Saturday 5AM (Tomorrow)
Find more information on flickr page , Blog Page

Ann torrence is leading us up to a beautiful spot early early in the morning.
This promises to be an awesome trip for only those tough enough to get up that early and hike.

I don’t have any trouble waking up and I love mornings, so I plan on being there.
Small groups like this make for a great way to get to know each other… hikes are specially great.
No one should be able to use the excuse that they have a wedding going on at that time of the day, you don’t come it’s because you’re not tough enough. haha J/K

Bring your best toys but I’m assuming we should pack light for the hike.

I’m still deciding what to bring. One camera and a couple lenses.
14-24 for the great panoramic views. 70-200 in case some critter needs to be shot and the 24-70 because I’m buying it today.
And maybe even the 50 1.4 because it’s so light anyway.
I’ll also get to try out my super lightweight carbon fiber tripod.

So i guess I’ll be trudging along with all that stuff… but oh well… I’ll probably convince someone to shoot with the 70-200 for part of the hike.

Ann Torrence says:

“Nautical twilight is when we need to be working out compositions, to be ready for things to start to color up by civil twilight.”

“Then after sunrise, as the sun races across the valley, you can track with it to do flower portraits, or trundle up toward Secret Lake (about a 1 mile hike). Possibility to see moose, perhaps closer than you’d like.”

Photo by Ann Torrence

Find more information on flickr page , Blog Page

Photographer BBQ

Tuesday 6PM

Further information can be found at the event page on Facebook

Jeremy hall is the great organizer.
He plans in advance and always has a great turnout… if he can’t do it really well, he doesn’t do it at all.
He is the master organizer of Utah’s highly successful PhotoCampUtah (P.s. sign up to be notified about PhotoCamp 2010, we’re gonna plan an even bigger better one this next year)

It’ll be at his house, bing some food and mingle without the pressure and need to take pics.
Of course there will most certainly be a lot of us being geeky and talking techy.

Photo Editing SHOWDOWN

Facebook event page

This wednesday at 6pm the gloves come off when up to 10 local photographers compete at the Draper Pictureline

177 w 12300 Draper Utah

They will be editing the same batch of photos and then the audience (which is guaranteed to be standing room only – so come and expect to stand)

We will all vote on our favorites and in the end crown this month’s champion.

There is still time to sign up to compete as most people just want to watch.

It will be a great learning experience and I will be presenting the pictures at the end and using it as a teaching moment. Showing what the photogs did to achieve their results.

Send Pictures
We will be accepting pictures for use in competition. If you’d like to see your picture edited in about 10 different ways send them to me jarvie@jarviedigital.com
They must be in DNG format and not already edited. That’s about the only requirements.

JaG Conclusion

Facebook event page or official blog post describing in full, the event

The Jarvie Game is a competition, primarily to win a workshop, and it will be concluding early next week and the winners will be announced.
The competition is in the form of a game that ends Tuesday at Abt Midnight

There are over 50 people competing for several options of prizes, foremost among them is an all day long photography workshop.

The person with the highest point total in this game is awarded an automatic spot.
Then up to 8 other spots will be given, some at random, some to those who’ve competed well.

There is still time to enter, winning the most points will most likely not happen now, but at least get yourself in this drawing.
Even if you don’t need a photo workshop. Other prizes include a 1 on 1 in lightroom training or a 20×30 print etc…

Assisting Opportunities

As a note primarily for JaG competitors

There has been lots of response to past assisting opportunities on weddings and other related jobs.

In this next week there are several more available.
Those with high points in the Jarvie Game will be given more consideration

I will be accepting people to assist in the following

Tonight(Friday) bridals – 6:30pm
Tuesday – wedding – 3pm- 7
Thursday = Bridals  - 6:30
Friday = wedding – most of day
Saturday = Wedding – most of day

Respond on the Business page on facebook

Need more persuasion the Utah photographic community is among the best in the world??

We just had a Strobist group meetup at the great Salt Lake where a lot of people showed up.
A couple weeks ago with the World Wide photowalk there were over 5 photowalks in the Northern Utah area, with full capacity on a couple of them
There are a couple consistent groups who meet on a weekly basis.
There are great stores like pictureline and pixels who serve the community well.
Lots of photographers who share quite a lot.
The first PhotoCamp here was way way sold out and over 300 people came. When 200 were expected.
Probably great percentage of photographers in Utah than any where else.

And I’m here… so take that.

I’m talking about tons of editing… fast editing.
A computer for tons and tons of editing with fastest speeds possible.
Not a computer that will be used from time to time to edit.
Because if you have other pressing needs for the computer then your decision might differ.

My solution isn’t for the pretiest or the most user friendly… I’m talking effeciency!

Fastest, most powerful machine to run Lightroom or Photoshop. = Saving Time

Winner = Hand built PC for serious editing

If you want the fastest machine possible (at the moment) for picture editing you’ll have to stick with a PC for now.

-Good news is it will be abt half the cost (Roughly $3000 less)

-You’ll either need to set it up yourself
OR – Pay someone a couple hundred to set it up.
Still much cheaper than a Mac by several thousand.

Price has a lot to do with my consideration… so if several thousand for a similar powered machine isn’t a concern… by all means go Mac.

I don’t like store bought PCs

Thing about PCs is that stores sell cheap PCs or sell the good ones too expensive.
(Not an efficient move)
The PCs in stores aren’t that good… companies trying to make a buck on shoddy stuff. Therefore the whole PC system gets a bad rap.

And I must admit Macs are great for people who don’t know much about computers and have no desire to learn. But they just aren’t as fast for the same cost… and the options are way limited in comparison. (Stick with them for laptops)

Get a really great one set up by someone

Like i said just pay some techy friend to set it up…
or I’ll find you a techy friend to set it up for you.
Spend the couple hundred you save by buying hand selected parts and pay someone.

My old PC vs New MacBook Pro

I have a brand new MacBookPro for traveling but it’s way way slower than my PC. (1 yr Old quad core)
But laptops are small and convenient and great for travel. I don’t expect to use it all the time, just travel… that’s what it does best.
Why mac for laptop – macs don’t have a huge price difference when it comes to the higher end. I think it was only a few hundred more than the HP and it was smaller and had better battery life. The mac laptops are great…

BUT… For serious editing – use a desktop with real power

But come on, don’t use a laptop for editing if you do lots.
If you edit just a bit… it’s ok, by all means… get a laptop and plug it into a monitor and use a mouse.

COST

Top of the line PC can be built sub $2k (w/o monitor)
(See details below)

Throw in a dell or a mac 30″ monitor and then you’re loving life, you’ve saved several thousand by going PC why not.

MAC = $5549  (w/o monitor)
8cores 2.6, 2 video cards, 2HDs
(NO FAST HD option like an SSD … at least not from their store… so you’ll need to get one of those somehow and reinstall OS)

So yeah it’s a fast machine I can only imagine, perhaps due for an update… but it’s nice.
They really don’t have a lesser version I would recomend unless get the 4 core instead of the 8 core.

Mac is $3000 dollars more and isn’t technically quite as fast. (Not sure how it compare honestly)
But it is prettier and the Mac/OS is nice for many people.

But let’s face it… you’re using Lightroom and Photoshop not finder or laucher all day long.

Seriously I’ll find someone to build it for you

Specs=

i7 8cores, 12gb ram, SSD fast HD with several 1.5TB HDs, best video card or two for up to 4 monitors, full tower, best MB with tons of toys.

Crazy fast for Lightroom editing.
Add in a 30″ monitor or a couple of regular size ones.
I recomend always having a couple of monitors

Oh and if you play games on the side… You’ve pretty much built the ultimate gaming machine

Yet another reason to get a PC for editing?
Fusion IO is coming out with their incredible new pro-sumer HD and it’s a PC device!
And no longer do you have to spend $3-$10K to buy one!

Original Post

It wasn’t too long ago I wrote a post looking for the “Best photographer Laptop?”

Time to say what I came up with.

The Winners are:

HP 18t fully loaded

-or-
MacBookPro

Both will be about the same cost.
The HP will have more horsepower and more bells and whistles when it’s loaded up.

But I must admit the MacBookPro is pretty snazzy and has some crazy good battery life and the size and weight are nice.

I don’t think the other options (dell, gateway, Toshiba etc) are that much better. To give them the nod over these two.
I could be swayed otherwise given that I haven’t had real life experience with all of them.
But for now I’d say the HP 18″ or the new macbookpro

You really need to have a large screen if you’re going to edit on the road.

And a word on that:

Laptops and Editing

Try not to Edit on the road!

in fact

Don’t edit with a Laptop!!
Particularly the SCREEN or the TRACKPAD!

Both are terrible choices!!

(Now That I’ve said my inflammatory statements I’ll continue on and say why)

For the insistent

If you insist on it being your only computer for some interesting personal reasons, OK, Fine… but understand. It’s never as good as a desktop when it comes to EVERYTHING besides portability.

Use a Desktop

I will still be using my custom built PC for editing because it’s Much much faster 
It’s consistent… I’m not moving it around into different lighting situations.
I get to use two identical monitors or 3 monitors or even 4… maximising my efficiency.
A keyboard and a mouse are a must and I’m not tempted to try to edit without them.
I use my desk and am not tempted to edit on a couch.
(For busy moms out there maybe that’s why you go with a laptop so you can edit in different rooms throughout the day. Or computers on the bus or subway)

Not As Good

But you need to know… your decision is not without repercussion.
Your pictures won’t be as good as they would be at a desk using a mouse keyboard and a regular monitor and you won’t be as fast… or should we say you won’t be as efficient with your time.

It is my belief that you are kinda not living up to your full potential if you insist on sticking with a small screen. Yes… the pictures won’t be as good.

And you’re being inefficient with your time if you’re not using a mouse a large screen and a better processor.

What kind of computer

So now you’re looking for a computer. 
If possible stick with a desktop.

I could go on at length about what Lightroom operates best with. After lots of studying on the subject but this post is already pretty long as it is.

Get a Friendly Geek Friend

What do I suggest?
Get a nice friend who knows how to build a great computer to build you the best PC.
Stores don’t sell good computers. Best buy, dell, hp, etc etc… they don’t sell good ones.
That’s the beauty of a PC they come in ALL shapes and sizes. It just so happens that most people buy timid little ponies at stores or build show horses online at dell or hp or what not. And they don’t know that if they’re serious they can build a Serious Work Horse with part from online.
It is tricky and might require assistance and isn’t for the faint of heart… but if you really want something powerful that’s the way to go.

My old desktop still blows away my new laptop… for half the price

I could build a dream machine for under $2000 that is 4 times more powerful than the stupid laptop I just bought and it was Over $2000…. 
I call that a much more efficient use of money.

Want me to build one for you?

Well I don’t have the time… but… 

If you’re really interested in fact I can probably find someone who would put together said systems for you people out there ready and set to edit pictures like you’ve never experienced before… I do this because I love you. haha
And these friends could play with super nice new equipment and make a few dollars.

What did I end up buying??? 

I suppose I never answered the question that many are asking…
I bought a MacBookPro 17
Kinda funny because I kinda don’t even like to be known as a Mac person. But for laptops I must admit they were very nice.
I also like the fact that now I own both.
There is a function that I can only do for my podcasts using garage band which is only on Mac. Plus I didn’t have to be a penny pincher and save a couple hundred this go around. I opted for smaller more portable… something that would fit easier into my camera traveling backpack. I don’t believe the more hefty HP would have done as well.

The first trial run

I took the computer to Alaska for a week and I loved it and think it’s a solid product. Until it came to editing. It’s just tough. You have to spend much more time to really investigate a picture and make sure it’s in focus… when i say more time I mean like 2-3 times longer… as in like 2-15 seconds instead of like .5-6 seconds… but when it’s thousands of pictures it’s huge.

Back home and editing for reals on the desktop

And I think I’ll review them now that I’m back home on my desktop. I trust the colors and the quality more on a screen that I am familiar with and know it has good results.

I didn’t mind picking the pictures, doing simple reviews or doing what I call Quick Edits or Batch Edits, so all good things to do on the road. That require less attention which is usually the case on the road anyway. But I didn’t have a ton of time to edit anyway because it didn’t get dark until like midnight in Alaska.

Laptop on the road = Nice

But having a laptop is nice on the road… I’m not denying that… I’m just saying don’t rely on it. I think there is a huge majority of people that I know that use a laptop and only a laptop and they’re getting into photography and it just kinda makes me sad.

I’ll sell you my Photography Editing beast

Heck buy my computer from me for $1000 and I’ll run out and spend to upgrade mine to the newest and greatest. Mine is set and ready to edit with it’s quadcore and fancy pantsy glory.

The causal photographer

For those of you out there who don’t do a lot of editing… thanks for listening but I understand this wasn’t really for you since you don’t have to be fast so the trade off isn’t important. I’d probably stick with a laptop too if I were you just editing your once in a while vacation.

In preperation for the class I asked 4 other photographers at all ranges of ability to submit their WORKFLOW

Each Day – See and compare

I the next few days I will post each of these workflows.
You will be able to see the differences and similarities.

Submit your own

If you’d like to contribute please write up your workflow and we’ll add it. jarvie@jarviedigital.com

We will start with my present workflow.

Scott Jarvie

1. Picture Taking

I take awesome pictures
sometimes I chimp/pre-delete on camera because I have time and or want to save space on computer HDs

2. Importing

I import from card using Lightroom. Little USB external importer thingy.
I store on a hard drive organized by date. (2009-03-14) Thus making it chronological order.
I rename the folder to include a description after the date.
(This maintains the chronological order but makes it easier to know what it is)
I have the computer pre-render 1:1 because I hate wating when i’m going through them

2.5 Pre-Edits

In order to figure out which pictures are my favorites sometimes I want to see what they look like in a OK light
So sometimes I’ll grab a picture edit it really quickly and then synchronize with all the pictures like it.
I’ll do that for underexposed images so that when I do the next step I’m seeing a good image to make a decision on.

3. Selecting

I use “P” to pick or flag the image.

I keep one hand on the “P” and the other on the next arrow
Sometimes I click “X”(Reject) when a picture is so bad I should delete it off the computer to save room
Hitting “P” – I’m basically saying… I think this customer will want this image
A yes no decision is the fastest decision you can make. Faster than deciding 1-5

4. Develop

I develop ALL the ones that I selected.
I used to use presets a lot more but now I know exactly where to go so I usually don’t do presets.
I spend 5-30 seconds on a picture
Every once in a while when I want something fresh I’ll go through my presets and see which one might be nice.
But I’ll always tweak the picture after applying the preset.

Sometimes I make a virtual copy and try a second edit on the second version.

5. Reorder

After much investigation I’ve found out that putting your best face forward is super important
So I go through all pictures and pick my favorites to display to people first.
Then sometimes I go through those favorites and pick the bestests
I used the colors to symbolize levels of goodness
Recently I have been using the star rating feature to do the same thing.
1/red being great 2/yellow being to be shown even before that and when needed 3 to be even betterer
I use categories to save contain the ones I want to sort and reorganize
You can drag pictures into a specific order you want.

6. Export to JPG

When they’re all in order I export to JPG with the file name the same but in front of the file name

I put a sequencer 001,002 – I believe that’s a custom file name ability.

That way when I put them in a gallery I can have that gallery organize them by filename.

And therefore my pictures will be in order… the order I want.
The amount of people that will look at your second page of pictures decreases by 2-3times
And half again for the next page of pictures.
So if your best picture is on the 10^th page you basically just shot yourself in the face. Or you’re saying I don’t care if anyone ever looks at these picture.

7. Upload to SmugMug

I use SmugMug to display my pictures to customers.
I have them display by filename order

Sometimes I make a chronological gallery of the same images as well – in those cases I organize by time taken.

8. Distribution

I give my customers a link to the SmugMug and tell them to grab them off smugmug and make themselves a Facebook gallery

I sometimes make a blog by dragging straight from SmugMug into my blog editor
I’ll grab a set of pictures from off of smugmug (because they are perfect size and have watermarks) and use those pictures to upload to Facebook and sometimes I even use Flickr

So now that i just explained in the previous post how I don’t fiddle around with lighting because i jump from location to location so frequently.
And not only that but I hate braking the interaction with the subjects to figure out some more complex lighting. like reflectors or flash.

Now i’ll show how sometimes that can be a lot of fun.
Specially when it’s like modeling or something that’s not so interaction and emotion and the feeling of the day oriented.

How is this something different?

For those who follow my work… I don’t often stay in one place… like i did for all these pictures.
The exact same spot for like 30 minutes.
And also… I used off camera flash to do a more creative lighting technique.

THESE SHOTS?

It did take a few minutes and a bunch of tries to get these shots down.
It took 4 people.
A model
2 people holding lighting sources (flash and reflector)
Me taking the picture.

In the end the recipe that worked was f/20 at 1/250 or 1/320

At first we actually tried a reflector… later we moved to another flash

Another Flash

but at the end we toop out a second flash… which would actually be a third flash if you count the on camera flash that was triggering the others

I did have a specific style i was looking for and then it’s about directing the models to act in a way that compliments the style.
Meaning something that looks cool.

The thing about these kinds of shots

It’s a lot like studio photography… which many people feel is kind of like cheating.
Once you have the exposure figured out. Once you’ve done all this prelim work… well then you don’t have to think about too much anymore.

And to be fair that’s not completely true. So don’t hate me too much.

There is a lot of pre-figuring out that goes on with studio and creative lighting set ups.
I myself am drawn to outdoor shoots. Not sticking in one place. The struggle to always be looking for that correct exposure is fun.
Blurred out backgrounds are appealing.
Studio has a certain appeal. But to me when i think about how I could set up lighting and set the camera and then give the camera to someone and they could go for days on those settings and be snapping some great pictures… it looses some appeal. Makes me think that i’m less special.
Maybe faulty logic… but it’s how i feel. I guess i’m in the camp that thinks sometimes studio stuff is kinda like cheating.

But don’t throw stones yet… i know there are some pretty creative things you can do. And a lot of the time I totally respect what studio people do.

The cool thing

The cool thing is when the camera is all set up and the lighting is set.
It’s on manual settings and then you can even jump into the pictures yourself and get some hot pictures.

And you can let amazing photographers like Suzanne take awesomely framed pictures.

You should check out her post about this event

EDgy-ITING
(I just made up that word… haha)

It seems like you can get away with more edginess when doing these setups

I can’t possibly do a post for each shoot, Besides I’m supposed to be editing about 5 photo shoot right now.

Any suggestions on what I should do so that people can still be seeing some of the new work?