If you’re a Lightroom user and you haven’t checked out my companion site “The Lightroom Diary” recently, then you may have missed some of the quick tips I’ve been posting. I’ve been adding some new material to the Lightroom focussed blog lately including some tips and tricks for all levels, from beginners to non-beginners. Here are some of the ones that I’ve posted recently that you might want to check out:

Over the past few years I’ve written a lot about processing Fuji X-Trans files in both Lightroom and other software. I’ve experimented lots of times with ways to improve the look of files from Lightroom, and in particular, on how to minimise the smearing effect that can sometimes occur with Fuji X-Trans files and fine details, especially foliage. I’ve worked out some sharpening settings in the past and posted them here, but that was a good while ago, and I’ve updated them several times with various different attempts. In order to save a bit of confusion and make it easier for everyone, I’ve put them altogether into one download, together with some new versions that I haven’t shared in the past.

I was back out shooting some street photos in Dublin this past weekend, and I had a great time doing it. It's been a bit of a challenge shooting street photography in the city here recently because of the massive amount of road and construction work going on. Basically they're extending one of the city's existing tram lines, which originally terminated at the south side of the city centre, to cross right through the heart of Dublin, and out the other side.

Someone recently wrote to me and asked me how I got my images looking so punchy. They assumed I was using some sort of plug-in or preset. While I do use presets a good bit (obviously) most of the time, I just do some basic adjustments to an image, depending on what Im trying to achieve. A lot of the time I don’t want an image to look too treated, so here are some of the things I do in Lightroom to add some “punch” to an image.

For the longest time I've wanted to try out one of Sony's A7 series of cameras, and I finally got the chance this weekend when a friend of mine let me borrow his A7II. I've been considering replacing my ageing Canon gear with a camera from the Sony A7 series (mostly for video), but I've had some reservations about it, and so it was a great opportunity to try out the system. I haven't spent that much time with it yet, so this isn't by any means a full review. Instead, consider this more of a hands on, first impressions kind of report. 

It’s Autumn again here in Ireland, my absolute favourite time of the year for Photography. I love as the light gets lower in the sky and the fall colours fill the roadways and countryside with hues of red and gold.

To celebrate this special time of the year for photographers, just like last year, I’m having an Autumn sale on all my Lightroom and ACR presets. In fact, I’m giving 25% off everything in my digital download store. 

A while ago I wrote about my last attempt at shooting film when I was away on holiday in Nice. While I got some good shots that time I wan’t happy with the quality of the images, mainly because the film turned out to be expired. The last time I had shot some Kodak Portra, but this time I was shooting black and white with Fuji Neopan.

Here’s the latest instalment in my ongoing series which previously had the somewhat unimaginative name of “Recent Street Photography”. I haven’t been shooting as much street photography recently, mainly because I’ve been travelling and doing lots of design work too. However, I still have had some time to take some shots while out and about here in Dublin.

One of the interesting things that I've noticed after years of Photography, is that certain types of light act as a sense memory to me. In much the same way that a smell can trigger a memory for many people, I find that seeing a certain quality of light often triggers memories and feelings of nostalgia. 

Now that the Sony A7RII is shipping to customers, there are lots of reports coming in about the camera. More importantly there are now raw files available online that you can download and check out, and Lightroom and ACR (along with Capture One) all now support the camera too. I've been reading a lot about this new Sony for a while now, and I am very interested in it, as it seems like Sony has really listened to its customers and created a very impressive camera. 

After my trip to Berlin last week, my wife and I travelled by train to Frankfurt and then on to the picturesque town of Heppenheim. This sleepy little hamlet is nestled in the hills of southern Germany among vineyards and forests and is a beautiful setting with gorgeous old medieval buildings and according to Wikipedia, the town has 408 cultural monuments that are under monumental protection.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Berlin for a few days as part of a trip to Germany. Berlin is a city that I've always wanted to visit, as it has a reputation for attracting both artists and funky technology startups. I had also heard that it has a somewhat bohemian vibe to it. I was not disappointed. While I wasn't there specifically to photograph, I couldn't not shoot really. I wasn't able to see as much of the city as I would like to, but what I did see was great.

If you're a regular visitor here, you may have noticed a few changes on the site over the last little while, and also, you've probably noticed that it's been a while since I've posted an update. There's been a lot going on lately, and there's been a lot of technical issues that I've had to deal with on the site, so let me explain. 

There's a beautiful walled garden in the park near where I live. The park itself, Dublin's Marley Park, is a former stately home and grounds, and it's kept its walled garden which is now open to the public. As well as an array of flowers and plants, it's also home to a garden school and has lots of herbs and vegetables on show too. As with all gardens it's a constantly changing and beautiful living entity in and of itself, and I love going there to photograph.

I’m delighted to announce that Bleached Bronze for Lightroom is now available. Bleached Bronze was one of the very first presets that I made when I first started selling presets for Aperture . Since I stopped selling presets for Aperture, I kept getting requests for a Lightroom version of Bleached bronze. Well, it’s finally here!