In a recent blog post by Joe McNally, I am reminded of how far we have evolved photographically. We have traded in the smell of fixer and film processing  cost, for Computer screens and keyboards. It’s cool that we can be on a shoot, have a 10 minute break and start marketing and uploading photos from our phone.

your I use a little different process with similar end result, Adobe Lightroom mobile allows you to link with your base computer through collections. Changes that are made in the field are reflected on home computer as soon as both devices are on Wi-fi. So… I have a copy of full resolution images with me at all times. In today’s competitive, fast moving photo world you have to always be marketing and keeping up with the new tech. If not somebody else will.

I remember the days of trying to learn what all this aperture, shutter speed and ISO ( ASA back then ) thing was, I was 16 and had no budget for classes, barely enough for film, so I read every book I could find ( that was also before Google ) from the library and would shoot 36 roll exposures, taking note of what my settings were on each frame. When I would pick up my film I would check the info and compare prints then turn back in all prints so all I had to pay for was film Processing. I wonder… what it would have been like to have started on a camera with a screen and just looking at it and making adjustments?

Much later, some 20 years, I attended one of Joe McNally’s seminar at Photoshop world and was hooked on lighting. I thought to myself, there is nothing this guy can’t light. Envious, enamored and ever desiring this knowledge, I went to three more classes, read all his books and it’s one of few blogs I follow. This guy still cranks it out today, better than ever.

The days of the first high-end digital cameras like the Nikon D1 was the first step in the digital revolution for me. Previously, my all-time favorite camera the F4 had been my go to, since it was announced. All the sudden the days of carrying four different camera bodys were over. I carried one loaded with black and white and 2-3 loaded with various high speed and color slide film. Now, just punch a button, turn a dial and you have different film speed and white balance. As cool as this new toy was, it was nothing compared to today’s lineup of magic boxes,  I still carried a film camera for special shoots in the 1st digital days because I couldn’t get the resolution out of the digital. Those days are long gone, with the resolution on the D5 or D850, Nikon of course, you can print to billboard.

Makes me wonder what the future holds next, maybe you just think it and project a visual to the web?