Shooting Raw. Save your files in DNG.

More and more photographers are saving images in DNG. DNG is fundamentally a universal format for RAW. DNG helps ensure that photographers will be able to access their files in the future.

Key benefits for photographers:

The DNG format helps promote archival confidence, since digital-imaging software solutions will be able to open your raw files more easily in the future.

A single raw processing solution enables a more efficient workflow when handling raw files from multiple camera models and manufacturers.

A publicly documented and readily available specification can be easily adopted by camera manufacturers and updated to accommodate future technological changes.

Key benefits for hardware and software manufacturers:

DNG removes a potential barrier to new camera adoption, since raw files from new models will be instantly supported by Photoshop and other applications.

If you are saving your images as the native raw file of your camera, ten years from now you may have problems opening your raw files as the camera manufacturer may change the raw format.

Saving your images as DNG files removes this problem. If you haven't started this process, might be time to start it now.

A bit of Photoshop and a bit of Lightroom and a bit of Something Else

Any ideas on how this image was produced? If you were caught in midday harsh blinding sun where everything looked flat, how would you have shot and processed this image? Just throwing it out there. Any ideas you have, post them here. Don't forget, you can click on the image to blow it up to full size, that may help pull the image apart! Here's a few hints. yes it started out in Lightroom, yes the vibrance was increased in Lightroom, yes Sharpened selectively in Photoshop, but there is a heap of tonal information here? No more clues just yet.

So what's this got to do with Lightroom or Photoshop?... If you see an image you like on your LCD (but it doesn't pop), visualising how it can be processed can help you see your non-processed images in a different light!

Lightroom 1.1 Catalog Feature

Okay this is big, and you should use whatever option you have to imprint this info into your memory.

Lightroom 1.1 has a new feature that allows you to move a catalog from one computer to another. Best I think, to give you an example.

Let's say you have two computers. A main computer at home and a laptop. The main computer has one main calatog where all your images reside.
You decide to head out to the Wintergardens to take a heap of shots of flowers. You take your laptop with you and while you're away you import all of your shoot from your camera to the laptop. Over lunch you decide to delete a few images, maybe rate them, maybe even make a few changes to your images. All this work is not wasted.

You now have the option of exporting the shoot as a catalog, maybe to your desktop on your laptop. Then when you get back home you can now import that catalog from the desktop on your laptop into Lightroom 1.1 on your main computer AND all the ratings and changes can be imported along with your images. THAT'S BIG and can be a big time saver.