Back in April 2020, I published my initial review of the LaCie 2big RAID hard drive. There were many things that I liked about the unit including its ease of use, flexible options, and nice design.

I have it set up with my iMac in the Zoom recording studio. On days when I'm recording or conducting online classes, I power down the LaCie to keep noise to a minimum or to prevent performance lags if the hard drive had been sleeping. Then on days when I'm working offline, I fire it up and use its storage and backup features.

Everything had been working well until one day recently it wouldn't power up. I went through the usual troubleshooting checklist, but with no success. For some reason, the unit had failed.

Losing a drive unit is one thing, but the integrity of the data is quite another. I had the LaCie set up for RAID 01 configuration. So technically speaking, I had two hard drives with my mirrored data on them.

I extracted the first hard drive from the unit and inserted it in a swappable hard drive enclosure that I keep on hand for just this kind of situation. Fortunately, the drive itself fired right up, and all of my files were there.

So even though the LaCie enclosure had failed, its content had not. This is an advantage of the more simple backup systems that don't compress your data or otherwise mess with it. If the enclosure fails, simple extract the drives and use them in another unit.

I checked the reviews of the LaCie 2Big, and there were some other power failures reported. I would say that in my case, how I used the unit probably wasn't ideal, turning it off and on frequently. That may have contributed to its demise.

But I have my data, and I will begin a search for a new temporary backup solution that may be better suited to my needs. Maybe it's time to go SSD?

Stay tuned.

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #824, Jan. 4, 2022. Today's theme is "Honoring Two Golden Girls" I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

On December 31, 2021, the world lost two Golden Girls: Betty White and my mother, Lynn Story. I was at mom's bedside with family when we heard the news about Betty White's passing. Hours later, Mom followed. They had much in common, including love of family, tolerance of differences, and care for animals. I wish I had an interview of Betty White to share with you because I so admired her. But I do have a chat with Lynn Story from December 2018 that I'm going to play. There is much to learn from her words. They resonate even more now in 2022. I hope you enjoy the show.

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Honoring Two Golden Girls

When asked, Betty White said the key to her happiness is that she works to "always find the positive" in her life. "I got it from my mom, and that never changed," she said.

I was thinking about how Betty White and Lynn Story had much in common, and thought it would be good to revisit some pearls of wisdom from Lynn that she shared in a 2018 interview.

Lynn Story photographed in 2018, Huntington Beach, CA. Photo by Derrick Story.

One of the things that I've noticed in people who appear to be happy is the notion of, "appreciate others rather than judge them." This idea of appreciation was certainly a theme in my Mom's life.

As an example, I stayed in her apartment on Thursday night while she was in the hospital. I wanted to take care of her kitty and get a little bit of sleep before heading back.

I noticed an envelope on her bed that read, "For my hardworking housekeeper and waiter." Even though she was in independent living, she did have weekly housekeeping and help if needed. The envelope contained a thank you card with a gratuity. This was something she did time and time again with practically everyone who contributed to her life.

There's a reason why some people go directly to heaven. Caring for and respecting others is at the top of the list.

The 2022 TDS Workshop Season

We have great events lined up for this year, and there are a few more coming. Here's a recap of what we have so far:

• March 2022 - Writing for Online Publishing (online)
• April 2022 - Humboldt Redwoods Workshop (physical)
• May 2022 - Infrared Photography Workshop (online event)
• August 2022 - Ultimate B&W Photography Workshop (online)
• Sept. 2022 - Eastern Sierra Photo Workshop (physical)
• Nov. 2022 - Oregon Coast Photography Workshop (physical)

You can learn more about all of these events and register by visiting TheNimblePhotographer.com.

Samsung's New TVs Let You Buy, Sell, and Display Photography NFTs

You can read the entire article on PetaPixel.

As part of a series of announcements it made for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Samsung unveiled that it would be adding an NFT marketplace into its smart TV system that would allow users to browse, buy, sell, and display art on Samsung TVs.

The introduction of the NFT Platform marks the first time a major television manufacturer has decided to support non-fungible tokens in any capacit and provides a more tangible way for NFT owners to enjoy their purchases.

The company's NFT aggregation platform is built into this system and allows users to browse, buy, sell, and display NFT art directly through a compatible Samsung television. The company says that the NFT platform it built features an intuitive, integrated platform. Any art bought or displayed is supported by the aformentioned Samsung Smart Calibration feature that automatically adjusts the display settings "to the creator's preset values" to assure that how it appears is exactly, or as close as possible to, how the artist intended. The Verge compares the idea to Dolby Vision or Netflix Calibrated Modes as an example of how this might work.

The NFT Marketplace feature will be supported on the company's 2022 lineup of MICRO LED, Neo QLED, and The Frame television models. Samsung says that the platform is an aggregator, and as such, it is assumed that the platform isn't just supported by one NFT marketplace, but several. The company hasn't specified which marketplaces it will support, but that information should become more available leading up to the commercial availability of the televisions.

Photos for macOS Monterey and iPhone Essential Training

You can view the course here on LinkedIn Learning.

With the free Photos for macOS software from Apple, you can manage, enhance, and share photos in a variety of ways. In this course, photographer, author, and educator Derrick Story takes you on a detailed exploration of Photos for macOS.

Derrick gives you a tour of the interface and the headline new features, then goes into detail on the ways you can use Live Text to transform your camera into your personal assistant. He shows you how to search for pictures by object type, copy images from messages to Photos, use Quick Notes with Photos, and automate common tasks with shortcuts.

Derrick walks you through the improved importing process and gives you some useful tips on organizing and editing your pictures directly in Photos. Plus, he shows you where to find more tips and techniques for working with Photos for macOS.

Virtual Camera Club News

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts!

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have 51 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

In the late 1970s Orson Welles made famous the phrase, "We will sell no wine before its time" for Paul Masson vineyards. This saying has since been used in many settings, and it's one that comes to mind for the engineers at Capture One Pro. They don't rush tons of enhancements out the door, but when they do, they are usually quite good. Such is the case for the three headliners for C1P 22.

My experience with them (auto rotate, HDR, pano stitching) after a couple weeks of testing is different than what I thought it would be. Like many, I read about the new tools and thought, "Well, that's nice."

But all three are saving me a notable amount of time, mainly because I don't have to bounce out of C1P to other apps for my high dynamic range work or for panorama stitching. As a result, I'm using these techniques more because they are now convenient in my workflow.

Let's take a look at all three of them, beginning with auto rotate.

Auto Rotate Saves Time

Slanted horizons and tilted compositions can consume quite a bit of time in post production. Well no more. The smart algorithm added to Rotation & Flip in the Lens tab works as advertised. Simply click on the new Magic Wand icon in the Rotation & Flip panel, and Capture One Pro will straighten things up.

Before and After with Auto Rotate

Auto Rotate is also included as an option in the Auto Adjust tool at the top of the C1P interface, so you can one-click spruce up any picture quickly, including now fixing that tilting horizon.

Auto Rotate is also included in the Auto Adjust menu. Very handy!

The bonus for including Auto Rotate in the Auto Adjust menu is that those corrections can also be added automatically during image import too. Just click the box next to Auto Adjust in the Adjustments panel of the Import dialog box. That way, you'll never have look at another crooked horizon again.

Merge to HDR is Clean and Efficient

The workflow for creating an HDR image is straightforward, and the results are quite good.

Choosing Merge to HDR with three bracketed images in C1P

Start by capturing three Raw files at -2.0/0/+2.0 exposure bracket. Import the images into Capture One Pro. Select all three images in the bracket, then right-click on one of them and choose "Merge to HDR" from the popup menu. A second popup menu will appear allowing you to auto align and auto adjust. I typically select both. The auto adjust presents you with a very nice merged DNG file right out of the gate.

The merged image with its three bracketed thumbnails.

The workflow is so easy, and I find myself merging to HDR more often now. I set my X100V to auto bracket at the -2/0/+2 range, and fire off a sequence whenever I feel a scene could use a little bit more dynamic range.

Make sure you record your files in Raw. C1P won't mefrrge Jpegs.

Stitch to Panorama Provides Just the Right Options

After taking Merge to HDR for a spin, Stitch to Panorama will feel very familiar. The steps are about the same (select your images and right-click on one, then choose Stitch to Panorama from the popup menu), albeit with a few more options. There a four projections to choose from, but most of the time you'll likely be using Spherical.

Choosing your projection and final resolution.

You also have control over how big (in terms of resolution) the stitched final image will be, ranging from 25 percent to 100 in 4 steps. After making those decisions, click on the orange Stitch button. You'll still have to crop afterward. But resulting image will be a very editable DNG file.

The stitching is quite good. And with a little cropping and basic adjustments, the final image looks great!

As for the stitching itself, it's top notch. Capture One recommends overlapping your files by about 30 percent. That's what I did, and the whole process worked well.

The Bottom Line

You may wonder if these three headliner features are worth the upgrade price. Before you make a final decision, keep in mind there's plenty more happening under the hood in this latest version. So if you want integrated HDR and pano stitching, I would say yes to Capture One Pro 22. Everything else will be icing on top of the cake.

You can learn more about all of the features and the pricing plans by visiting www.captureone.com.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #823, Dec. 28, 2021. Today's theme is "What Are You Going to Do in 2022?" I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

For essentially 2 years we've had the opportunity to retool, learn new things, and break away from old habits that may not have been as productive as we wanted. Now, as we stand on the precipice of 2022, it's time to put our "new normal" into action. We are going to take a closer look at the pending possibilities on today's TDS Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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What Are You Going to Do in 2022?

Here are the things that I'm discussing in this segment:

• Set goals for 2022. Mine include bringing back physical workshops, adding new topics to the online workshops, resume publishing on TheNimblePhotographer.com, reorganizing the studio, and more.
• Plan activities that are inline with your goals. For example, we will have a variety of online and physical workshops, set aside time to research and learn online, and spend time with others who have shared interests.
• Add organization to the mix. It's one thing to say you're going to do something, it's far better to build a plan with milestone dates.
• Build a budget. I like to create a separate account for projects and equipment that I want to fund.
• Make 2022 a "springboard year." Take all the adjustments that you've made over the past two years, shape them into goals that will further your growth, and fuel them with organization and capital. The net result can be personal growth that you haven't experienced in years.

In terms of workshops, I've updated our TDS Workshops page on thenimblephotographer.com. You might want to take a look. (Inner Circle members will receive discounts for all 2022 activities.)

How Infrared Photography Can Create Stunning Sci-Fi Night Photos

You can read the entire article on PetaPixel.

Infrared photography is mostly used to create alternative and dreamy landscape pictures during bright days, giving nature specific hues from clear white to vivid yellow or red. But this technique has also a high potential in urban photography too, moreover at night.

Infrared photography requires specific gear such as a full spectrum camera (which sensor has been modified to bring back its initial sensitivity from ultraviolet to infrared light), an infrared filter, and a compatible lens. When it comes to shooting cityscape at night, a tripod is also required to deal with long exposure.

At this step, my advice is to choose an infrared filter with a low cut-off wavelength, like 550nm or 595nm. This way, the exposure time will not be too long (at night, infrared emission is only due to urban light and is far less important than IR sun emission) and you will observe a large range of colors in the different lights caught.

Personally, I use a full spectrum Canon RP, a Laowa 15mm f/4.5 shift, and a Kolari Vision 550nm filter in a drop-in mount. This association allows me to create large panoramas without any hotspot and with a reduced amount of flare.

This step is not specific to infrared photography, but if you are looking for futuristic pictures, you will need futuristic places. Modern financial hubs are full of buildings, headquarters, and offices made of glass and steel with impressive design. At night, they emit a lot of light and their look totally changes.

Do not hesitate to visit these places during the day: it will be easier for you to find interesting points of view and to test compositions that you will reproduce at night.

As infrared light will come from urban lights, road and subway networks are also great subjects to integrate into your compositions: at night, long exposures will create colored light lines in them.

Can the Cheapest MacBook Pro Keep Up With Professional Demands?

You can read the entire article on Fstoppers.

Apple's M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros are mightily impressive, but their prices can grow quite quickly as you add more features and capabilities, with the top model tipping the scales at over $6,000. On the other hand, the base model comes in at less than half that price. Can it keep up with the demands of professional photographers and filmmakers, though? This great video review puts it through the paces to find out.

Coming to you from Potato Jet, this excellent video review takes a look at how the base model of the new 16-inch MacBook Pro performs under the demands of a professional creative, and no doubt, it looks like even the M1 Pro model with 16 GB of unified memory is a remarkable step forward over previous generations, providing performance that easily handles heavy loads that would have bogged down even tricked-out older models. What impresses me all the more is the computer's long battery life, even during these demanding editing sessions, making it easy to work on large projects no matter where you are. It is also nice to see that the base models come with 512 GB SSDs, ensuring you have plenty of storage. Check out the video above for the full rundown on the new model.

Photos for macOS Monterey and iPhone Essential Training

You can view the course here on LinkedIn Learning.

With the free Photos for macOS software from Apple, you can manage, enhance, and share photos in a variety of ways. In this course, photographer, author, and educator Derrick Story takes you on a detailed exploration of Photos for macOS.

Derrick gives you a tour of the interface and the headline new features, then goes into detail on the ways you can use Live Text to transform your camera into your personal assistant. He shows you how to search for pictures by object type, copy images from messages to Photos, use Quick Notes with Photos, and automate common tasks with shortcuts.

Derrick walks you through the improved importing process and gives you some useful tips on organizing and editing your pictures directly in Photos. Plus, he shows you where to find more tips and techniques for working with Photos for macOS.

Virtual Camera Club News

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts!

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have 51 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

I can't remember the last time I spent three days at home doing nothing more than watching sports, harassing the cat, and enjoying the company of my family. Oh, and I also played with the camera a bit as well.

Derrick with Sylvester. Fujifilm X100V using the CamRemote app to take the picture.

I wanted to grab a few snapshots of Sylvester and me, so I used the Fujifilm X100V with the CamRemote app. Between the moving cat and the herky-jerky app, it was more humorous than anything. But I love these kind of goofy shots.

My sister-in-law gave us all Bombas slippers for Christmas. We wanted to send her a thank you text, so I captured this fun snap with the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Zach and Max enjoying Christmas Day taco bar. iPhone 12 Pro Max.

We had a taco bar for Christmas Day lunch (of course, it's California!). Was a colorful opportunity to catch a grab shot of the boys.

I hope you had a bit of fun with your gear over the holiday. If not, maybe you'll get a second crack at it this weekend for the New Year celebration.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays.

Derrick

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #822, Dec. 21, 2021. Today's theme is "5 Reasons Why I Still Carry a Digital Camera." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

It's true, we live in the age of the smartphone. Then why am I so happy to pull my digital camera out of my backpack on a regular basis? I just returned from a road trip to Southern California where I used my X100V a number of times. I'm going to share 5 of them on todays TDS Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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5 Reasons Why I Still Carry a Digital Camera

Don't get me wrong, I used my iPhone all the time on a recent trip to visit my mom, including a fun selfie of the two of us sitting in her living room.

But man o man am I glad I had my digital camera with me too. Here are 5 reasons why.

• Digital Cameras Make the Best Webcams - I had a couple of workshop classes I had to lead while down there, and boy am I glad I had the X100V to serve as my webcam. The image looked great!
• Digital Cameras Save Your Back and Knees - When I want a really low angle shot, which seems to be often, that flip up screen on the X100V is invaluable.
• Crop, Crop, Crop! - Sometimes I don't find the best composition until way after the shot when I'm working on the MacBook. With a 26 MP sensor, I can crop, crop, crop and still have plenty of resolution.
• Did Anyone Say Film Simulations? - Let's face it, the filters in the camera app for the iPhone suck. And compared to what I can get on the X100V with those lovely film simulations, they really suck.
• True Flash Photography - Not only does the built-in flash on the X100V blow away that wimpy LED unit on the iPhone, but I can attach a true hot shoe flash as well.

There are also lots of other little things that I notice over time, such as real RAW files, click-stop aperture ring, more comfortable ergonomics, and more.

iPhones are great, but digital cameras rock my world.

And for a bit more about using a smartphone and digital camera together, take a look at Ditch the Bag, not the Camera on TheNimblePhotographer.com.

Tokina's second-generation 400mm F8 mirror lens is available in eight mounts for $260

You can read the entire article on DP Review.

Tokina has announced an updated version of its 400mm F8 mirror lens that tweaks the optical detain and adds a T-mount system that Tokina says improves the performance of the lens and enables the lens to be used with eight different camera mounts.

The Tokina 400mm F8 N II S mirror lens is a successor to the 400mm F8 N S mirror released back in July 2020. The updated lens is constructed of six elements in two groups--a departure from the six elements in five groups used in the original version. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 115cm (45.3"), has a 67mm front filter thread and measures between 82-112mm, depending on whether you get the SLR or mirrorless mount versions, as the mirrorless versions have a longer adapter to account for the short flange distance of mirrorless cameras.

The 400mm F8 lens is fully manual and features an integrated T-mount that uses the standard male 42x0.75 thread; by using various adapters, which are place on the lens before being shipped out, the lens will work with Canon EF, Canon M, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon F, Nikon Z, Pentax K and Sony E-mount camera systems. Naturally, the T-mount means the lens can easily be adapted from one mount to another with a different mount adapter.

As is the case with all mirror lenses, this lens features the signature 'donut' bokeh, which is usually considered less aesthetically pleasing than the bokeh of conventional optics, but is the price paid for getting longer focal lengths in a relatively small body. Below are the only two sample photos Tokina has provided at this time:

The Tokina 400mm F8 N II S mirror lens Is currently listed on Tokina's website for around $262, but it doesn't appear as though it's possible to actually place an order at this time. The first orders, when they go live, are expected to ship starting December 24, 2021.

Mastering Capture One Pro Online Workshop - Jan. 12, 2022

Jan 12 - Feb. 2, 2022

Are you ready to move to one of the best RAW processing digital asset managers available today? If yes, then this online workshop is for you.

Over the course of four sessions, you will learn to organize, process, enhance, and share your images with Capture One Pro 22, the state-of-the-art photo management platform for professionals and serious enthusiasts. This application runs on both Mac and Windows platforms, with an iPad version scheduled to be available in January as well.

You will also have access to our online workshop community, DerrickStoryOnline, where you can ask questions, share techniques, and show off your work. Your membership to our online community extends pass the workshop itself, so you can continue to share notes with those who share your particular interests.

Our weekly meetings during the workshop itself are via Zoom, with AM and PM sessions available so you can match this event to your busy schedule. Plus, we record each session and make them available to participants future reference.

This is exactly the type of learning environment that will accelerate your mastery of this powerful application. I hope you can join us!

You can sign up today at TheNimblePhotographer.com.

Attention Inner Circle Members: Be sure to visit our Patreon site for the discount code that will save you $15 for this very affordable online workshop.

Pixelmator Photo is a Powerful AI-Driven Photo Editor for iPhone

You can read the entire article on Petapixel.

Pixelmator has announced Pixelmator Photo for iOS, what it calls the most powerful editor ever designed for a mobile device. The company even goes so far as to call it "basically Aperture for iPhone."

Pixelmator Photo has been launched for iPhone (in addition to iPad) and features desktop-class color adjustments, support for over 600 RAW image formats -- including Apple ProRAW -- deep integration with the Photos app and iCloud Photos, tools powered by what the company calls groundbreaking machine learning technologies, and more.

The company says that Pixelmator Photo contains a collection of over 30 desktop-class color adjustments that allow editors to adjust the colors in a photo in a variety of ways. The app also features classic photography essential tools like White Balance, Exposure, Highlights, and Shadows adjustments, to more advanced tools like Selective Color, wheel-based Color Balance, photographic Grain adjustment, and others.

Pixelmator says that all the adjustments were designed using advanced image processing techniques that it says will preserve color quality and eliminate image posterization artifacts even when making "extreme" edits. All adjustments made in the app work directly and nondestructively with over 600 RAW image formats, including Apple ProRAW.

The app has what the company calls deep integration with the Photos app and iCloud Photos. To edit photos, users have to open it in the browser of the Pixelmator Photo app and when edits are finished, changes automatically sync with the photo library.

The app is free for existing Pixelmator Photo users but is available for $4 for new users (it will eventually increase to $8) It requires iOS 14 or later, and full iPhone requirements can be found on the company's website.

Photos for macOS Monterey and iPhone Essential Training

You can view the course here on LinkedIn Learning.

With the free Photos for macOS software from Apple, you can manage, enhance, and share photos in a variety of ways. In this course, photographer, author, and educator Derrick Story takes you on a detailed exploration of Photos for macOS.

Derrick gives you a tour of the interface and the headline new features, then goes into detail on the ways you can use Live Text to transform your camera into your personal assistant. He shows you how to search for pictures by object type, copy images from messages to Photos, use Quick Notes with Photos, and automate common tasks with shortcuts.

Derrick walks you through the improved importing process and gives you some useful tips on organizing and editing your pictures directly in Photos. Plus, he shows you where to find more tips and techniques for working with Photos for macOS.

Virtual Camera Club News

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts!

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have 51 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Dewy mornings are great for spider webs. This one was close to the ground with soft overcast lighting - a photo-worthy subject indeed.

Because the ground was damp, I flipped-up the LCD on the Fujifilm X100V so I wouldn't get my knees wet while I composed the shot. I wanted a super soft background, so I opened up the aperture all the way to f/2.0. I figured the web was a flat plane. It would be sharp and everything else would be lovely soft.

When I returned home and viewed the shots on my MacBook, I discovered that I had grossly miscalculated. Yes, the right side of the web was beautiful - strings of pearly dew hanging from a twig in a pattern that only a spider could design.

But the left side was out of focus! I thought for sure that I had lined up the composition so the web was parallel to the camera, ensuring that everything would be sharp. But I was wrong.

If only I had stopped down to f/4 or even f/5.6, I would have a bit more depth of field to compensate for the angle and would have rendered the subject perfectly. The background is going to be out of focus no matter what. It was way back there. The was no need to open up to f/2.0. What a dumb mistake.

There are days when I need to fall out of love with wide open aperture. Clearly, this was one of them. The moral of the story is, when you're very close to a subject, you need to stop down a bit to make sure it is sharp.

Maybe next time...

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #821, Dec. 14, 2021. Today's theme is "The Ultimate Holiday Gift." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

How could a blank picture frame be the ultimate holiday gift? Well, it depends on what you put in it. On today's show I'm going to share an idea with you that just might make that special someone in your life very happy. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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The Ultimate Holiday Gift

As photographers, we have the unique ability to make others very happy. Not only do we know how to make beautiful images, we understand how to present them as well.

All of this can come together as a wonderful gift for someone you care about. Here's the basic set up:

• Find a nice picture frame that can accommodate an 8.5"x11" print. Preferably this frame would look great on its own with nice mats and finish.
• On a fine art card, write a note that will accompany the frame. It can be something like: "This frame can hold any picture that you want. It can be a group shot of you with your children, a portrait of you and your pet companion, or a revitalized old family picture that you always wanted to hang on the wall. You tell me what you want in that frame, and I will make it happen for you."
• Wrap the frame and include the card. Ideally present the gift when you have a little time to talk with the recipient about what they want to go in the frame. At a favorite coffee shop over a peppermint mocha latte is ideal, but you may not get that chance. You get the idea however. The conversation, if possible, is part of the gift.
• Follow through on the gift as quickly as possible. If you're restoring an old family photograph, get to work. If it's a portrait session, get it scheduled.

The blank picture frame gift can be very special for the recipient, and gives you the opportunity to share your unique set of skills.

Happy Holidays!

Capture One Pro 22 Released

Capture One Pro 22 includes a very nice performance update for Windows users and wireless tethering for Canon users, but the headliners are panorama stitching, HDR merging, and AI-driven auto rotate.

As for the built-in pano stitching and HDR merge, I have a couple tips for you to improve your experience. The ideal overlap for panorama stitching with C1P is 30 percent. You don't need any more than that. Also, C1P is multi-row stitching capable. You can build an extremely high-resolution image in all directions, giving you a huge DNG file to work with that's fully editable directly in Capture One.

And for HDR merge, 3 frames will do it, exposing at -2.0, 0, +2.0. You don't need 5, 7, or more frames for a good merge.Then edit the resulting DNG file as you would any other RAW.

Test out Capture One 22 for yourself with a 30-day free trial; even if you've tested out Capture One before, you can still take a new trial round of Capture One 22. Get full access to all the latest features and see how it can transform your photography and enhance your storytelling.

The upgrade price for a perpetual license is $199, or $179 for a year's subscription.

Mastering Capture One Pro Online Workshop - Jan. 12, 2022

Jan 12 - Feb. 2, 2022

Are you ready to move to one of the best RAW processing digital asset managers available today? If yes, then this online workshop is for you.

Over the course of four sessions, you will learn to organize, process, enhance, and share your images with Capture One Pro 22, the state-of-the-art photo management platform for professionals and serious enthusiasts. This application runs on both Mac and Windows platforms, with an iPad version scheduled to be available in January as well.

You will also have access to our online workshop community, DerrickStoryOnline, where you can ask questions, share techniques, and show off your work. Your membership to our online community extends pass the workshop itself, so you can continue to share notes with those who share your particular interests.

Our weekly meetings during the workshop itself are via Zoom, with AM and PM sessions available so you can match this event to your busy schedule. Plus, we record each session and make them available to participants future reference.

This is exactly the type of learning environment that will accelerate your mastery of this powerful application. I hope you can join us!

You can sign up today at TheNimblePhotographer.com.

Attention Inner Circle Members: Be sure to visit our Patreon site for the discount code that will save you $15 for this very affordable online workshop.

Photos for macOS Monterey and iPhone Essential Training

You can view the course here on LinkedIn Learning.

With the free Photos for macOS software from Apple, you can manage, enhance, and share photos in a variety of ways. In this course, photographer, author, and educator Derrick Story takes you on a detailed exploration of Photos for macOS.

Derrick gives you a tour of the interface and the headline new features, then goes into detail on the ways you can use Live Text to transform your camera into your personal assistant. He shows you how to search for pictures by object type, copy images from messages to Photos, use Quick Notes with Photos, and automate common tasks with shortcuts.

Derrick walks you through the improved importing process and gives you some useful tips on organizing and editing your pictures directly in Photos. Plus, he shows you where to find more tips and techniques for working with Photos for macOS.

Virtual Camera Club News

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts!

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have 48 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Curious about Live Text? Want to know more about using your iPhone camera as a personal assistant? I explain all of this, and lots more, in my latest LinkedIn Learning title, Photos for macOS Monterey and iPhone Essential Training.

With the free Photos for macOS software from Apple, you can manage, enhance, and share photos in a variety of ways. In this course, photographer, author, and educator Derrick Story takes you on a detailed exploration of Photos for macOS.

Derrick walks you through the improved importing process and gives you some useful tips on organizing and editing your pictures directly in Photos. Plus, he shows you where to find more tips and techniques for working with Photos for macOS.

There are lots of other goodies in this training as well, such as importing one Photos library into another (new in Monterey), enhanced object recognition for search, and more.

If you enjoy iPhone photography and want to get the most out of your smartphone, then take a look at Photos for macOS Monterey and iPhone Essential Training. I think you will find it both entertaining and helpful.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #820, Dec. 7, 2021. Today's theme is "The Pictures that Matter Most." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

Most of us have thousands upon thousands of images in our photo libraries. And when life is normal and rolling along, they all seem relatively important. But at some point, for everyone of us, the world takes a turn. And often the most important things that remain are our memories and the pictures that accompany them. I'm going to share one such story on today's TDS Photography Podcast.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

The Story of Dibs the Cat

Those of you who follow the podcast may recall some of the many mentions of Dibs the cat who lived here at the TDS Studio. Her story is quite remarkable, and I'm so thankful that I documented it with photographs over the years. Here's why.

Photos for macOS Monterey and iPhone Essential Training

You can view the course here on LinkedIn Learning.

With the free Photos for macOS software from Apple, you can manage, enhance, and share photos in a variety of ways. In this course, photographer, author, and educator Derrick Story takes you on a detailed exploration of Photos for macOS.

Derrick gives you a tour of the interface and the headline new features, then goes into detail on the ways you can use Live Text to transform your camera into your personal assistant. He shows you how to search for pictures by object type, copy images from messages to Photos, use Quick Notes with Photos, and automate common tasks with shortcuts.

Derrick walks you through the improved importing process and gives you some useful tips on organizing and editing your pictures directly in Photos. Plus, he shows you where to find more tips and techniques for working with Photos for macOS.

Photo Geotagging is Magic

You can read the entire article on Medium.com.

From the article:

When I step back and think about this, I'm amazed by the technology. The iPhone in my pocket is triangulating my position on planet earth via satellites far above my head. It then wirelessly communicates that information to the digital camera in my hands so the data can be written in realtime to the picture I just captured.

You may have to experiment a bit with the settings to get them working just right. But it's worth the effort.

Mastering Capture One Pro Online Workshop - Jan. 12, 2022

Jan 12 - Feb. 2, 2022

Are you ready to move to one of the best RAW processing digital asset managers available today? If yes, then this online workshop is for you.

Over the course of four sessions, you will learn to organize, process, enhance, and share your images with Capture One Pro 22, the state-of-the-art photo management platform for professionals and serious enthusiasts. This application runs on both Mac and Windows platforms, with an iPad version scheduled to be available in January as well.

You will also have access to our online workshop community, DerrickStoryOnline, where you can ask questions, share techniques, and show off your work. Your membership to our online community extends pass the workshop itself, so you can continue to share notes with those who share your particular interests.

Our weekly meetings during the workshop itself are via Zoom, with AM and PM sessions available so you can match this event to your busy schedule. Plus, we record each session and make them available to participants future reference.

This is exactly the type of learning environment that will accelerate your mastery of this powerful application. I hope you can join us!

You can sign up today at TheNimblePhotographer.com.

Attention Inner Circle Members: Be sure to visit our Patreon site for the discount code that will save you $15 for this very affordable online workshop.

Virtual Camera Club News

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts!

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have 48 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.