Shooting in RAW

Three weeks into the photography class and I have finally decided that from now on all shots that I take will be taken in the RAW format and post processed in Apple's Aperture program. Of course there is much more work involved in the photo process. But isn't that what this hobby is all about to begin with? Involvement. Taking the time to hone your craft. And after playing around with the settings of the images I took during Sundays refreshing (albeit short) stroll, I can say the results are indeed quite surprising.

There is much more level of control than using Iphoto. So much that sometimes it overwhelms me.  But to be able to remove noise from my images (not that there are many), adjust white balance, saturation, remove moire, etc., all without "destroying" the image (editing JPEGs "burns" the settings to the picture itself, editing RAW files just generates a small text file telling the program how to make the photo appear, and imbeds this information when you save a JPEG copy) is well worth the extra effort.

I haven't been that inspired lately. I guess having way too many things to keep track of is finally taking its toll on me. I need a vacation ASAP! But the pictures I took were nonetheless OK. At first I thought most of the images I snap with my Pentax K-r were a bit soft and not as "snappy" as the images taken with Canon cameras which I see on websites. But editing the RAW file in Apple Aperture and adjusting some settings really make the images pop, as you can see from these examples.

I have been quite tired lately, too tired to even update my blog as much as I would have liked. But I am not letting it stop me. June is going to be a very busy month, what with summer parties at work, the Oslo Pride week where I volunteered my assistance, photography classes, photography tours...this list goes on. It's going to be tough! But I just have to be patient, and I know soon all this work will reward me in someway, somehow, soon.