Lightroom Archives

Ducks not in a row - Adobe Lightroom, Part 4

ducks_AT00463.jpg

Ducky, Blue & yellow #2

I predicted that the Lightroom project would devolve into a horrendous sequence of upgrade mission-creep, and I was right. It's not Adobe's fault, by any means, but the getting ready to start has been incredibly time-consuming:

  • Order the new LaCie Double Triple 1TB storage.
  • Consolidate my camera downloads onto the 1TB from the various places I had stowed them while deciding what to buy.
  • Discover the 1TB unit will not communicate through its 800 FW port. Ask LaCie to ship replacement first, they ignore/decline, but send SRO promptly.
  • Tediously back up the 1TB to some LaCie bricks - 400 FW to USB is very slow.
  • Make some DVDs for extra insurance.
  • Send 1TB to LaCie.
  • Take G5 in for runaway fan, instability, random instances of powering down during processor-heavy activity (read: open ACR file in DNGConverter and Photoshop). Diagnosis is not the fan; the G5 needs a new motherboard and/or logic board. Verify and accelerate daily back-ups while limping along temporarily.
  • Copy all the files back to the replacement 1TB from the bricks. More tedium.
  • Install LR 1.4.1 upgrade, which has been issued, retracted, reissued during this timeframe. Upgrade went smoothly.
  • Create new catalog. Trivial.
  • Import my starting list of keywords from Excel-generated tab-delimited list. I listed about 400 keywords before I decided that I had a workable structure. At this point, I think it will be easier to add new ones in Lightroom. Uploading keywords was straightforward.*
  • Relabel the top-level keyword hierarchy words to begin with special characters for forced sorting.

So there it sits. Between now and Thursday, I probably won't actually do much importing of folders and keywording. Anyway, it might be a good idea to let some early adopters work through any potential kinks in 1.4.1.

In the meantime, as I was doing all the copying between drives and hunting stuff down for the Moab Photo Symposium, I found today's picture.

*For what it might be worth, here is my starting list of keywords in an Excel file. The logic is strictly matched to my own typical mental search pattern. Feedback always welcome, especially in the next few days, before I get fully committed to this list.

Links to previous posts on cataloing my archive with Lightroom: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Posted by AT on April 27, 2008 10:21 AM | | Comments (2)

Good thing I don't rush to the front of the line

lupine wildflower big sur coast ocean

Lupine above the Big Sur coastline (Canon G9, Lightroom 1.3, Photoshop CS3)

Adobe retracted Lightroom update 1.4, discussed in this official Lightroom Journal post. Users are not happy, and whoever signed off on that release is not enjoying Lightroom's helpful Rule #5 (Enjoy!) today. (Find the other four rules in the Lightroom Help menu.)

Honestly, Rule # 5a should be back-up regularly and especially before letting any software self-install its own upgrades. I try not to do any upgrades while I'm in the middle of any project, no matter how the new features might tempt. Why risk distraction and dismemberment of functional resources? I ask "Can I afford a disruption if this goes bad?" before I accept the upgrade-the timing is my choice, my responsibility. Just because the software instructs me to install an upgrade doesn't mean I am compelled to do so.

I actually feel sorry for the developers - they aren't dodging shots from the users on their blog. I'm also glad I waited to let the dust settle on the upgrade before I installed it. Now I do nothing right now, except get back to work on my keyword list.

Posted by AT on March 18, 2008 12:32 PM | | Comments (0)

Getting to work with Adobe Lightroom, Part 3

ferris wheel Balboa peninsula newport beach california canon G9 Adobe Lightroom

Ferris Wheel on Balboa Peninsula, Southern California (Canon G9, interpreted with Adobe Lighroom)

Here I am on my third post, and I'm still in the planning stages of my Lightroom implementation. Whew! At this point, I am compiling a hierarchical list of my own keywords in an Excel spreadsheet. Yesterday I described how Lightroom behaved when I tried to upload my own keyword list with non-standard characters like é and §, but I left off without explaining why it matters.

Links to Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 4 added 27 April 2008

Continue reading "Getting to work with Adobe Lightroom, Part 3" »

Posted by AT on January 24, 2008 7:59 PM | | Comments (3)

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Getting to work with Adobe Lightroom, Part 2

red Maple leaf, Zion National Park (Canon G9, interpreted with Adobe Lighroom

Maple leaf, Zion National Park (Canon G9, interpreted with Adobe Lighroom)

It seems I struck a chord with my rant yesterday, so I will carry on with Part 2 of my adventures with Adobe Lightroom.

Link to yesterday's Part 1 and Part 3.

Part 4 added 27 April 2008

Continue reading "Getting to work with Adobe Lightroom, Part 2" »

Posted by AT on January 23, 2008 7:12 PM |

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Getting to work with Adobe Lightroom, Part 1

Maple leaf on red rock, Zion National Park

Maple leaf on red rock, Zion National Park (Canon G9, raw file interpreted in Adobe Lightroom)

For almost two weeks, I have been toiling away with exploring Adobe Lightroom. I have accomplished a few actual tasks with it, like opening RAW files from the G9, like the one above, but mostly I have been studying the software, and planning/prepping for the big task ahead.

Continue reading "Getting to work with Adobe Lightroom, Part 1" »

Posted by AT on January 22, 2008 9:17 PM | | Comments (2)

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