Computer Problems

I readily confess that I am a computer geek. I love the technology we have at our fingertips today, especially in the wonderful world of photography! After all, where would we be without digital cameras and post-processing software?

That being said, I also prefer our computers to work for us rather than the other way around. My old laptop was not even two years old and was causing me much pain and aggravation. I had already re-formatted the hard drive and re-installed Windows on the machine twice but was still having major problems. It was enough for me to start pulling my hair out!

The final straw came when I spent the better part of a day creating a presentation only to have my laptop completely let me down. I had used the thing all day but when I went to restart later nothing happened. After some frustrating troubleshooting, I discovered that the motherboard was fried. Arggghhhh!

Now many of us know that many photographers enjoy using Apple computers–well, Macs, to be exact. I was exposed to this preference in the photo world from many different angles–photo workshops, blogs, podcasts, magazines, etc. The thought was already in the back of my head that one day I would perhaps consider moving into the Mac world.

When my old laptop died, this thought came to the forefront in a huge way. I told my friend, who by the way only prefers windows pcs, that I was simply looking for a computer that didn’t require me to work to make it work before I got to work on it. Reliability and stability were my primary goals in looking for a new laptop to replace my old one.

Well, after some agonizing and deep thinking, I made the plunge and ordered my first Mac–a MacBook Pro laptop. It was ordered on a Thursday and traveled all the way from China to my doorstep on Monday! I was amazed at the quick delivery. I was even more amazed when I opened the package and turned on my new MacBook Pro!

I will not bore you too much with my enthusiasm now. Just let me say that I can see what others meant when they enthusiastically proclaimed their joy in using them!

So, this is my first blog in a long, long time due to computer problems. And yes, it is coming straight from my new MacBook Pro. I’ve had it for a little over a week and I love it! I am sure you will hear more about this in future blogs. For now, I am enjoying using Lightroom and Photoshop on my new laptop. It is quick, fast, and speedy!

I am hoping to say goodbye to computer problems. I am hoping this new laptop will keep those computer problems at bay. Only time will tell.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

Photographing an event is great. In fact, all photography is great! I love it. I love the challenge of trying new things and trying to record the events as they happen and preserve the precious memories. This love for photography keeps me going, trying new things, and helps me keep a fresh approach to an event or photographic subject.

One problem with photography that I find is when it comes time to pick and best photos for prints or for a book there are just too many to pick from and I have to make difficult decisions. I suppose this is the struggle for any photo editor. I only taste it once in a while, but the taste is sometimes bitter for me.

I am currently working on a project of baseball photographs. I have to narrow the selection down to only seven photographs from this past year. I like to call these the best of the best. Once they are printed, these photographs will hang on a public wall for everyone to see for years to come.  So making these decisions does not come easy for me.

What makes for a good photograph?

Of course, I closely study the focus to be sure it’s clear. I also pay particular attention to the background of the photograph, which can be extremely distracting to the main subject. But what else makes a good photograph?

Here are three photos of the many I am currently looking at for this project. Which of these three is the best? Why? How would you choose the best of these three?