Will I lose access to today's RAW files tomorrow?

Will I lose access to today's RAW files tomorrow?

A reader of my work recently sent me this question, as noted in the title. He had been worried by an article suggesting that he could/would lose access to converting his existing RAW files at some point in the future, and was curious to know my thoughts on using JPEG and or TIFF as an independent archival methodology. I so appreciated the question, I decided to turn my response into a formal article.

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Breaking the Rules

I was asked by a client to write about this topic and thought that it would have even wider resonance because it can be such a great conversation. I have often heard that it’s important to break the rules of photography, but what is consistently left out is that to know when to break the rules, one has to first understand them.  Doing otherwise, is very much putting the cart before the unicorn.

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The Death of Aperture (the product not the lens function)

The Death of Aperture (the product not the lens function)

It’s been a number of years since Apple pushed their professional grade photo editing solution onto an ice floe to die quietly out of sight and out of mind. Many customers still lament the decision because Aperture was a really great product and Apple shill marketing notwithstanding, Photos is such a pale replacement as to be nearly transparent.

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Run in Circles, Wave Your Hands and Scream!

Run in Circles, Wave Your Hands and Scream!

Recently there has been a flood of information pertaining to Adobe removing their $10 USD per month Photography Plan from sale. As was pointed out in a recent email from Dave Cross, a superb independent Photoshop instructor, it’s an exciting story that just isn’t true. Not right now at least.

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How to Be Miserable By Worrying About Sharpness

How to Be Miserable By Worrying About Sharpness

Is my tongue embedded firmly in cheek?  A little bit.  Nonetheless as a moderator on the KelbyOne Community, I see lots of posts by nice people worrying that their images are not sharp.  

Join me as we explore the validity of these concerns and why so many of them exist

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Are Today's Image Makers Fools?

Are Today's Image Makers Fools?

In case you had not heard, Costco has announced the closing of the Photo Centres in many of their US based stores. Costco does not process film. They make prints. They can put those prints in frames or in books or on greeting cards. The common element is the print.

So who cares? You should and if you don’t you may have earned your Fool badge

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Let's Talk LUTs

Let's Talk LUTs

At the risk of sounding like the cynical old man that I actually am, I wanted to take some time to talk about LUTs because of the way the idea is being presented to creatives. Serious videographers have been aware of LUTs for a long time because they have been around for a long time, while many still photographers have the impression that this idea is brand spanking new.

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PERSPECTIVES : Does Social Media Help You Become a Better Artist?

PERSPECTIVES : Does Social Media Help You Become a Better Artist?

Welcome to another iteration of Perspectives. I count myself as incredibly fortunate in that I get to meet lots of different creative folks, who are very committed to their craft and growing as creatives. Some of them disconnect because they are not getting traction on social media and that's what I want to talk about today.

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Time for a Screed - Product Availability

Time for a Screed - Product Availability

Help me understand something. Retailers are complaining that retail revenue is down. This is a fact, phoney sales notwithstanding. On hand inventory in brick and mortar stores is at an all time low. Many B&M retailers are moving to, or have moved to online sales as their primary mode of transaction, and we can look at B&H Photo Video as an example of a company that has been successful in the industry, and Amazon as a general example.

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