Minimalist Marvel...

Downsizing isn't always bad...

My 3+ year-old MacBook has finally been replaced.

It's been my work machine for that time. Although I have a "works PC", it is a PC, is slow, minimally specc'ed and pretty much unused and unloved. I must be mad using my own kit but at least I do have stuff that does the required business. Happy photographer = creative photographer, I've found...

The old machine wasn't cutting edge when I bought it in April 2009. A 2Ghz dual-core processor, 160gb hard drive and 2gb of RAM, in the then-new aluminium unibody. I upgraded the RAM to the max 4gb via crucial.co.uk and it was used for editing, captioning, transmitting and pretty much everything else after that. Using Photo Mechanic and Lightroom 2, then latterly Aperture 3, it did everything I needed as a press photographer. Reliably, too, day after day.

If I shot JPEG.

As I began to swap to raw shooting around 18 months ago, it became clear that it was, if not struggling, then at least working very hard on these big files. I evolved a way of working that eased the pressure a bit (import JPEGs, select from these, use that selection to import just those raws) but knew that when the AppleCare expired I'd have to think about a replacement.

I had to wait a bit, as the rumour'ed new MacBook Pro and Air models took a while longer to arrive than I'd hoped, but they turned up in mid-June. Decisions, decisions...

It took me several weeks of checking, thinking and visits to Apple Stores. I'd read other photographers' very positive reviews and opinions of older versions of the Air and the new versions were more powerful. Was the screen big enough? Did I need to have a bigger hard drive? Apple had also launched the first MacBook  Pro with Retina display, and that was tempting for a while.  But I finally chose the smallest. 

Here's my new 11.6" MacBook Air.

MacBook Air 11.6". Dwarfed by the 27" iMac sitting some way behind it.

More after the break...

Apple: some love...

(Not strictly photography related, this...)

Let's get one thing straight from the outset; Apple (the makers of computer and IT hardware and software) are not perfect.

No human endeavour is. And the computing industry is no exception. In fact, you could argue that it can never be, as too many disparate parts - particularly on the software side - are jammed together and expected to work.

For example, I got caught out briefly when the Aperture 3.4 update was released. As many found, once  the update was applied, Aperture simply crashed on launch. As this was the copy on my MacBook Air,  the daily machine, I spent an hour's cursing at 6.00 in the morning trashing and reinstalling the programme, then reapplying the update. It did work after that and I additionally discovered how to use the Remote Disc facility on the iMac! Apple did correct that error within the day. There have been other niggles, too.

So not perfect.

But they do make a far better fist of things than many. Because they are a HARDWARE company as well as a software one, sometimes their innovations, or new adaptions of existing technology, have caught the public's imagination in a way that those others can only dream about. And sometimes it's just looking at what's available and trying a redesign.

Here's what I'm working up to:

The Apple Earphones...

Headphone Heaven. Four different sets of earphones that I've tried recently.

Now, I'm no audiophile. I like my music, such as it is, though, and I do like to be able to listen in privacy and comfort.

In the image above are, bottom left, the Apple Ear Buds. These have come with just about every iPod and iPhone since they first appeared.

My problem is, although they sound OK, they don't stay in my ears! This shape is typical of most earpieces, so they all do it.

Just above them are the Apple In-Ear headphones. At £60, these aren't cheap. They do sound good, and block out more outside noise.

...But like most of this breed, I find them uncomfortable for any length of time. And they still don't stay in my ears well!

Above those are a recent purchase, the Sennheiser on-ear headphones. These sound good, can be worn comfortably by me for ages and stay put. But they aren't very convenient to carry because of their bulk and, let's face it, they're not very discreet, either.

Then the iPhone 5 was launched. And it seems I'm not the only one who has the same issue with ear-bud and in-ear headphones. Apple looked at the design and came up with the new Ear Pod. That's them, on the right.

These sound good (really pretty good, actually!). They stay in place. I can wear them for extended periods of time. They are more discreet.

And best of all, they're £25.

A redesign of an common idea. A unique shape
and one that I can actually, finally, wear for long
periods of time. Oh, and £25.

Two Towers...

A quickie post. This to illustrate why press photographers often say we aren't specialists; we have to be able to get something from anything. It might not be great, but it will pretty much always be useable...

The brief here was to photograph two blocks of luxury flats, built on St Mary's Island, Chatham. One is still empty, despite being completed for some years now...

From the list, the newsdesk had already decided the shot needed to be after dark to show the lights on in one, the other dark.

1) Look at time it will be done (earlier jobs on list) - will miss twilight and sky colour, which means it could be a dark building against a dark sky. Grrrr...
2) Check forecast. Aha, yes!! Cloudy evening forecast! It's not quite the same, but I'll be grateful for light pollution today, as there's a good chance the clouds will be lit up by the town lights below.
3) Find a location. Not too difficult, the buildings can be seen in their entirety from St Mary's Island proper, looking back into the mainland.
4) Arrive at gone 7.30pm. It's cold. Grab coat, torch, tripod and kit.
5) Set up, right by the water's edge, Camera D3S, lens 24-70 f2.8. ISO set to 400, aperture to f5.6. Focus camera, turn focusing off.
6) Stand and look at scene and camera settings, say "Meh! Start at 10 seconds..."
7) Set self-timer on camera (to minimise vibration) and press the button.
8) Watch image pop up on LCD screen. Smile to self. Pretty close from the outset...

Anything else was just adjusting the shutter speed/aperture combination to give slightly darker or lighter images choices, plus upright and view versions.

St Mary's Island Apartments.
Enough light reflecting back from the clouds to see the buildings on their own, yet also see that one is lit, the other
not. And all surrounded by the lights of Chatham Maritime.
Nikon D3S, 24-70 f2.8 AFS, 15 seconds, f7.1, ISO 400. Tripod. With a mix of lights,
I let the Auto White Balance do its thing and decided I rather liked what it had made of the scene...