So following on from the previous post on hardware I use, the natural progression is to give you a glimpse of the other stuff that is important in the running of my business.
#1 – Apple Aperture is the file management system I use to control the madness! It is a powerful digital filing system and it also has functionality as an editing tool. Lots of photographers use wither this or perhaps the more popular adobe Lightroom. As a big fan of Apple it seemed natural for me to go for Aperture. I have tens of thousands of images and multiple libraries at this stage and Aperture handles them all seamlessly and efficiently.
#2 – Adobe Photoshop CS5.5 is my tool of choice for editing images. It really is the only one to use and is hugely powerful. The latest edition (Adobe Photoshop 6) is now out in Beta. I just have not got around to upgrading yet. That said, I am very happy to continue using version 5 as it does all I need.
#3 – My whiteboard is really important to me as I have a finite amount of RAM in my head. Between it and my notebooks, I am constantly scribbling down ideas and layouts for new products or new website designs or whatever. Its clean in the picture but normal I am looking to squeeze writing into every available space.
#4 – I’m a big fan of iTunes and use it for movies, music and podcasts that I subscribe to. I love the fact that I can have an entire music collection or movie collection in my pocket on my iPod or iPhone and that I can take that with me anywhere. I also provide slideshows for clients for their iPhones and iPads so that they can have a digital slideshow or digital album of their images.
#5 – The iMac is loaded with software alongside Aperture and Photoshop. I use Cyberduck for FTP, iMovie and Final Cut Pro for Movie Editing, various manufacturers software for album design, Keynote and Pages for presentations and marketing material. FaceTime and Skype for connecting with overseas clients, Evernote for online document management, Dropbox for cloud storage and SmugMug for online backup. Thats just some of it. there is another post on the applications on my system on its own brewing!
#6 – I have a Moleskin notebook and I was gifted a Mont Blanc pen which I use in conjunction with the whiteboard for ideas, thoughts and sometimes dreams!
#7 – There is a big map of the world hanging in front of my desk. Thats just to remind me of how much of the world I still have left to see. It’s a BIG world out there!
#8 – Finally, I drink too much Coke when I work!
Thats it! A small insight into my working life and the tools I use to do what I do. I hope you found it interesting and if you have any questions or comments feel free to post below.
Now I’ve got to get back to work.
Later
Cormac