Solly

HenrikM, thanks for your post. I had not noticed the Export to Application feature in DxO. Very nice! I assume you are exporting jpegs since your are processing the RAW files in DxO. Are there any settings on the options panel that work better than other settings for doing this export. I have something new to play with now! Cheers, Joseph

I have been using GNU/Linux since version 0.99 on DOS based hardware. I am very comfortable with the FOSS logic and goals. I am becoming more and more uncomfortable with a tone I am picking up that keeps asking the same question when the answer is no from a company. Possible solutions to the answer of no: Pool resources and buy control of the company—make it yours. Pool resources and start a new company to create the product your way. Join a FOSS project and help it create a product that meets your expectations. Create a new FOSS project that will create the product of your dreams. If able, roll your own software and be in total control. I am an old guy thinking old ways: Don't keep banging against a brick wall expecting to change the wall. Work around the wall, be clever, create attractive ideas. Make your ideas so attractive that those behind the wall will come out and join you. Please stop shouting at the wall—the wall will not respond. I feel better now, thank you for the space to vent my frustration, Solly

I purchased my first personal computer system in 1983 based on the following: 1. What specific needs did I have? 2. What software best addressed those needs in the way I wanted to work? 3.What equipment would function in a comfortable way for me (screen and keyboard in this case— Osborne vs. Kaypro) 4. By this time the operating system had been determined. In 1983 I chose a Kaypro II system. Over the years I have chosen software and systems based on CP/M, DOS, Windows, Xenix, BSD, Linux, webOS, Android, iOS, and macOS. The OS is the last consideration when addressing getting the work out. For curiosity, the order is different—I may even start with choosing an OS to try, but I won't expect it to meet my work needs. Just a point of view from an old guy who started with computers in the mid 1960's with FORTRAN IV on a GE-215 computer.

Delightful! The lion was appropriately grumpy. ;-) Cheers

My employer provided a laptop computer for work done while on site and professional work off site, even at home. All non-work required computer tasks were done on my personal equipment. I purchased (owned) and controlled the software on my personal computer. The employer/company owned the work computer and the software on the work computer. Licensing on the work computer was controlled by the assigned member of the IT staff. Yes, two seats and two copies of the same software were required. It was very easy to turn in the company laptop when I retired, since there was no mixing of purposes or software on either computer. That computer turnover was smooth—the IT staff was grateful—all records and software inventory were in order. This is all part of being a professional.

Oh my. I guess most of the members of this forum have not experienced the era of fees required of each user on each workstation. Indeed, if one worked on two workstations of the same OS, it was two different licenses. The same three people working on three workstations required nine licenses! A big advance came with the hardware lock—a device that plugged into the parallel port that allowed access to the program. Now three users still needed three such locks, but the lock could be carried from workstation to workstation. Oh, if the lock were lost, one was required to repurchase the program at full price. Then there was the UNIX licensing daemon that required constant feeding every few months as subscriptions expired and required reactivation—those codes were very long and complicated. Those were sure great times. ;-) I am delighted with Serif's exceedingly reasonable pricing policy! Cheers, Joseph

Thank you, Sir! another Chatsworth House animated lion to brighten my morning on this side of the pond. Cheers.

Please sir, I want some more talking lions! Watching this was a great start to my day—thank you for doing this project. ;-)

Thank you for sharing your work and thoughts. You and Kodiak are inspiring!

Fascinating! Thank you for sharing, for I am learning by studying your work and reading your thoughts on your own work and the work of others. I now search the forums for anything you and Aeros4 post because these posts are always of such high quality and match my photographic interests.

I can imagine the fun one would have basing a cityscape on hyperbolic geometry. ;)

I do like these! A D810 with 600mm lens must be hard to hand hold—are you using a monopod or some other aid? I have seed some photos of kits mounted on rifle stalks, but I have never seen such a beast myself. Your results with the FX system are making me regret my DX family choice! Time for me to break out the weights and build some muscles. ;-) Solly

Thank you for providing links to these resources Miguel! I know that the video tutorials appear in a sticky under Forum—>Learn and share—>Tutorials, and links to Affinity Review appear on the product website, but I always forget how to get to your additional learning resources link ( I have multiple dedicated bookmarks for it so that I do not lose it). Would it be possible to add a sticky to Affinity Review and your additional resources link in the Tutorials section of the Forum? Thanks, Solly

Fun stuff!! The style reminds me of government type (USA) products from the early 1960's. By the way, change the habitat and markings just a bit and it will also work on the western side of the pond. Keep up the great work!

The subject, Hopewell Furnace, is very interesting as well! This reminds me that I need to get there this summer. I look forward to see how your project develops. It would be very cool to have such graphics for each of the parks represented by the current US quarter national park set. Well done--keep experimenting!

The information in the tutorials was very helpful to me. Thank you very much for your work--I look forward to the series you mentioned.

Really wonderful, Marty! I look forward to seeing more of your work as I am partial to rail road themed art.

Andy, that is GREAT news!!!

I am under the impression and my experiments indicate that the older iPhoto and the newer Photos app extract the embedded jpeg image within a RAW file and work with the extracted jpeg, even though the Photos info tool will give the file name as sample.nef. This means that only the extracted jpeg file is available to the Media Browser when working with the iPhoto or Photos Library. I keep the RAW files in their own directory structure and import from that directory into Photos or iPhoto. I think I am correct in my understanding of the Apple Apps, but I am sure there will be a friendly correction if I am mistaken. ;-)

Great! The Media Browser is just what I have been looking for. For a newbie, each day is filled with discovery and the forums are akin to panning for gold and finding precious nuggets. Thanks to all!

Different RAW developers will definitely produce different results. iPhoto and DxO Optics Pro are akin to using automatic transmission in a vehicle, as many enhancements are done for you to give a result that many find useful. Other RAW developers are akin to manual transmission in a vehicle, as you are in complete control and make all of the decisions to produce what you find pleasing. I find the Affinity Photo Develop Persona (the RAW editor) much like operating a vehicle with a manual transmission, as it brings the photo to the workspace in a rather neutral state and allows you, the artist, to develop the image to your taste. Affinity Photo is your digital darkroom where you are in control. This doesn't mean that iPhoto and DxO do not allow one to adjust the look of the image to one's taste, it is just that they start with settings that many people find pleasing. Some days I prefer automatic drive and other days I prefer manual drive. I find Affinity Photo a very useful addition to other RAW developers I use. Which developer I use depends on my task, time frame for the task, and mood I am in. However the RAW file is developed, the developed image may be processed within the Photo Persona to do other types of editing tasks. Take your time, view the many settings common to the developers you mentioned, and note how these settings are applied by default on the same RAW image, and you will discover why your developed images do not look the same. You will also discover that there are different algorithms for noise reduction and other tasks. Manual drive cars do not all behave in a single way, so different maths will produce different results in the images. This is not unlike the photographer of the past in the darkroom choosing the type of chemistry to use, the company that made the chemicals, the specific film type of that company, paper type, temperature, concentration, exposure time, burning, dodging, and so much more. It was complex and modern digital methods in manual mode are no less complex! Complexity is what makes this truly fun, but there will be days that an iPhone camera and Photos app will be good enough to do the job. ;-) Above all, take your time, experiment, take notes, and have fun! Oh, and ask questions; lots and lots of questions. Solly JFSJ

These are so much fun to view--I enjoy maximizing the size and finding the clever detail. Please tell us bit about how you use the Affinity tools to create this art. Thank you for sharing! Solly JFSJ