The first thing to say is I am all APPLE. I love their hardware, I love their software. The items they produce are an integral part of of most of what I do. So lets have a look at what happens after the images are captured in the camera.
#1 – I use a bluetooth with the computers. I use the Magic Mouse from apple and also the bluetooth keyboard so I am wire free on the desk.
#2 – For the business side I use my Macbook Pro laptop. It has Microsoft Office installed and I use it for designing marketing material and replying to email and pretty much all office duties. It is getting on a bit now and its likely I will have to upgrade to the new Retina Display Macbook Pro. Something I’m really looking forward to that. I am only upgrading because the chip in the current laptop I have has fallen behind and cannot cope with some of the newer updates from Apple, particularly iCloud.
#3 & #8 – I couldn’t do what I do without music. I have a fairly hefty system rigged in the office of Kenwood and Denison equipment. I like to play it loud…..!
#4 – I got my hands on the Apple iPad two days before the official launch in Ireland and I have not looked back since. It has become an integral part of my workflow and on top of that, it has become part of daily life. I see the iPad as a ‘media consumption device’ more than a replacement for a computer or a tablet. I don’t see it replacing my computers (yet!) but it has managed to become and important part of my workflow when meeting clients, answering email and also for personal use, watching movies, surfing the web or viewing pictures.
#5 – I have a second display that I use for full screen editing of images. This means that I have a clear view of the image while the primary screen keeps all the functions and actions in place. It’s a 24inch Apple LCD display. Great fro watching movies too but don’t tell anyone!
#6 – The main unit for everything is my iMac. I should have a PowerMac and I’m working on that but at the time funds only lent themselves to afford an iMac. It is fully loaded with software and has high performance chips installed and a large hard drive. I do not use it for storage though, I have about 10 terabytes of external hard drives for storage and back up. This is where images reside.
#7 – I tend to work a lot at night on images. This frees me up to spend time with my kids and enjoy family life in general. Also the quiet of the night allows me to focus on the job at hand. That said, I always have my trusty BOSE headphones close to hand so I can plug in and listen to music whilst I work without disturbing anyone else in the house.
#9 – I use a large Wacom tablet for editing. A Wacom tablet is a type of input device for the computer that is extremely useful for all photographers. While the most common way of interacting with a computer is with a mouse and keyboard, this isn’t always the most intuitive. Editing or touching up photos with a mouse can be very time consuming. It’s much more natural for photographers to use a pen or brush to touch up their photographs. A Wacom Tablet provides photographers with this ability.
So thats it on the hardware I use. I hope you found it interesting. Next up will be the software and other stuff that get me through the day.
Later
Cormac