Category Archives: Book

Book

New Book Launch and More on the Drobo

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Rocks on Froggatt Edge at sunset
Rocks on Froggatt Edge at sunset. Nikon D800, 16-35 Lens. ISO100, f/14.0, 1/3″. Kase 3 stop ND Grad. Tripod mounted.(soft).

Despite all the recent problems with losing my Photo Library (I do have a backup for 98% of the drive), I was able to launch my new book on Amazon over the weekend. Ironically the book is about managing your photo library using Adobe Lightroom. It’s titled “Adobe Lightroom Classic CC: Mastering the Library Module” and is priced at £4.99, or similar in other currencies.

Mastering the Library Module Book Cover

I want to stress that you don’t need to be using Lightroom Classic CC to use the book. The Library module has changed very little over the years so if you’re using Lightroom version 6, version 5 or even version 4, you can still apply the book.

If you ever thought you may be losing control of your photos, or that there must be an easier way to manage all these images, this book can help you.

But as for my Photo Library, I mentioned in my last post, that I was replacing two old disks.

My two new disks have arrived, and I replaced the hottest of the two suspect disks first. When you replace a disk in a Drobo, the unit goes into data protection mode to reorganise the data across all the available drives. Just as this finished, and I was about to replace the second suspect drive, Drobo flashed up warning that a disk had been lost and the drive light turned red.

I replaced the failed drive and left the unit to complete its data protection. I came back after a few hours and everything looked fine until I open Lightroom. That’s when another Drobo warning popped up and the disk light on the first replacement disk turned red. The Drobo data protection sprang into life and the light turned green again. Checking the activity log on the Mac I could see that the disk in question had repeatedly failed and been repaired over several hours.

Here’s where I need to admit to having been a little sceptical of the disks I’d bought. They were purchased as new Seagate Barracuda drives from Amazon. But when they arrived there was no packaging other than they were sealed in anti-static bags and placed in a further bubble wrap bag. On speaking to Amazon, they offered me a refund but couldn’t replace the drives as a third party supplied them. I took the refund and have ordered another drive for the Drobo. Let’s hope this one lasts a little longer.

Book

Latest Book Live on Amazon

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The Photographers Guide to Lightroom's Develop Module
Latest Book Cover

I’m excited. My latest book “The Photographers Guide to Lightroom’s Develop Module” just launched on Amazon. This was the book Lenscraft Members voted I write and it appears to be going down well.

I always find this the most exciting point for two reasons:

  1. I don’t know how well the book will be received.
  2. It means I can start to think about my next project. This one has been almost 6 months in development from concept to publication.

Having said that, I’m still working on the PDF and print versions of the book which I hope to launch in the next couple of weeks.

Finally, I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who buys my books, courses or reads my blog. I very much appreciate your support.

Thank you.

Book

New Peak District Photo Locations

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Ramshaw Rocks in late afternoon light. A great Peak District location. Fuji X-T2 with 16-55 lens. Three image stitch. IS0200, f/11.0, 1/40″ tripod mounted. 0.9 soft ND grad was used to darken the storm cloud

I’m a huge fan of Photo Location books. They take away a lot of guess work from visiting a new area and allow you to concentrate on your photography. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for new guides and when I find a good one I like to let people know.

Photographing the Peak District
This is one of the best location books I have seen

This latest guide is for the Peak District and it’s one of the best I have seen. It has some 150 locations including a few near to my house (within walking distance) that I wasn’t aware of. There are plenty of maps and directions as well as some great photography.

I must admit to not having like the Peak District at one time. I found that I much preferred the Lake District and would often make the 2-3 hour drive up there. Recently though my perception of the Peak District has changed significantly and I love it. This is quite fortunate as I live about 10 minutes’ drive from the boundary of the park.

The image you see at the top of the blog was taken recently at Ramshaw Rocks near to Leek. Whilst I have always viewed this as a long way from home, it takes me just over an hour to drive there. I’m finding it difficult to comprehend why I don’t do more in these locations.

Book

Mastering Nik Viveza – Latest Edition

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Mastering Nik Viveza

Do you have the first edition of my Viveza book? You might like to know there is a free and substantial update available. The new version is now on Amazon and if you contact their help team you can get the update.

If you’re a member of my Lenscraft website, the latest version is also free until the end of July. You can find it in the Lenscraft Creative Store. Just be sure to log in before purchasing to receive the 100% discount.

Enjoy

Book

Free Book Offer – This Weekend

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Mastering Your Camera
Mastering Your Camera. Free Book Offer

This weekend my book “Mastering your Camera” is available for free. It’s only available on the Saturday and Sunday (25th and 26th March) so be sure to pick up a copy. And don’t forget to let your friends know.

Here is the link to book but you can also find it by searching for the title.

Mastering Your Camera

If you find the book isn’t immediately free in your Amazon store, try again a little later. I understand the timing of the offer is based on one of the US time zones. I know last time I did a free offer, people in Australia and New Zealand hand to wait until the following day to take advantage.

Important

Although this is a Kindle eBook, you don’t need to own a Kindle to read it. Many people miss out as they don’t realise there is a free Kindle software from Amazon. This allows you to read Kindle books on various devices including PC’s, Mac’s tablets and phones. My personal favourite is my phone. It works very well and is with me most of the time.

If you haven’t seen the Kindle software before, here is the link.

Link to Kindle Software & Apps

Enjoy.

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Book, Digital Photography

New Book & Course Launch

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The Photographers Guide to Image Sharpening in Lightroom

It’s been a very busy weekend with the launch of my latest book “The Photographers Guide to Image Sharpening in Lightroom”. Although this is now my seventeenth book, each one brings a new set of challenges.

With this book, I wanted to include free access to a companion Video course I developed. I love books but I see video fast becoming an essential element of the learning process; this is why I recently established Lenscraft Training.

At present, there are only two courses available (but many more planned):

  • “Secrets of the Darkroom Masters” available free to anyone who registers.
  • “Sharpening Photos with Adobe Lightroom” available for US $20, but Lenscraft Members can currently use a 75% discount code.

You can find the book on Amazon for US $5.99/£4.99 or similar in other countries (allowing for variations in tax and exchange rates). I will continue to operate my Magazine Pricing Policy where I price my books on a par with popular photography magazines.

The books aimed at people who already know how to use the basics of the Lightroom Develop module but who want to achieve the highest quality results when Sharpening and applying Noise Reduction. It presents the three-stage sharpening methodology on which Lightroom is based, as well explaining how to use the various tools. There is plenty of advice on how to achieve the best results, together with full length worked examples you can follow. Supporting RAW files and sharpened example images are provided on my Lenscraft site. Inside the book, you will find a 100% discount code for the sharpening video course mentioned above.

If you’re interested in the book, here are the links to the UK and US amazon stores. For other Amazon sites, please search for “The Photographers Guide to Image Sharpening in Lightroom”.

View on UK Amazon

View on US Amazon

If you would like to visit the new training site here is the link

http://training.lenscraft.co.uk/

If you don’t have a Kindle device, you can download a free Kindle Reader from Amazon using the link below. The reader is available for different popular platforms including Mac, Windows and Android computers, tablets and phones.

Link to Kindle Reader

Note on Sharpening XTrans RAW Files

I have been asked if the new book examines the “special” treatment needed when sharpening Fuji XTrans RAW files. The short answer is no. My intention is to share some of my recent findings and recommendations via my You Tube Channel. I just need to clarify some points before publishing these.

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Approach, Book, Digital Photography, Equipment

Free Book Relaunched

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Mastering Your Camera
Mastering Your Camera. Free Book Offer

I have been updating one of my books following feedback from a few readers. The book was called “Beginning Photography the Right Way” which appears to be misleading. Experienced photographers have contacted me to say they found it valuable and a good refresher on many points. I have therefore decided to make a few corrections/updates and re-release the book under the title “Mastering your Camera”. Here is the link to the book on Amazon UK http://amzn.to/2jCOfC1.

If you previously purchased this book from Amazon, you can download the revised version for free. Just login to Amazon and navigate to the “Your Account” page. Click the link to “Manage your Content and Devices” then search for the book in the list. You should find an “Update Available” button next to the listing. Click this and it will download the updated book. The book is also enrolled in Kindle Unlimited allowing you to read it for free if you subscribe to this.

Free Book

There’s also good news if you didn’t purchase the original book as I’m giving away free copies to all my subscribers and followers to say thank you. On the 20th 21st and 22nd January the book will be available for free on Amazon. The book can only be downloaded from Amazon and it’s only available on these dates so please don’t ask me to provide copies (this is a contractual arrangement with Amazon).

A Favour

If you’re in a camera club or know someone who might enjoy/benefit from the book, please pass on details of the free download dates. My hope is that more people will learn about and benefit from my work. Perhaps they will be sufficiently impressed to leave a good review.

Don’t Have a Kindle?

If you don’t have a Kindle, don’t worry. You can still access the book using the free Kindle Readers. Kindle Readers are free software from Amazon that can be downloaded to your computer, tablet device or phone allowing you to read Kindle books. They support all the major platforms (Mac, Windows, Android). I have one on my iPhone for when I get stuck waiting somewhere and it’s excellent.

Here is a link to amazon page where you can download a free Kindle Reader App.

http://amzn.to/2iF7sik

I will be sending out a reminder email to Lenscraft members soon.