I’ve never been a big fan of Adobe Lightroom. Maybe it is because I very rarely shoot in Raw. But a big part was that I was never sure what the program could do to help my workflow.

It hasn’t been until I started to investigate Capture One did I realise how much power there could be in colour grading a Raw file using the right tools. The ability to tweak colour is what Capture One is all about. And I never got that with Lightroom.

Full disclosure – the version of Lightroom I’m most familiar with was a very early version. I haven’t even loaded the latest version of Lightroom on my computer. So my opinion maybe based on a product that was over 10 years old rather than what it can do today.

What I disliked about Lightroom were the number of menus and options that I couldn’t find a use for. It just seemed so pointless. I do understand that for some people Lightroom really works for them but it didn’t work for me.

Capture One seems right up my street. The layout and the options make perfect sense. Changing the colour of an image into something closer to what I had in mind rather than what the camera decides is what I have been missing out on.

I’ve only had the program for a day or two so there is still a lot to learn. But one thing is for sure, I will be shooting a lot more Raw images now.

When I got this letter from Flickr saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch, it struck something in me. 

I like Flickr as a platform and I would be sad if they could not survive because of a lack of money. Sure past management have neglected the platform which has created some of the problems it has today. But the current management shouldn’t have to pay for those mistakes.

You can see my Flickr Pro account here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickphotosuk/

The reason why I haven’t been active on Flickr before is that I wasn’t really sure what to upload to it. I’m not really sure now but it is a good place to show pictures that I have taken and I like but have no home to go to.

Please bear with me while I build up the images on there and figure out what makes a good Flickr site.

I really do love the equipment produced by 3 Legged Thing. Some of the equipment I own is their first generation.

Like this Air Hed 1.

One of the things that I found with this tripod head is that I would sometimes confuse the knob of the clamp with the other knobs on the head.

It was only recently that it occurred to me that I could replace the old clamp for a more modern one.

Undoing the hex screw is all it takes to do the swap.

And now my tripod head is like “new”.

Now that I have had the Profoto B10 for a few months, I’m at the stage where thoughts about expanding the system are on my mind.

With Profoto bringing out the B10 Plus I have been wondering what lighting combination I should have. A three light system with the 250w B10? Two B10s and one 500w B10 Plus? Or a two B10 Plus system with one B10?

My current thinking is to get a single B10 Plus and then decide which one will be the third light. It doesn’t make sense to get an all 250w B10 system just in case I might need that extra bit of power. The additional initial cost is worth the hit to have the ability to pump out a bit more from the flash.

Question is do I need this extra kit? Profoto equipment isn’t cheap. They are a brand that is at the high end. Think Ferrari (but more reliable).

Before I got the Profoto equipment I was learning the lighting skills from using Nikon Speedlights triggered by Pocket Wizard remotes. The set up is much cheaper and I did learn a lot from this.  But I was finding that I was coming to the limits of the equipment.

Being run from AA batteries doesn’t give you the recycle times that sometimes I wanted. Waiting for the flash to be ready was annoying. In an earlier post I wrote about external battery packs to help with this but they created problems too.

The biggest limitation of the Speedlight is that I wasn’t getting consistent results. One shot would differ from another without me changing anything.

Consistency is essential to learn about ratios with multiple lights. If one of the lights dumps more or less light than commanded it is harder to figure out if what you’re doing is right or wrong.

I’m sure there are ways to work around these issues if I took the time to figure it out. What I have found is that the flow of a shoot gets broken really quickly if I’m spending time fiddling to make equipment work.

What about buying a cheaper system? Yes, a cheaper system is an option but I’m thinking long term. Profoto has a repair and hire network which I could tap into in the future if I needed to. There might be a situation where equipment needs to go in for repair and I have an assignment the next day. Having these options open to me is what being a working photographer is all about.

If I was doing this as a pure hobby, spending less and being willing to wait for equipment repair is something that I would accept.

I wouldn’t hold your breath for the post in which I announce that I have just purchased a Profoto B10 Plus.

I found a used Nikkor 105mm AF-S f/1.4E ED for sale and I wondered if I should add it to my collection.

Even second hand the 105mm f1.4 is really expensive. There is no way I can justify having this lens and still keep the 105mm AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor f/2.8G IF-ED or the 135mm AF DC-Nikkor f/2D. I’m going to have to part exchange one or both to make the 105mm f1.4 more affordable.

For me, the 135mm DC hasn’t really found a way to my heart. The defocus effect isn’t to my taste. The ability to Vaseline your lens without the Vaseline is a nice trick that might flatter your subject in portraits but to me, just seems cheesy. I have only taken test pictures with this effect turned on but never on a real shoot. I’m about the reality in my pictures and the softening up of the image is the opposite of what I’m trying to achieve.

The other downside is that the extra length means standing a bit too far away from my subjects to talk to them without having to raise my voice too much. Looking back on my last shoot in which I used both the 105mm and the 135mm, I couldn’t tell the difference between the two lenses. The locations I’m using at the moment also are quite small so having a longer lens has no benefit.

So, giving up the 135mm DC is an easy choice. But what about the 105mm VR?

The downside of the 105mm VR is that even though it is a f2.8 it is not constant. Depending on the focus distance the aperture changes. And this is really annoying at times. But having a close up lens is really handy. You might not need it often but when you do need it there is no option.

So the 105mm VR stays, bye bye to the 135mm DC and welcome to the 105mm f1.4.

I saw a used Profoto OCF Octa for sale and bagged it. 

Looking at it in the flesh it is much deeper than the Beauty Dish so am assuming that it will give a different property to the light.

Can’t wait to try it out.

I thought I would treat myself to another Profoto light shaping tool when I next got paid. But which one?

Do I need to get a square or rectangular softbox if I already have the Westcott Apollo ones. I also have some Rogue Grid, so I don’t need a set of them.

So I decided to plump for the OCF White Beauty Dish.

From the product descriptions, the white version is supposed to give a softer light than the silver version. I can’t say if this is true without doing a side by side comparison. But I don’t think I will spend the money on the silver version just to do this.

I do wonder if not installing the white deflector disc and putting the diffuser on creates an Octa softbox.

I can’t remember when I got my Lee Filters for my camera lenses. To be honest they haven’t been used in anger. So why don’t I get rid of them? The truth is that I haven’t found a situation where I need to use them.

Most of my practice shoots have been in the studio. Adding them to a shoot would have created images that would look pretty obvious a filter was over the lens. Filters are all about subtlety. You really shouldn’t notice one was being used. 

Using them for outdoor shoots with a bit of landscape in them is probably the most sensible way to use these filters.

With the weather warming up I might have the chance to finally use them in 2019.