Looking for the Holy Grail... Am I the only one who has/does this?

[Mike Buckley]

I think it's all a matter of finding a good fit and there is definitely no single size that fits all. For some, learning the latest software, whether it's a full-fledged product or a plug-in, is part of the hobby. For some (like me), the time that would be required to do that is more enjoyably spent improving our photography using the tools already owned.

I'm surely at the extreme opposite from those who are enticed by the next new thing. As an example, my primary post-processing software was released about five years ago and discontinued a couple years ago. I use it on 100% of my images and rely on additional software only on about 1% of my images. There are no plug-ins available for my primary software.

If I do eventually decide to license additional software, I will do so because a specific task is made easier and/or better. As an example, I might license Adobe's Creative Cloud to be able to make use of the new Dehaze function. Even so, I won't bother licensing it until I make some photos that can make use of it. Psst: don't tell my wife that I'll probably have a need for it in October.

[xpatUSA]

My current Holy Grail is an ICC profile. Not for printing but one that will allow me to save flower shots in Perceptual Rendering Intent for viewing on the web or on my monitor. I've only found one so far and it crashes RawTherapee at the magic 'save as' moment. Tried ICC's V4 profile and neither FireFox nor Chrome supports it with their default settings. Glurk.

Already too much information, eyes glazing over, sorry . . .

[tao2]

My current Holy Grail is an ICC profile. Not for printing but one that will allow me to save flower shots in Perceptual Rendering Intent for viewing on the web or on my monitor. I've only found one so far and it crashes RawTherapee at the magic 'save as' moment. Tried ICC's V4 profile and neither FireFox nor Chrome supports it with their default settings. Glurk.

Already too much information, eyes glazing over, sorry . . .

Hi Ted,

Ye can change from default for ICCV4 in Firefox through "about:config". (Worth a read if yer unfamiliar with it)

Clear the address bar. Type in about:config ( no quotation marks), click "enter". Click through the "here be dragons - I'll be careful" page.

Scroll down tae " gfx.color_management.enablev4"

On the right hand side of the page are 3 columns....STATUS -TYPE-VALUE (at the top of the page)

In the columns, if ye haven't changed the setting before it will read DEFAULT - BOOLEAN - FALSE

Right click on "false" and toggle it tae "true". Close Firefox and then re-open. Go tae ICC , There's a wee test which shows if yer now compatible. If not ye may need a couple of additional tweaks.

[Tringa]

I think I am lucky that I do not suffer from what I have heard referred to as GAS (Gear Acqusition Syndrome) and as far as improving my skills is concerned I'm remindered of something attributed to Jack Nicklaus.

He was asked, at the height of his career, how he managed to win so many tournaments, "I guess I'm just lucky.", and then added, "and I practice and the more I practice the luckier I get."

Dave

[xpatUSA]

Hi Ted,

Ye can change from default for ICCV4 in Firefox through "about:config". (Worth a read if yer unfamiliar with it)

Clear the address bar. Type in about:config ( no quotation marks), click "enter". Click through the "here be dragons - I'll be careful" page.

Scroll down tae " gfx.color_management.enablev4"

On the right hand side of the page are 3 columns....STATUS -TYPE-VALUE (at the top of the page)

In the columns, if ye haven't changed the setting before it will read DEFAULT - BOOLEAN - FALSE

Right click on "false" and toggle it tae "true". Close Firefox and then re-open.

Thanks for the link and the procedure, Bob,

I had done that in the past when trying out V4 some years ago. I should have made it clear here but I need a profile that is likely to be supported by Browsers in their default settings, rather than expecting that everybody would have made that change. And then there's Safari, Chrome, Opera, Explorer , etc.

Graeme Gill of Argyll CMS says his system can produce six-table display class profiles. I looked there and it's going to be hard learning but, oh well . . .

Go tae ICC , There's a wee test which shows if yer now compatible. If not ye may need a couple of additional tweaks.

Thanks, already been there and done that. It's a great test!

I liked this one - upper right, Y'CC color space, V4 - didn't look good on mine at all!


.

[DanK]

Victor and Donald, thanks for the kind comments.

I agree with Dave: it's mostly a matter of practice and, in the case of software, familiarity. That's one reason I have started buying fewer plugins and software packages. Given my mediocre postprocessing skills, I need to practice more with what I have.

[xpatUSA]

Thanks for the link and the procedure, Bob,

Graeme Gill of Argyll CMS says his system can produce six-table display class profiles. I looked there and it's going to be hard learning but, oh well . . .
.

Update for Boab:

After consulting with a RawTherapee developer, it turned out that I had only tested the profile trying to save as a TIFF file. Saving as a JPEG with it does not crash RT Happy days . . .

[Timar]

Funny that you use the term Holy Grail in this context

If one studies the medieval literature relating to the myth of the Holy Grail, it becomes clear that the Grail is not a material object, but a mystical symbol. The whole point of those tales is to tell us that the mystical Grail is not an object to be found within a treasure trove but an illuminated state of being only to be found within ourselves - and to reach this state, the hero has to embark on a long and ventourous journey, until he is finally able to realize the true mystical nature of the Grail.

The false idea of the Grail as a materially obtainable object has an ambiguous role, neither entirely negative, nor positive. On the one hand, it is a necessary illusion without which there would have been no initial incentive for the hero to begin his quest for the Grail - on the other hand, the more advanced the hero becomes on his quest, the more it turns from an incentive to a distraction, so the last and most diffucult part of the quest is to finally overcome the illusion.

There couldn't be any better analogy to the art of photography. Having some decent gear and software is the incentive enabling you to go out and take pleasant pictures. However, the more practised you become, the more you come to terms with your own style, the less important and the more of a distraction it becomes for your artistic work. The more time you spend obsessing about gear and software, the less time remains for being creative with what you have.

[tclune]

One of the few ways that I have been disappointed with Topaz is I bought their suite of plug-ins that supposed come with lifetime updates. They have updated many of the plug-ins I use (e.g., I use version 3 of their remask, which is now on version 5 if memory serves.) Every time I click the "check for updates" button on their plug-ins, I am told that there are no updates available. I have no idea what they meant when they said that I would get free updates, but it has simply not been true that I have been able to get free updates in any ordinary language sense of that term.

[chauncey]

What's the big deal about the Holy Grail...I've got it in an old chest in my attic...
it bestows immeasurable blessings on us.

[Timar]

What's the big deal about the Holy Grail...I've got it in an old chest in my attic...
it bestows immeasurable blessings on us.

Really!? Then heed what I wrote above and don't let it spoil your spiritual enlightenment... I am already enlightened so you can savely give it to me! (I bet it is equipped with that mythical 21 EV Sony sensor. I NEED TO HAVE IT!)

[RBSinTo]

Got the Photography bug three years ago. My background is IT and being used to online learning that's the way I tackled becoming a better photographer.

I have nearly every plugin that has been known to man. I have registered with various well know websites for tips, tricks and tutorials. I have spent a fair amount on PS Panels that help you achieve the polished workflow that takes your digital images to another level. I have dabbled with Zonal System, Luminosity Masks and numerous systems that come with step by step tutorials.

Being a relatively intelligent person I know once I have purchased the latest "Double Digital Rainbow Magic Masking Technique" a few months down the line the "Improved Treble Multi-coloured Rainbow-Blending Masks" will flash up in my inbox at a price I would be foolish to ignore. I also know that the only way to become proficient is to practise with my camera and try and find my own post processing style and keep on fine tuning it until I find a method that works for me.

But I still get tempted to press that "Buy Now" button. Is it just me?

No it isn't. It seems to be most photographers, (and certainly all of the photographers I know) who are doing what you do.
Me?
I have neither the time nor the interest to get myself caught up in all this business. I shoot only colour slide, then scan and do as little as humanly possible to them using the laughably backward, hopelessly primitive Photoshop CS3.
I happen to be one of those who believes it is far more important to worry about what one does before one pushes the button than after, and when one of my photobuds or fellow Judges approaches a screen and comments about a microscopic spec of moire or "crunchiness" down in a corner of an otherwise outstanding photo, it is all I can do to keep from rolling my eyes.
But as RBSinTo's Law states: Everyone does what they do. You do what you do. I do what I do. And He does what he does."
So if getting all these Post-Processing packages/plug-ins/programmes/thingys make you happy, then knock yourself out.

[NorthernFocus]

Unless you have a compulsion to the degree that professional help is needed, you'll get over the buy-it-now bug. For both equipment and software. When you stop to take inventory once in a while and realize how much of that stuff you have that remains unused, you'll stop. Or at least slow way down.

Frustration stops me buying any more software. When I only use software once in a while I have to re-learn it every time I try to use it. Which is very time consuming and frustrating. So it is much easier to get very proficient in fewer options and stick with them.

...I'm always striving to get the best SOOC shot possible from the gear I have available...

I went through a phase like that early on. Then it occurred to me that I was simply trying to get more proficient with a different bit of software. That in the camera rather than on the computer.

There is a logical argument for many pros to produce adequate quality SOOC in order to save time. And many times the market is driven more by the content and doesn't require optimum IQ anyway. For the hobbyist, it is purely a matter of choice which bit of gear one wants to tinker with.

[John Morton]

Interesting, Gary, and I checked the other posts in this thread to confirm my suspicion: I seem to be alone in my penchant for buying BOOKS about photographic techniques! Well, books and magazines...

The major advantage to this route is, one can thumb through these offerings before actually purchasing and decide if the bright and shiny cover does indeed contain enough information to warrant paying the price asked. The down side, of course, is the room an endlessly ongoing accumulation of printed material ends up taking up...

Now, my background is in print so, perhaps I am thus inclined toward purchasing books about photographic techniques. I could be that your background in IT makes the software solution seem preferable to you. So I guess my advice would be, find a really good brick-and-mortar bookstore with a substantial section on photography AND software; spend an afternoon browsing, and resolve before visiting to limit yourself to purchasing just one or two titles. Then, actually take the time to read them!

My latest purchase was the recently released Second Edition of Dan Margulis' book on Photoshop LAB Color: "The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace." It was rather costly but I snapped it up as soon as I saw it on a shelf, having had great difficulty in ever even finding a copy of the first edition when it came out.

But that should keep me away from photography magazines for a while ;-)

[Timar]

I know exactly what you are talking about regarding BAS (Book Acqusition Syndrome) - only that for me it concerns books on guitar technique. But if I think about which books really influenced my playing, it boils down to one or two. With most books I either never took the time to properly work through them or their approach simply didn't "ring" with me. I guess I became demotivated when I finally realized that having read a book by Andrés Segovia or Ansel Adams doesn't make me play or photograph like them. Speaking of time... way to little time in one life, I'm affraid, to become a truly proficient guitar player and photographer. This is why I would choose the Fountain of Youth over the Holy Grail anytime

[xpatUSA]

I know exactly what you are talking about regarding BAS (Book Acqusition Syndrome) - only that for me it concerns books on guitar technique.

I bought a Mel Bay chords book from Ivor Mairants Music Center in London c. 1956, but tried to teach myself the rest from watching the likes of Scotty Moore & Co. I was most impressed in the store by a colored gentlemen singing the blues and playing with thumb and fingers. Some years later, I discovered Chet Atkins and threw away my pick (plectrum) for ever . . .

[RBSinTo]

Interesting, Gary, and I checked the other posts in this thread to confirm my suspicion: I seem to be alone in my penchant for buying BOOKS about photographic techniques! Well, books and magazines...

The major advantage to this route is, one can thumb through these offerings before actually purchasing and decide if the bright and shiny cover does indeed contain enough information to warrant paying the price asked. The down side, of course, is the room an endlessly ongoing accumulation of printed material ends up taking up...

Now, my background is in print so, perhaps I am thus inclined toward purchasing books about photographic techniques. I could be that your background in IT makes the software solution seem preferable to you. So I guess my advice would be, find a really good brick-and-mortar bookstore with a substantial section on photography AND software; spend an afternoon browsing, and resolve before visiting to limit yourself to purchasing just one or two titles. Then, actually take the time to read them!

My latest purchase was the recently released Second Edition of Dan Margulis' book on Photoshop LAB Color: "The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace." It was rather costly but I snapped it up as soon as I saw it on a shelf, having had great difficulty in ever even finding a copy of the first edition when it came out.

But that should keep me away from photography magazines for a while ;-)

I have a large library of photography books.
However with the exception of a Photoshop Classroom in a Book, another by Scott Kelby that everyone said I must have, and a book on the Digital Zone System that was given to me in exchange for shooting the author's portrait for the back cover, the remaining 150 or so books were published long before Digital took over.
They have all been read from cover to cover and I learned a great deal from them over the last 38 years that I've been photographing.

[Wandjina]

Pick up your guitar and go down to the local folk club, join in and start playing. Similarly, turn off your computer, put down your books and join a camera group. Get out and take photos. Learn from the people around you and glean from their experiences. That is how you will improve!

[IzzieK]

Pick up your guitar and go down to the local folk club, join in and start playing. Similarly, turn off your computer, put down your books and join a camera group. Get out and take photos. Learn from the people around you and glean from their experiences. That is how you will improve!

Martin...Ted only need a tad of improvement...in photography. He had taught me a lot to appreciate colours in my photographs.

Ted, I used to want to learn how to play the guitar but my fingers were so small and it hurts like buggery on my left just pressing those strings. I still have my MelBay Guitar lessons books with me...I stopped playing the guitar after I was going home from my guitar lesson one winter Melbourne afternoon and turned the traffic light with my ten 3 year old in his seat. I was hit by a ute and totaled my brand new Mazda. I changed my instrument playing to piano and found my holy grail in music since...holy grail to me is actually finding your comfortable place in each little world you created in the first place. I do not know if my new camera is my holy grail yet but that remains to be seen each time I process my image.