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSwkDC3q7uk
I file my photos in LR by year then month within the year. If it's a holiday I add the place name to the title. I started to use tags at the beginning bit just kept forgetting so now don't use them. As you can tell I am a totally disorganized person which is probably why I am useless with the computer!!
It keeps all my work in EASILY accessible format and doesn't take much time at all bc it's habit and part of my work flow. My trouble with moving to LR (I've now had it for almost 6 months and haven't used it) is the cataloging isn't as intuitive to me as my own system. However, I've decided I'm going to give it a try for Jan and see if I can meld the two of them.
You have my email addy if you want more specifics. ~~JT
Lovely collage of shots, will miss seeing you around here regularly
Thanks for your words of wisdom re LR! We'll see where this first month takes me re learning curve. I will be starting out with workflow and cataloguing/key words, and see how far I get...
btw, I'm not surprised we file similarly...our backgrounds are similar enough that it just seems logical to do things this way. ;)
To get you started, use one catalogue, organized by month/day as you've been doing in Aperture, and use collections and collection sets to organize specific events / types of events. And tag your pictures as you import them!