I'm currently using a Canon 50D with a Sigma 18-200 lens usually mounted. I also use a Canon 10-22 for wide angle shots and a Canon 100-400L for telephoto shots. A lens that I don't use often, but like the weird effects when I do use it is a Sigma 4.5 mm fisheye that has a 180° field of view. While I don't do a lot of macro photography, I use a 70 mm Sigma DG Macro lens when the mood for macro strikes.
I am a dedicated Mac user. I use a MacBook Pro 17-inch laptop and a PowerMac desktop (that will be upgraded to an Intel-based Mac sometime soon).
My primary post-processing software is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. I do at least 80% to 90% of my work there. Of course, I also use Adobe Photoshop CS5 and CS4 for some of the things I can‘t do in Lightroom.
My usual workflow is this:
1. Import raw images from my CF cards into a folder that's specific for the set of photos. I use Lightroom for this because it lets me rename the files as they're moved. I also apply some basic keywords and add copyright info to the metadata at this time.
2. I go through the images and rate them, marking favorites and rejects.
3. I optimize the best ones in Lightroom, including cropping to the ratio appropriate for the final output.
4. After a basic optimization, I edit the best images in Photoshop CS5 or CS4, applying Nik Dfine and Nik Raw Presharpener. I also resize the image with Genuine Fractals from OnOne. When I want to make a monochrome image, I usually use Nik Silver Efex Pro or Alien Skin Exposure 3.
5. After returning to Lightroom, I may do some final tweaking before printing from Lightroom or exporting with a preset for digital projection.
I take photos for post-processing into high dynamic range (HDR). I usually process those images in Photomatix Pro, using the link from Lightroom. However, while the tonemapping in Photoshop CS5 is not as good as that in Photomatix, the alignment process is often superior in Photoshop. So sometimes I'll do the merge to 32-bits in Photoshop and the tonemapping to 16-bits in Photomatix.
I am a dedicated Mac user. I use a MacBook Pro 17-inch laptop and a PowerMac desktop (that will be upgraded to an Intel-based Mac sometime soon).
My primary post-processing software is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. I do at least 80% to 90% of my work there. Of course, I also use Adobe Photoshop CS5 and CS4 for some of the things I can‘t do in Lightroom.
My usual workflow is this:
1. Import raw images from my CF cards into a folder that's specific for the set of photos. I use Lightroom for this because it lets me rename the files as they're moved. I also apply some basic keywords and add copyright info to the metadata at this time.
2. I go through the images and rate them, marking favorites and rejects.
3. I optimize the best ones in Lightroom, including cropping to the ratio appropriate for the final output.
4. After a basic optimization, I edit the best images in Photoshop CS5 or CS4, applying Nik Dfine and Nik Raw Presharpener. I also resize the image with Genuine Fractals from OnOne. When I want to make a monochrome image, I usually use Nik Silver Efex Pro or Alien Skin Exposure 3.
5. After returning to Lightroom, I may do some final tweaking before printing from Lightroom or exporting with a preset for digital projection.
I take photos for post-processing into high dynamic range (HDR). I usually process those images in Photomatix Pro, using the link from Lightroom. However, while the tonemapping in Photoshop CS5 is not as good as that in Photomatix, the alignment process is often superior in Photoshop. So sometimes I'll do the merge to 32-bits in Photoshop and the tonemapping to 16-bits in Photomatix.