The images that are included in this post are stunning to say the least -- the best of the best!
After reading the post, I thought I would share two thoughts that's occurred to me:
1. While it would be a tremendous learning curve, I would suggest moving over to a Mac platform. It's extremely rare -- and I repeat extremely rare -- that I have any computer issues. In fact, I can't remember even one since I purchased a Mac Studio computer two years ago.
2. I've watched some photographers shoot thousands of photos. I can't imagine sifting through them once they return home. I've become very selective in what I shoot; almost like I was back in the film days. I can't imagine anything worse than sitting at a computer looking through thousands of photos.
Keep up the good work and good luck with everything!
In MN we are lucky enough to have a Micro Center store in St. Louis Park, MN. I am an amateur photographer and have built my own PC systems since the mid 90's. I know its a bit of a drive, but if you go to Micro Center you will be able to spec a system that's either prebuilt or that they will build to your spec's and their customer service is top shelf. Good luck.
The link in your email to buy the ebook gave me a 404 error with Edge. Any suggestions? On the computer I also have a Mac dislike due to programs that don't run on a Mac. I recently replaced an old HP workstation with an HP ZBook. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-zbook-power-16-inch-g11-mobile-workstation-pc-wolf-pro-security-edition-p-a20h5ua-aba-1 . It has the i9 processor, 64G or memory, RTX NVIDIA video card with 8G Video RAM. The downside is you can't updgrade the video card which I could in my old tower. I teach Lightroom/Photoshop and other workshops at our local camera club. Having a light weight very powerful computer for use in remote classes is fantastic. I have no problems with it at all. Runs the Photoshop Beta with all the new AI stuff. You do need to add a docking station to have enough ports. I run two external monitors with no problem.
I have a Lenovo Legion Slim laptop with an AMD processor and a 4070 GPU, etc., and it's awesome. The Dell has a better GPU and faster i9-14xxx, but the Legion has LED lights on the keyboard. I use it for teaching workshops and travel. I've considered switching everything to it, but I don't like the idea of bringing all my business data with me on the road.
I used a high end Dell for 20 years. My computer was struggling to sort through all my photo and video files, so I got a new XPS laptop eairler this year. It was high end, lots of memory, etc. It did not work. Similar story as you. They sent someone to replace the motherboard, and they even sent me a new computer. It still had all of these issues...and I just paid $2500 for this POS. So I decided I was done with PC and made the switch to Mac. Yes there was a learning curve, but it is the best thing I ever did. It works so much better and faster and can efficiently deal with all of my files. I love it. I can actually get work done now. It just works better and is more reliable. If you decide to switch, you will be so glad you did...after you get over the things you have to do differently. But it's so worth it!
I had a desktop and laptop both had reached the age of about 12 years and needed to be updated. Somehow I was convinced to move to an Apple MacBook Pro. The change from windows was supposed to be "easy". Being an old guy who did not grow up with computers, I found the change to Mac was a bit frustrating in that the file system is just enough different to be frustrating to me. To make a long story short, in the end I am liking the Mac computer no hardware issues and the only software issues are operator related. I too am going thru my photos to streamline things so I feel your pain.
Great rant! You might want to look at Puget Systems and stay in an environment you are used to, not to mention software costs (although most is cross-platform these days and subscription-based).
I'm a lifelong Apple user and purchased dozens of their products. So far, nothing has ever failed and if I had an issue with a product it was exchanged quite easily. I have been lucky but there is peace of mind knowing I'm not going to be ignored if I deal with Apple. My two cents.
I love your work and oddly enough, I've been going through my catalog of images and deleting rejected photos more and more. I also go through my catalog and find overlooked photos that I process and keep. There's nothing more satisfying than finding an image from 20 years ago and being able to sell it.
I enjoy your writing and just purchased your 2023 eBook!
Sorry I forgot to say … I switched to Apple many years ago for like you the makers of IBM PC where very frustrating to work with their HELP desks. While Apple tend to be more expensive but the issues have been mostly “me” errors or misunderstandings. Plus I have been impressed with their HELP desks on the few times I have contacted them. Good luck in your search for IT solutions.
Ever think about pretending you are still shooting slides? I am trying to do just that but it is difficult when digital cameras are so easy to take multiple shoots of a scene especially if wildlife is the subject. At times I felt like a person with an uncontrollable addiction where one shot was never enough. I too am trying to delete all those duplicates but I am not sure I have the “patience” to do it for more than an hour a day but not every day. Hence you are not alone in the pursuit of shooting and keeping the best shot. 🤗
They make bespoke Windows computers for photographers. They benchmark all the different components (processor, video card, hard drives, etc.) with Photoshop and Lightroom. Even if you don't buy a Puget system, the benchmarks on their site are great for picking components at another vendor. In three years I had one problem. I could not be happier with their tech support folks. They responded in minutes to my query and walked me through the fix. They give lifetime support even after the hardware guarantee has expired.
Ah yes, the IT side of things. I would say that the storage and editing side of photography has really slowed me down over the years for various similar reasons as you state here. It is a lot of hidden work to produce the good images. I applaud your efforts, and my word of caution is that Apple is not necessarily the easy fix either -- I've had trouble with hard drive failures in a couple of Apple computers over the years, and they are a bit harder to fix. Choose your next machine carefully.
I really enjoy your work and have been following your social media for several years. I first found you maybe on Twitter? I don't remember. Thanks for sharing your photography and writing about your process. It's inspiring.
I'm sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your computer, but in my experience Apple is not problem free either. To make along story short, I have owned two iMacs which were so unfixable that Apple finally gave up on trying to fix them and gave me new computers. This all happened within three years of purchase each time and fortunately I had bought Apple Care. And we are having problems with my wife's not-quite two year old Dell. It refuses to wake from sleep and needs to be hard booted to come back to life. I guess no computer is perfect; I think it is more the luck of the draw than any particular brand or model. Good luck with the resolution of your issues.
I am sorry to hear about your IT problems. So laborious and frustrating. Consider using another program to cull your pictures before they get into Lightroom. I am very happy with FastWawViewer. On my typical shoot I use to to select about 10%of my pictures that I import into Lightroom. It works on RW files and is very fast.
The images that are included in this post are stunning to say the least -- the best of the best!
After reading the post, I thought I would share two thoughts that's occurred to me:
1. While it would be a tremendous learning curve, I would suggest moving over to a Mac platform. It's extremely rare -- and I repeat extremely rare -- that I have any computer issues. In fact, I can't remember even one since I purchased a Mac Studio computer two years ago.
2. I've watched some photographers shoot thousands of photos. I can't imagine sifting through them once they return home. I've become very selective in what I shoot; almost like I was back in the film days. I can't imagine anything worse than sitting at a computer looking through thousands of photos.
Keep up the good work and good luck with everything!
Jan Bell
I've been thinking of going back to delete old images, but up until now the thought has been too scary, LOL!
In MN we are lucky enough to have a Micro Center store in St. Louis Park, MN. I am an amateur photographer and have built my own PC systems since the mid 90's. I know its a bit of a drive, but if you go to Micro Center you will be able to spec a system that's either prebuilt or that they will build to your spec's and their customer service is top shelf. Good luck.
I love microcenter. Have used them for years.
The link in your email to buy the ebook gave me a 404 error with Edge. Any suggestions? On the computer I also have a Mac dislike due to programs that don't run on a Mac. I recently replaced an old HP workstation with an HP ZBook. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-zbook-power-16-inch-g11-mobile-workstation-pc-wolf-pro-security-edition-p-a20h5ua-aba-1 . It has the i9 processor, 64G or memory, RTX NVIDIA video card with 8G Video RAM. The downside is you can't updgrade the video card which I could in my old tower. I teach Lightroom/Photoshop and other workshops at our local camera club. Having a light weight very powerful computer for use in remote classes is fantastic. I have no problems with it at all. Runs the Photoshop Beta with all the new AI stuff. You do need to add a docking station to have enough ports. I run two external monitors with no problem.
Sorry that the link didn't work. Try this: https://bryanhansel.lemonsqueezy.com/buy/cb466037-bb3f-4989-9b55-48f0309f2e79
I have a Lenovo Legion Slim laptop with an AMD processor and a 4070 GPU, etc., and it's awesome. The Dell has a better GPU and faster i9-14xxx, but the Legion has LED lights on the keyboard. I use it for teaching workshops and travel. I've considered switching everything to it, but I don't like the idea of bringing all my business data with me on the road.
I used a high end Dell for 20 years. My computer was struggling to sort through all my photo and video files, so I got a new XPS laptop eairler this year. It was high end, lots of memory, etc. It did not work. Similar story as you. They sent someone to replace the motherboard, and they even sent me a new computer. It still had all of these issues...and I just paid $2500 for this POS. So I decided I was done with PC and made the switch to Mac. Yes there was a learning curve, but it is the best thing I ever did. It works so much better and faster and can efficiently deal with all of my files. I love it. I can actually get work done now. It just works better and is more reliable. If you decide to switch, you will be so glad you did...after you get over the things you have to do differently. But it's so worth it!
I had a desktop and laptop both had reached the age of about 12 years and needed to be updated. Somehow I was convinced to move to an Apple MacBook Pro. The change from windows was supposed to be "easy". Being an old guy who did not grow up with computers, I found the change to Mac was a bit frustrating in that the file system is just enough different to be frustrating to me. To make a long story short, in the end I am liking the Mac computer no hardware issues and the only software issues are operator related. I too am going thru my photos to streamline things so I feel your pain.
While I realize some computers are just lemons, I've always had good luck the HP computers.
Bryan - look at Velocity Micro computers. Custom built in Virginia and US based tech support. I have had 2 of them and been very happy with them.
Great rant! You might want to look at Puget Systems and stay in an environment you are used to, not to mention software costs (although most is cross-platform these days and subscription-based).
I'm a lifelong Apple user and purchased dozens of their products. So far, nothing has ever failed and if I had an issue with a product it was exchanged quite easily. I have been lucky but there is peace of mind knowing I'm not going to be ignored if I deal with Apple. My two cents.
I love your work and oddly enough, I've been going through my catalog of images and deleting rejected photos more and more. I also go through my catalog and find overlooked photos that I process and keep. There's nothing more satisfying than finding an image from 20 years ago and being able to sell it.
I enjoy your writing and just purchased your 2023 eBook!
Sorry I forgot to say … I switched to Apple many years ago for like you the makers of IBM PC where very frustrating to work with their HELP desks. While Apple tend to be more expensive but the issues have been mostly “me” errors or misunderstandings. Plus I have been impressed with their HELP desks on the few times I have contacted them. Good luck in your search for IT solutions.
Ever think about pretending you are still shooting slides? I am trying to do just that but it is difficult when digital cameras are so easy to take multiple shoots of a scene especially if wildlife is the subject. At times I felt like a person with an uncontrollable addiction where one shot was never enough. I too am trying to delete all those duplicates but I am not sure I have the “patience” to do it for more than an hour a day but not every day. Hence you are not alone in the pursuit of shooting and keeping the best shot. 🤗
Get a Mac!
I had similar frustrations with Dell. There is a good alternative to the usual players for Windows computers. Check out Puget Systems at
https://www.pugetsystems.com/
They make bespoke Windows computers for photographers. They benchmark all the different components (processor, video card, hard drives, etc.) with Photoshop and Lightroom. Even if you don't buy a Puget system, the benchmarks on their site are great for picking components at another vendor. In three years I had one problem. I could not be happier with their tech support folks. They responded in minutes to my query and walked me through the fix. They give lifetime support even after the hardware guarantee has expired.
Ah yes, the IT side of things. I would say that the storage and editing side of photography has really slowed me down over the years for various similar reasons as you state here. It is a lot of hidden work to produce the good images. I applaud your efforts, and my word of caution is that Apple is not necessarily the easy fix either -- I've had trouble with hard drive failures in a couple of Apple computers over the years, and they are a bit harder to fix. Choose your next machine carefully.
I really enjoy your work and have been following your social media for several years. I first found you maybe on Twitter? I don't remember. Thanks for sharing your photography and writing about your process. It's inspiring.
I'm sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your computer, but in my experience Apple is not problem free either. To make along story short, I have owned two iMacs which were so unfixable that Apple finally gave up on trying to fix them and gave me new computers. This all happened within three years of purchase each time and fortunately I had bought Apple Care. And we are having problems with my wife's not-quite two year old Dell. It refuses to wake from sleep and needs to be hard booted to come back to life. I guess no computer is perfect; I think it is more the luck of the draw than any particular brand or model. Good luck with the resolution of your issues.
My Dell does that thing where it won't wake up from sleep sometimes, too.
I am sorry to hear about your IT problems. So laborious and frustrating. Consider using another program to cull your pictures before they get into Lightroom. I am very happy with FastWawViewer. On my typical shoot I use to to select about 10%of my pictures that I import into Lightroom. It works on RW files and is very fast.
Happy shooting