A Photographer's First Thoughts on the New iPad (And Apple Pencil)

A Photographer's First Thoughts on the New iPad (And Apple Pencil)

Thomas Fitzgerald
Apple, Review

It’s been a while since I’ve had a new iPad. In fact, it’s been a while since I had an iPad that was actually usable. I hadn’t upgraded since the iPad 3 as I had nothing but trouble with that model, and it kind of put me off. But with the numerous apps coming out on iOS for photographers, I was starting to feel a little left out. I had been considering an iPad Pro, but I just couldn’t afford it. So when Apple announced the new 6th generation iPad with Apple Pencil support, I decided it was finally time.

Using X-Transformer Files with Capture One

Using X-Transformer Files with Capture One

Thomas Fitzgerald
Capture One, Fuji X-Series

In the past, I haven’t really covered the notion of using X-Transformer converted Fuji raw files with Capture One, because I didn’t really see the need. Capture One does a pretty good job on its own of converting Fuji RAW files, so I didn’t really see the point of going through the process of using X-transformer to convert the images first. However, I recently came across a situation where you may want to use X-Transformed DNG files, which I hadn’t thought of before, but now it seems obvious. 

Capturing the Sights of a German Town & The German Countryside

Capturing the Sights of a German Town & The German Countryside

Thomas Fitzgerald
Travel

I was recently back in one of my regular overseas haunts, the beautiful German town of Heppenheim. I’ve been there several times before now, and you can find some of those previous visits documented on my blog. The sleepy little German town is partly modern, but also partly medieval, and that is its real charm. In this post you can see some of the photos that I took while there.

Photo Wander Part 3: Germany

Photo Wander Part 3: Germany

Thomas Fitzgerald
Travel

I've finally finished editing the final part (final, for now!) of my Travel Vlog series and it's now online on my YouTube channel. In this episode, I go to the little town of Heppenheim in Germany to enjoy a few days in the beautiful countryside, and to photograph the gorgeous medieval town and its surroundings.

Managing Lightroom Presets in Lightroom Classic 7.3 or later

Managing Lightroom Presets in Lightroom Classic 7.3 or later

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom, Photoshop

Ever since adobe updated Lightroom earlier this moth and changed the way presets are stored, there has been a lot of confusion around the new system, and I myself have been caught out by this too. In fact, I was so confused by the changes, I mistook one aspect of the new format completely wrong, and ended up putting out some incorrect information. Luckily a reader set me straight, and so here is the semi definitive guide to the new preset format.

Video: Photo Wander Episode 2 - London

Video: Photo Wander Episode 2 - London

Thomas Fitzgerald
Travel, Video

In this second episode of my new travel and photography vlog, I spent a few days in London. It was actually two separate short trips, and I took the opportunity to do some street photography on the streets of London, as well as relaxing and enjoying the unseasonably good weather of last week.

Street Photo Diary - Shooting Street Photography in London (With a Fuji X-Pro 2)

Street Photo Diary - Shooting Street Photography in London (With a Fuji X-Pro 2)

Thomas Fitzgerald
Travel, Street, Fuji X-Series

I was passing through a very sunny London city twice over the last week. On each occasion, I was only there for a day or so, and so I didn’t have a lot of time for photography, but I still managed to squeeze an hour or two in on both trips. I hadn’t really intended to shoot street photography specifically, but it sort of ended up that way. I was originally planning to do more “travel photography” style shots, and I was also shooting a video for my new travel vlog series, but in the process of trying to avoid the typical shots of London everyone takes, I somehow ended up shooting street photography. I was actually really lucky with some of the shots too.

Photos From the Road

Photos From the Road

Thomas Fitzgerald
Travel

I’ve been travelling for the past week and a half, and over the course of my trip, I’ve been taking pictures at every opportunity. So far, I’ve been in four countries and four different cities and towns. I’m still not finished, and I’ll be doing some more work before getting home, but I wanted to share a few of the images I’ve taken while travelling.

New Travel Vlog Series: Photo Wander

New Travel Vlog Series: Photo Wander

Thomas Fitzgerald
Video, Travel

I’ve started a new series of videos on my Youtube channel, which I’m pretty proud of, covering my travel photography. I’m currently on the road with a few stops across different cities and towns in Europe, so I thought I would cover the trip with a series of Vlog style videos. The first is set in the beautiful city of Cambridge in the UK.

Luminar 2018 Jupiter Released - A Quick First Look

Luminar 2018 Jupiter Released - A Quick First Look

Thomas Fitzgerald
Luminar

Skylum today announced the release of a significant new version of Luminar. The update 1.2.0 for Luminar 2018 includes lots of new features (they claim over 300 improvements) but there are a couple of fairly significant ones that I’m going to cover. The most notable of which is a dramatic improvement in the speed of opening and working with raw files. They’ve also added automatic lens correction (finally) and support for DCP colour profiles (not to be confused with Lut mapping).

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to run your own eCommerce store

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to run your own eCommerce store

Thomas Fitzgerald
Editorial

I’ve been running my own eCommerce store for a few years now, for selling my own eBooks and Lightroom presets. It’ always been a bit of a challenge, both technically and logistically, but it's getting harder and harder. The problem is that the EU is tightening the rules on privacy and data, and few if any of the commerce solutions are properly up-to-date on this. Many still aren’t even fully compliant with current VAT legislation.

Why I use X-Transformer

Why I use X-Transformer

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom, Fuji X-Series

I recently posted a video about processing a photoshoot that I did with my Fuji X-Pro 2, and in that video I used Iridient X-Transformer to convert the files to DNGs. I got a number of questions after posting this, with a number of people still unsure as to why one would want to use this software in the first place. I had thought that most people understood what the software did, and why you might want to use it, but as that doesn’t seem to be the case I thought I would clarify it a bit. So here is an extract from my X-Transformer book where I outline what the software does and why you might want to use it.

Editing a Fuji X-Pro 2 Shoot with X-Transformer and Lightroom

Editing a Fuji X-Pro 2 Shoot with X-Transformer and Lightroom

Thomas Fitzgerald
Video, Fuji X-Series, Lightroom

Perhaps it is the designer in me, but I love capturing images of details, whether it’s graffiti, street art, quirky objects, or simply bold colours and textures. Dublin city is full of these sights. I recently set out on a photo walk/shoot to capture a set of this kind of imagery for my Streets of Dublin project, and I decided to record the process of processing these when I got back to the computer.

Major changes to Lightroom in 7.3 - Some important Notes about my Products

Major changes to Lightroom in 7.3 - Some important Notes about my Products

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom

Adobe has just released a major new version of Lightroom that includes some significant changes. The biggest and most notable one is the inclusion of new Raw and “Creative” profiles. However, there are also some major changes under the hood. Specifically, they have changed the file format that presets use. If you have any of my guides or presets, you may be wondering what happens.

Street Photo Diary: Episode 4

Street Photo Diary: Episode 4

Thomas Fitzgerald
Video, Street

For the latest episode of my ongoing “Street Photo Diary” series, I decided to set myself a little challenge and use one of my older cameras: a Canon 5D Mark1. The original Canon 5D, was the first consumer level full frame camera, and despite getting old, I can still get some good results from it.

Alpine for Lightroom: A Sneak Peek

Alpine for Lightroom: A Sneak Peek

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom

I’ve been busy working on my latest set of Lightroom presets, and I wanted to give you a taste of what I’ve been creating. It’s actually been a while since I last made a set, so it’s good to get back to it. My inspiration for this was to come up with a way to creatively grade some photos I had taken in a forest I had visited a while ago. That’s where it started and it kind of snowballed from there. I have made a short video giving you a demo of the work in progress.

Blessington Lakes and the Wicklow Mountains

Blessington Lakes and the Wicklow Mountains

Thomas Fitzgerald
Landscape & Nature

Last Saturday we decided to go for an impromptu drive into the countryside around Dublin and north County Wicklow. We headed for the picturesque area of Blessington, and the famous lakes, which are nestled in the Wicklow mountains. The lakes are actually artificial and were formed 50 years ago by the creation of a dam which flooded the valley. They now provide hydroelectric power and drinking water to parts of county Dublin.

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