How to show file extensions in Aperture

One of the very common "issues" that new users have with Apple Aperture is that the file extension does not show in the browser view. This means it's not easy to distinguish between the original camera file and JPEG or TIFF versions of that file.

I've seen it reported in various forums that "it isn't possible". But, in fact, it is and it's really very simple.

The browser shows, by default, a metadata "view" which includes the meta field "version name" (which is the filename MINUS the extension). All you have to do is edit that metadata "view" to remove the "version name" field and instead show the "filename" field.

First, go the Metadata tab in the Inspector. From the pull-down list, select Grid View - Expanded.


Now, at the bottom of the metadata panel, select the "Other" tab. You should now see this:


Simply deselect "Version Name" and select "File Name" instead.

If it doesn't appear to change anything in your browser view, just go to Preferences and check that you have it set like this:



Here's what your browser should look like now:



Why Apple couldn't set it this way by default is beyond me - very perverse!

What price to charge?

One of the most difficult things about being a professional photographer is knowing what to charge for jobs, and getting it!

Great piece here by a great architectural photographer about pricing.

27" iMac - stunning value!

Most Micromasochists denounce Apples for being, amongst other things, too expensive.

But the stunning new Apple 27" iMac is just €1799 (for the quad-core version). If you subtract the current market price of a 27" IPS LED screen (let alone one with 2560 by 1440 pixels resolution), that leaves you paying (I reckon) about €500 for a quad-core computer with 4GB RAM and a 1TB drive, plus top notch wireless keyboard and mouse, DVD drive, etc. And since the lesser models still have the same screen, that means the dual-core computer (at €1499) comes more or less free with the display!

Now who can say that Macs are expensive?

New Apple candy!

Well, knock me over with a feather! Apple has done it again!

Fabulous new 27" iMac... I'll definitely have me one of those!

And less than a month ago I blogged that I'd like a Trackpad built into a keyboard. Trust those clever chaps at Apple to go one better... the new Magic Mouse with the multi-touch built into the entire top surface! Inspired! Brilliant! Bravo!

Navigon and iPhone - perfect!

I've had the Navigon software on my iPhone for a few days now. On Monday evening I went to meet an old friend for dinner in Lagos, which is not familiar territory for me. The Navigon system took me straight to his hotel (buried in the tiny back streets) and then we headed for a restaurant on the other side of the town. Our destination was in a pedestrian street in the heart of the old city. This proved the value of having the SatNav in my phone - seeing from the (very clear) display that we were within a few hundred metres of the target, I spotted a parking place and dived into it. It was then a simple matter of pulling the iPhone out of its dashboard mount, changing the journey "profile" to "pedestrian" and completing the journey on foot. Flawless!

This aspect of needing to complete the last part of a journey on foot convinces me absolutely that it's better to have a phone-based navigation system rather than a dedicated SatNav. Although some of the aftermarket systems have battery support, you'd feel a bit of an idiot walking along with a 7" Navigon screen in your hands! And even less useful would be a SatNav built into the car - once you've parked, how are you going to remember the 8 turns between your parking place and your destination?

iPhone rocks!

Apple Trackpad... please!!!

I adore the Trackpad on my MacBook Pro. I use it in preference to the Apple wireless mouse (which is too heavy, on account of the two AA cells it carries, to be comfortable in use).

So when I (shortly) buy an iMac 24", I'd like to have a Trackpad. I've seen mention of this elsewhere on the web, including a very professionally rendered mockup of what an "Apple keyboard with Trackpad" could look like. So I'm certainly not the first person to express this wish.

When are you going to make such a keyboard, Mr Apple?

Navigon and iPhone

I just got the Navigon SatNav software for my iPhone. Finally, the iPhone is now the "do everything" tool it's supposed to be. I chose Navigon rather than TomTom on the advice of a friend, who told me the 3D display is better.

Since I'll only need it occasionally I dismiss absolutely the argument I've seen elsewhere on the web that it's "not as good" as a dedicated unit. Since I already have a dedicated dash-mount (with charger) for the iPhone, it does the job efficiently and safely.

I have to do a quick trip up to Lisbon tomorrow, to a place I've never been before - so that will be the "acid test".

If computers were cars...

Had an interesting discussion recently with my brother-in-law about computers and the lack of real progress the industry is making.

Let's face it, in terms of "usefulness", computers are still stuck in the dark ages. Or rather, the software is, both "Operating Systems" and "Applications". Apple (and many 3rd party Mac developers) have a better grip on the problem than the others, but each new release seems to me to move further away from the goal rather than closer to it.

The root of the problem seems to be "feature-centric" development rather than any meaningful focus on "ease of application" or "fitness for purpose". Each new release simply attempts to pack in more "features", presumably because "the market" is now predominantly "upgrade revenue" rather than "first-time users".

In our discussion, Nuno and I agreed that if cars had followed the same development path, only the "tech-savvy" few would be able to operate them (and therefore moved to buy them). Prior to about 1940-ish, each car manufacturer arranged the controls (brake, accelerator, etc.) according to their own vision of "how it should be". Indeed, the range of "core controls" was itself varied: ignition advance/retard, fuel mixture (and others) had to be controlled manually by the driver. Moving from one brand of car to another represented a considerable challenge in re-learning the controls.

Since the 40's, the main controls have become standardised. Nevertheless, the "minor" controls still vary widely in their implementation: horns, indicators, wipers, lights, parking brake, etc. But consumer familiarity with the existence of the control means they are (usually) easily found.

Some manufacturers have recently fallen into the "features" trap, though. Take a look at the absurd array of configurable features on, for example, a BMW M5.

Microsoft is the dominant player and one of the most guilty of ignoring "intuitiveness" in favour of "geek appeal". Come on! Get with the program (pun intended)! There are other, better interface options than WIMP (Windows, Icons, Mouse, Pointer)! Why aren't you developing them?

Obligatory Viewing

I've just watched a documentary called "Home", made by Frenchman Yann Arthus-Bertrand. This should be obligatory viewing for everyone, especially in schools.

Get it, watch it, think about it, talk about it. You may or may not agree with the whole "global warming" thing, but this documentary doesn't lecture. Through stunningly beautiful imagery and a sensibly restrained commentary (read by Glenn Close) it inspires the viewer to act.

Whether it's refusing to buy produce that's imported when there's a locally-produced option, or thinking twice before turning on the lawn-sprinkler, we can all do something to help. And if you work anywhere near the top of any giant corporation, in any field, you can definitely do something: tell your employer that the planet is more important to you than your job!

Unprofessional Behaviour

I abhor "unprofessionalism" in any field, but it particularly irks me when I encounter it in my own realm.

I was recently contacted by an Italian computer game company. The approach was evidently generated by my website, which (I hope) makes clear my own level of professionalism. The company announced that they were making a car rally simulation game, for which they needed a large number of images of the 9 "special stages" of the 2009 Vodafone Rally de Portugal which had recently taken place here in the Algarve. The attached documents went into great detail about the number and nature of the images required. It was also indicated that the assigment had to be completed by the end of August, about 6 weeks from the date of the approach. The heading on this "request for quotation" specified "Professional Photographer Required".

Naturally I took the request very seriously. I drove to one of the special stages to assess the technical and logistical difficulties. Back at the office I constructed various lists and spreadsheets to break the work down into logical units, estimate as accurately as possible the time and resources required and so on. I then wrote an extensive, detailed proposal and quoted my price for execution. In all I burned two working days on the reconnaissance and writing the proposal.

Some highlights of the job: 180 kilometres of dirt tracks over varying terrain to be documented extensively, including every surface change, every significant "object" along the route (bushes, tress, rock formations, buildings, etc) and many hundreds of 360º degree panoramas. In all, I estimated around 36,00o images and a full month of work for myself and two assistants. And all this in the 40ºC heat of that area and with fine talc-like dust waiting to kill my camera equipment. Without doubt a brutal task with a very short deadline and at very short notice.

Naturally I quoted a "substantial" figure for the work: any working professional photographer being asked at short notice to block out a month of the calendar and execute this gargantuan task should and would have done the same.

Some days after sending my proposal and having received no response, I telephoned the company in Italy. I was told that the job had been awarded to a "photographer" would had quoted €1,800 (about US$2500) - well less than one tenth of my quote. Doing my best to keep my anger at bay, I pointed out to them that no professional would ever agree to that much work for such a ludicrously low sum, that by definition it indicated that the "photographer" was an out-of-work wannabe with a Canon Digital Rebel and that if that's what they wanted then they should not have asked any serious professionals to quote. Oh no, I was told: he's said he can do the job in one week!

Furious, I ended the conversation and composed an email to them. In it I pointed out that if either they or the so-called "photographer" had actually thought about it, one week was a physical impossibility since it would take take five days (allowing for suitable light conditions) just to drive at 10km/h from one end of the course to the other once, without even stopping to take any pictures!

Well, it wasn't surprising that I received no response to that email. So here's an open statement:

To the owners, directors and employees of Milestone S.r.l. of Milan, Italy...

If you need the services of any professional in any field, it is a simple courtesy to properly research that field, to respect the time and resources of working professionals and to treat those professionals in the way you would like to be treated yourselves.



In my case (and therefore, I suspect, in many other cases) you acted unprofessionally, wasted the time of a busy professional and did not even have the decency to issue a simple apology subsequently.

MacBook and MyBook

What a perfect combination - my MacBook Pro 15" and Western Digital MyBook external USB drives. I love 'em both! I now have four 500GB/1TB MyBook drives lined up at the back edge of my desk, holding all my most recent photographic work. They're neat, reliable (so far) and extremely good value for money. The most recent one (a 1TB "Essential") was bought for just €99 including 20% tax! Amazing! Staggering!

Make mine a Mac!

About 300 years ago (in computer terms) I built a spiffy, all-balls PC workstation for my photographic work and blogged about it here.

About one year ago I bought an HTC Touch (Windows Mobile) phone and hated it instantly. So I took it back to Fnac and got my money back. Instead I purchased an Apple iPhone and instantly succumbed to Apple's cunningly-laid trap, becoming a full-on Apple addict from one day to the next. Yep, I went out and bought a Mac!

I've spent years of my life struggling with PCs, and especially with Micro$oft Windows. How refreshing it was to take my lovely new MacBook Pro out of the box and fire it up. I was "in business" within minutes. No fuss, no problems, no hiccups, no hidden obstacles.

Of course, there's no pain-in-the-ass like a converted pain-in-the-ass! Now I evangelise Apple's products and philosophy to anyone who'll listen.

Welcome back!

Well... it's been more than a year since my last confession post! How time flies when you're not having fun!

The last year has been painful for many people, myself included. My world was shaken up (badly) by this "self-inflicted wound" that they have conveniently termed a "recession" (as if it was entirely natural, like a receding hairline - but I'll try to stay off the subject of politics here).

I've resolved to start posting again on a regular basis, if only for the cathartic value of being able to address an imagined audience with my woes and worries.