Aperture 1.5 vs Lightroom beta 4

Wow. Where do I start?

Now that I have my hardware all setup, I am now digging down deep into both Aperture and Lightroom. There are many things to love about each application, but here are some quick bullet points on where my head is at the moment:

Aperture pluses:

• Dust spot removal tool built-in


• Integration with photoshelter.com for stock and print sales (HUGE benefit)


• Very nice video tutorials that ship with the product


• 'Stacks' and 'versions'


• Backups to vaults

Aperture minuses:

• RAW conversion quality close, but not as good as ACR, C1 or Lightroom


• 24" display a minumum, but a 30" display is ideal. Not easy to work on a small-ish Macbook screen while on-the-go


• Sluggish importing a large amount of images, even with a MacPro 2.66ghz machine with 5GB of memory and an X1900 graphics card.


• No ability to hold down option/alt key when working with black points, so I have absolutely no idea what I am clipping out of my image.


• Backing up to vaults requires managing images inside a library, instead of referencing them elsewhere.

Lightroom beta 4 pluses:

• Acceptable performance, which should be better with released version in 2007


• I love the interface


• RAW conversion tools, as well as output quality, is top notch


• Workflow takes a 1-2-3 approach

Lightroom beta 4 minuses:

• Not a released product


• Modal approach, which means certain tools are not available unless you are in the intended module.


• Workflow takes a 1-2-3 approach


• No integration at this time with photoshelter.com


• No spot/dust removal tool in this release (perhaps in final product?)


• Unclear backup methodology

The pragmatic side of me tells me to adopt Aperture 1.5 as my application of choice, but the emotional side of me tells me to hold out a little longer for Lightroom. I certainly like the interface much better in Lightroom, as well as the RAW conversions. This is a young market at the moment, and these products will only get better with time. I can be convinced to use either product at this time, and it benefits me and my workshop and safari customers to know both of them, so I am going to run parallel for the next few months.

Stay tuned.

Arches & Canyonlands Workshop

I am back home from a fantastic workshop in Utah. We spent a week photographing in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and came away with some fantastic photographs. Thank you to all of those who attended. I could not have had a more fantastic time.

Hasselbad H1, Phase One P45 39mp digital back, 35mm prime, 1/6sec @ f/32, ISO 100

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006

Well, I am back from London, and I had an excellent time at the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006 awards dinner.. With the long flights to London and back, the 24 hours spent on the other side of the pond was extremely worthwhile. The 2006 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards dinner was a fantastic event. The turnout was more than I would have anticipated, given where most of the winning photographers were coming from (non-UK). My only wish for the evening was that we could have used name tags, as I would have been able to say hello to some of my internet-based friends that I haven't put a face to.

A huge congratulations for the overall winner of the competition GÃran EhlmÃ, as his underwater walrus photograph is truly stunning. And his acceptance speech was one of the better speeches I have heard in quite a long time.

So why was I there? I had a 'Highly Commended' image in the Creative Visions of Nature category, and am completely flattered to be a part of the competition. Here is my winning image:

And here is the accompanying text:

'I set out to present one of the most photographed animals in Africa in a fresh way, explains Andy. The shot was taken early one morning in Tanzania, on Africa’s east coast, and features the trunk tip of a large bull elephant browsing on acacia. ˜The delicate dexterity of the tip, contrasting with the thorns and fissured skin, is what I particularly like about it, he says.

Here are a few more images from the evening.

Awards dinner

Wall of images

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year

I am headed over to London for a 24 hour stay in a few weeks. Why? One of my images has made it into the 2006 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition (formerly known as the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition), and the unveiling and Awards Ceremony will take place on October 18th and 19th at the Natural History Museum. Since there is an embargo on what image will be showcased, as well as what category, I will update this site after October 21 with the specific image and category information. Needless to say I am flattered to be a part of such a wonderful competition.

A blurb from their web site:

"The Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is organised by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine. Each year thousands of entries are received and judged by an expert panel. The winners are announced at an awards ceremony that takes place each October at the Natural History Museum, London."

"Now in its forty-second year, the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition aims to find the very best photography worldwide featuring natural subjects. It's open to amateur and professional photographers worldwide and continues to be the most prestigious competition of its kind in the world."

2007 Safaris [update]

Well, my January 22, 2007 is now completely sold out, and I have 1 spot left on my February safari for a single sharing female. My June safari is starting to book up, so if you are interested you should take note that I expect the trip to fill up within the next month or so.

I also have a September 2007 safari that is for returning travelers. I am calling this an 'alumni' safari, as we will be seeking out different safari experiences than what you might expect on a first time safari. I am working on the details and costing right now.

Back home from Africa

Well, after 3 solid weeks of photography, I am back home. I took a tremendous amount of images, and I know I have some images that will put a smile on my face. It will take a while to sort through all of the images, mostly because I am still figuring out how to come up with an efficient workflow on my new MacBook. The new Adobe Lightroom beta 4 looks promising, but I will tackle that on another day.

I learned a few things from this past trip. I learned that I feel most comfortable using 1 series Canon cameras for wildlife, and just about any camera will do for landscapes. In the past 2 safaris I have taken very different approaches from an equipment standpoint, and I learned quite a bit from those experiences. Here are some bullet points:

• It is quite difficult moving back and forth between a 20D/5D and a 1DMkII/1DsMkII from an interface standpoint. I strive for simplicity, and prefer to have all of my cameras setup in a similar manner. Moving between a 1DsMkII and a 5D is challenging in a fast-paced environment.


• The buffer on a 1DsMkII is not adequate for wildlife photography (duh).


• The 1DMkII or 1DMkIIN is still an awesome camera for fast autofocus and high frames per second shooting.


• I love full frame 24x36mm viewfinders.


• The 400mm f/4 DO IS and 500mm f/4 L IS lenses are difficult to choose between. I would take either in a heartbeat.


• Canon needs to incorporate their new anti-dust technology in all EOS cameras. Period.


• I wish I could locate Safari Lager here in the USA.


• Epson P2000 devices are atrociously too slow for 12mp and higher cameras, especially when shooting with 8GB CF cards.

I hope to have my first round of images posted in the next few days. Time to sort through them all, deleting/ranking/processing along the way.

On my second safari, we saw 58 lions, 3 rhino, 1 leopard and 3 cheetah. We had some amazingly close elephant opportunities, as well as hordes of wildebeest and zebra. Giraffe were in abundance, including a number of drinking giraffe.
I am glad to be back home, but I look forward to returning in January.

New 2007 Safaris Announced

I have two more safaris on the books for 2007, after my January and February safaris are pretty much full with travelers. The dates are:

June 12 - June 23, 2007

October 9 - October 20, 2007

We will be visiting three wonderful wildlife parks; Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. My groups are small, so space is limited. If either of these exciting trips has your name on it and if you're excited by the thought of becoming a member of this trip, then now is the time to register. Remember, there will be limited space available for these African safaris. When they're spoken for, that's it. If you have any questions before registering, send us an e-mail with any inquiries to info@andybiggs.com.

Baggage challenges for Photographers....

Well, this has been a challenging 24 hours since the world found out about the terrorist plot that would have originated from the United Kingdom. With this event, security has been heightended all around the world, and the stress related to traveling by air is certain to go through the roof. Especially if you are flying through/from/to the UK, as at the moment carry-on baggage is not allowed. This is a huge challenge for traveling photographers. Especially wildlife photographers with a ton of gear and at least one large prime lens.

I will be writing down my reflections on how to pack photographic gear that has to be checked. There are many paths to go down, but my gut reaction is to use a Pelican case for all photographic equipment, packed inside of a nondescript duffle bag. Here is some information from the TSA in the USA:

Media have also reported that laptops, cell phones and electronic items are no longer allowed. Is that true?

No. TSA continues to allow laptop computers, cell phones and other electronic items.

What can people expect at the checkpoints?

Passengers may experience longer lines at airports and should plan to arrive early. Check with your specific airline and airport before flight departure time to determine how much time is needed for your flight. Passengers should pack their patience and ensure that that they do not bring any liquids to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage. These items are no longer permitted on board the aircraft. To expedite the process, avoid having clutter in your bags and minimize the number carry-on items.
More on my thoughts later.