Just black and white from now on

 

I'm currently shooting with a Sony a7R Mark III and a Sony FE f1.8 35MM prime lens just in black and white.  When I get my next I.T. contract here in Ottawa, I'll be pumping some money into a savings account and save up for a Leica Q2 Monochrome.  In Canada, specifically Ottawa, you can buy that camera for $7,399.99 before tax.  After tax, it's roughly $8,400.  I want to get a grip, an extra battery and the RGB filters.  I'm looking at roughly $9,100 for a black and white camera with an f1.7, 28MM lens that only shoots in black and white.

If you haven't heard anything about Leica, than you're really not a photographer.  Leica is a German company that's been producing cameras for over 100 years.  All Leica cameras are handmade in factory.  Once you go Leica, apparently you never go back to using any other camera system.

I've had a fascination with shooting black and white for the past couple of months.  I am also limiting my shooting to just landscapes.  I've cut down the number of photos I've put up on my website from several hundred to just 8 of my best.  

In November, my fiancee and I are heading down to Arizona for 10 days.  It'll be another photography vacation for myself anyways.  The plan is to rent an RV for at least 6 or 7 days and go up to Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon and a few of the national parks.  If I could swing it by then, I could have the Leica Q2 monochrome and shoot everything in pure black and white.  Hopefully the weather will co-operate with us and provide us with nice blue skies and awesome colours.

Sony RX100 Mark VII photography and editing on the new M1, 1TB, 16GB Apple iPad Pro

So WWDC21 was a total crap show this year.  It was extremely boring and nothing innovative came out of it in my opinion.  iPadOS 15 was a total failure as far as I’m concerned.  On a side, I’m doing more and more photography with the new Sony RX100 Mark VII pocket camera.  It’s my second time owning till little camera.  It’s got the 24-200MM lens on it and that’s one reason I got it.  I’m still editing on the 2021 M1 base iPad Pro 12.9”.  The only reason I have it is I’m waiting to trade it in for the M1X or M2 based MacBook Pro, whenever they come out.  Hoping that will happen later this summer.  Hope I can pick one up at one of the Apple stores here in Ottawa before I permanently leave for Calgary in the fall.

In the meantime, I’m hoping to get another short contract here with one of the federal departments.  It will be my last one for sure.

iPad OS 14 and iPad OS 15 are still gimped by Apple

So I bought the 2021 iPad Pro with the M1 chip, 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM hoping, dreaming that Apple would stop gimping the operating system.  After watching WWDC 2021, I am totally disappointed.  Not with Apple.  But with myself.  I was hoping that Apple would bring Pro level apps to the iPad Pro.  I was hoping that Apple would actually let us use the whole 16GB of RAM in the 2021 iPad Pro.  I am an idiot thinking that Apple would actually unleash the power of the M1 chip that they put in the iPad Pro.  I was so wrong.  There were no hardware announcements at WWDC 2020 at all this year.  Yes, WWDC is a developer conference but…

All those leakers who were adamant that there would be hardware releases have lots of eggs on their faces today.  I was at least hoping for Final Cut Pro to come out for the iPad Pro.  Didn’t really need touch for Final Cut Pro.  I am now extremely disappointed.  I will continue using LumaFusion and Affinity Photo on the iPad Pro regardless.  Just really disappointed Apple.

Video only

So there have been a few changes in the past two weeks.  I got my new 2021 Apple iPad Pro with the M1 based processor, 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM.  I also got a Sony FDR AX700b camcorder which shoots amazing 4K HDR videos.  I am all setup to do great video work.  The weather has fantastic today and should remain so for the next 4-6 days.  No humidity and no heat.  No rain.  Just clear skies with a few big, puffy clouds.  Tonight after work, I will be going out and shoot a video for YouTube and get some stock for Pond5.  I am doing less and less photography and more video.  There is just more money in shooting video then there is in photography.  I’m still going to do photos for Adobe Stock but I’ll be focusing more on video production.

Now if you asked me 10 years ago, I’d laugh at you if you told me I’d be doing video as well as photography.  I actually look forward to getting outside with the camera and camcorder.  I hate being stuck inside behind a computer.  I’d rather be shooting.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to edit videos and photos but I just enjoy setting up a camera and camcorder.  I still hate being in front of a camcorder.  I just hate being on video as a I do not like how l look and sound.

I think this weekend, we’ll be going up to Algonquin Park.  Not the highway 60 route, but we’ll go up to the northern part of the park.  Who knows.  It’s always a last minute decision.

2021 Apple iPad Pro with 1TB SSD, 16GB of RAM, 12.9” XDR screen

So, I’ve had the new 2021 Apple iPad Pro with the 1TB SSD, 16GB of RAM and the 12.9” XDR screen.  I ordered a screen protector the day I got the new iPad Pro to protect the screen from finger prints as the screen gets dirty pretty quickly and it’s extremely noticeable.  It should be arriving today so once I get home, I will apply it to the iPad Pro screen.  The biggest differences I’ve seen with the new iPad Pro is the transfer speeds between my SD card and the external Toshiba T5 SSD.  It’s lightning quick.  Literally I can send 20GB+ of photos from my SD card to the external SSD in less than a minute.  Video exports are cut in half.  Photo exports are instantaneous.  

The screen is fantastic as well.  I have not had any of the blooming issues other 2021 iPad Pro owners have had.  I am extremely happy with the purchase.  

The weather here in Ottawa, has been hot, muggy and it’s been raining on and off after 4pm every day so going out to do photography and shoot videos has been difficult.  But the photos and videos that I’ve shot are edited so quickly on the iPad Pro, that it’s saved me so much time.  Now I can stay out longer and do more photography knowing that I can edit everything faster on the iPad Pro.  The Apple M1 chip is really fast.  I’m glad I got the 16GB RAM version.  I hope the apps are updated to take advantage of the more RAM that comes with the 1TB and 2TB versions of the iPad Pro.  I’m really happy with the device overall.  I wish I could just be out doing more photography with the new Sony RX100 Mark VII and the Sony FDR-AX700b camcorder.

This is going to be the longest day ever

Today is going to be a really long day.  It’s Friday before a long weekend here in Ottawa,  The weather is finally nice and really warm.  And the 2021 iPad Pros have been released and are available for sale finally.  I am able to actually pick up a space grey Apple iPad Pro with 12.9” screen, 1TB of storage, 16GB of RAM and the M1 chip.  I have my appointment with Apple at 4:45pm today.  So I am not waiting until June 9th, 2021 for it to ship.  I cancelled my online order once I got notification that my 2021 12.9” screen, M1, 1TB, 16GB Space Grey Apple iPad Pro was reserved and available for pickup.  My credit card was charged and I am a confirmed owner of a brand new 2021 Apple iPad Pro.  I am just so excited to be a proud owner of this iPad Pro.  My 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” screen, 512GB storage still works wonderfully.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.  I just wanted a faster hard drive, faster processor and more RAM.  Apparently the screen on the new iPad Pros is supposed to be amazingly fantastic. I just cannot wait to use the new iPad Pro to edit my photography and videography.

I just hope Apple improves the iPad operating system to take advantage of the hardware.  We will find out June 7th, 2021 at Apples WWDC conference.  The apps I use the most include, but are not limited to LumaFusion, Apple Photos, Pixelmator Photos, Netflix, Disney+, Blogger, Pages, Numbers, iTunes, YouTube, YouTube  Studio, Affinity Photos, Affinity Designer, Firefox, Safari and a few astronomy apps for star gazing.

I’ve put my 2018 Apple iPad Pro up for sale on Kijiji.  If I don’t get any bites by 4pm today, I’ll see if I can trade it in when I pick up my new 2021 Apple iPad Pro.  If I don’t get a byte on Kijiji and I do a trade-in with Apple and they either take it off my credit card, I’ll just get an Apple Watch for the girlfriend.

On a side note, I did purchase some new photo and video equipment earlier this week.  I purchased a Sony RX100 Mark VII and a Sony FDR-AX700B camcorder.  I can’t wait to test out the new iPad Pro with these cameras.  I hope the software developers take advantage of the new horsepower that the new iPad Pro offers.  I hope Apple gets iPad OS to be a more pro operating system.  iPad OS is really lacking in some features that it greatly needs.  A progress bar when you’re copying over files is one.  The ability to format external drives is another.  The full use of an external display is another. 

I am so happy with the latest equipment I got

So this week has been a little different.  I traded in my Sony a7R Mark II, Canon Vixia HF G50, Sony FDR AX53 for a Sony RX100 Mark VII and a Sony FDR AX700B.  The Sony RX100 Mark VII I’ve had before.  Purchased it I think a year and a half ago and then traded it in for some other equipment.  Funny how things work out that I end up with the same camera again.  About 4 years ago, when I was in Calgary I traded in some photo equipment for the Sony FDR AX100b.  Awesome camcorder as well.  It came in very useful when I was out there in the mountains doing landscape videography.  Funny now in 2021, I’m still doing photography and videography with this amazing equipment.  I’m just so happy with the photo and video equipment.  

I ordered the 2021 Apple iPad Pro with the 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM and the M1 processor.  I can’t wait to get it in the next two weeks.  My ecosystem will be complete.  I don’t plan on upgrading any equipment in the foreseeable future.  This hardware is very mobile for a single run and gun shooter like myself.  After work today, I’ll go to Mud Lake here in the west of Ottawa.  Apparently there is an Ospray that has been hanging around and is apparently close to shore.  I also want to do another talking head type video as well.  I can’t wait for September this year.  I’m still planning on going out west to pursue my photo/video career.  

On a side note, editing video in LumaFusion is tremendously easy.  Colour grading the Sony FDR AX700B footage is just a joy.  I honestly can’t wait for the new iPad Pro to come and see what Apple does with WWDC this year.  Hopefully we’ll get a Pro type operating system on the iPad Pro.  That would be just an amazing dream.

The 2021 iPad Pro life

So this week has been very exciting.  I sold my Sony a7R Mark II camera, my Sony FDR AX-53, my Canon Vixia HF G50 and a few of my point and shoot cameras.  I purchased a Sony RX100 Mark VII for a second time in about a year.  I also purchased a Sony FDR AX700B camcorder.  I wanted to really downsize my equipment while keeping up the quality of the equipment in my possession.  Both new cameras are able to shoot HDR stills and video.  So that’s exciting because the weather has gotten much warmer this week and it’s actually sunny so I’m spending more time outside doing photography and shooting videos.  I am also a day closer to getting the new M1 based Apple iPad Pro with the 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM.  I already have the new 2021 magic keyboard in my possession.  The new iPads are supposed to be released this coming Friday, May 21st 2021.  I hope that is true.

I was going to cancel my iPad Pro order today as it’s been processing the past 2 and a half weeks.  Than I was editing some 4K videos today and I was thinking to myself; “Screw it, the Windows 10 Pro based Dell XPS 17 9700 laptop is loud when it’s editing 4K video.  I use LumaFusion on my 2018 iPad Pro and no noise whatsoever.  And it does it faster than the Windows 10 based laptop.  The 2021 iPad Pro is supposed to be 50%+ faster than the 2018/2020 iPad Pro using the M1 based chip with 16GB of RAM.  I honestly cannot wait. I hope to get it soon.  Waiting for new tech sucks.  I have 2 Toshiba T5 external SSD’s that I will be using for external storage.  I cannot wait for the iPad Pro to come out.  Have I said that already?

I hope Apple releases some pro apps like Final Cut Pro.  That is the one piece of software I am looking for.  If Apple charges a yearly subscription for Final Cut Pro, I’d be thoroughly disappointed and I will not purchase a subscription based program.  That is why I quit using Adobe products.  

I have my current 2018 based Apple iPad Pro paired with the magic keyboard, an Apple Magic Mouse and the Apple  iPods Max and they really sound fantastic for the price.  I also have the Apple Pencil for the iPad Pro.  I am a very mobile photographer/videographer.  That is my stated goal with my equipment.  Now I just need to move out west to Calgary and actually start doing my landscape photography.  

I cannot wait for the 2021 Apple iPad Pro (12.9”) with the M1 processor, 1TB of SSD storage and 16GB of RAM to be in my hands.  I think it’s gonna be a huge game changer.  The SSD is apparently twice as fast as the SSD hard drive in the 2020 iPad Pro.  It’s gonna be amazingly awesome to work on the 2021 iPad Pro.  I cannot wait to use it.

Photography only with the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

I am basically done with carrying around a mirror less or DSLR type camera.  I’m also done editing in Photoshop, Affinity Photo, Lightroom CC and such software.  I can do shoot everything on the iPhone 12 Pro Max and edit everything in Apple Photo and Pixelmator Photo on the iPad Pro.  I can use my Apple Watch Series 6 as a shutter release.  I carry the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and my Apple Watch Series 6 with me everywhere I go.  No more lugging around bulky and expensive cameras.  Why would I do that when I can shoot on the iPhone 12 Pro Max that fits in my pocket.  I can sharpen, colour correct and de-noise all my photos and videos in Apple Photos and enlarge and colour correct them in Pixelmator Photo.   I can get 25MB to 60MB photos out of the original PhotoRaw photos shot on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.  I’ve submitted them to Adobe Stock and most do get accepted.  I say most because some of the photos I have submitted weren’t properly edited.  That’s on me.  My fault.  I’m just waiting on a batch of photos that I reworked.  We’ll see how many of those Weill be accepted.  

A few years ago, I wouldn’t even touch iPhone photos because of the crappy quality. But now.  They’re just as good or better than a shot taken with a DSLR or mirror-less camera.

2021 Apple iPad Pro with the M1 chip, 1TB ssd and 16GB of RAM

So riddle me this.  Why would Apple put the M1 chip with 16GB of RAM into the new 2021 iPad Pro if they weren’t going to put pro apps on the new 2021 Apple iPad Pro?  That’s why I bought the 1TB option with 16GB of RAM.  If and when they do release Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad Pro later this year, I will be one of the first to buy both products.  I’m not a music guy at all but I think you can use Logic Pro to edit voice overs.  Final Cut Pro is an amazing video editing piece of software that I already own for the 2013 MacBook Pro so I’m used to editing with the software.  Mind you, LumaFusion is just as good, if not better.  I hope some of the plugins are ported over to the iPad Pro for Final Cut Pro.  The Denoise plugin from Neat Video is the only plug in I use.

I will be using the 2021 Apple iPad Pro as my daily driver.  I already use the 2018 iPad Pro as my daily driver.  I’m so used to the iPad OS and most of the apps that I use on a daily basis.  I just can’t wait for iPad OS 15 and some of the pro apps to come out in September.  I think WWDC 2021 in June will be a major stepping stone for the OS and the iPad Pro hardware.

The 2021 12.9” iPad Pro with the M1 chip, 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM

So I ordered the 2021 M1, 1TB, 16GB of RAM, 12.9” iPad Pro.  And I cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on it in the first week of June.  In retrospect I should have ordered the 2TB version with the cellular option but paying over $3000 with taxes is just plain crazy.  I’m currently using the 2018 iPad Pro with the 12.9” screen and 512GB of ssd hard drive space.  I’ve never really filled up the drive so having the 1TB should be good enough.  I just can’t wait to see how it handles my ~85MB photo files and 4K videos when I edit those in Pixelmator Photo and LumaFusion.  The current iPad Pro is blistering fast.  The 2021 M1 version iPad Pro is supposed to be 50% faster when it comes to the a12X versus the M1 chip and 40% increase in graphics performance.  The internal ssd is supposed to be twice as fast in the 2021 iPad Pro than in the 2020 iPad Pro.  This is going to be a long month while I wait to get the new iPad Pro.  The new magic keyboard is supposed to be here by the end of the week so I’ll be ogling that for a month while I wait for the iPad Pro.  I just can’t wait.

Is there even a point?

Is there even a point to having a full fledged DSLR or a mirror less camera at this point?  I’ve been using my Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max with 512GB of internal storage as my go to camera for the past couple of months.  I shoot landscape photography 100% of the time.  I do sell a lot of photography on various micro stock websites.  All of these require at least a 5 megapixel sensor.  The current iPhone has a 12 megapixel sensor which is more than enough for micro stock and even for my personal website where I sell photography as well.  The hardware and software is there to make a living with just the iPhone.  The equipment and software will only get better.  

There is absolutely no point in lugging around a mirror less or a full DSLR with you all over the place.  I think I will be selling all my photography equipment once the new 2021 Apple iPad Pro comes and just shoot with the iPhone and edit everything on the M1 based Apple iPad Pro.  I can use my Apple Watch (v6) as a camera remote.  Yes, the Apple Watch can be a remote to my iPhone 12 Pro Max.  I can edit everything on the 2021 iPad Pro. I can also have everything backed up to the 4TB of iCloud storage and never have to worry about losing a photo to a dead external hard drive.  I cannot wait for the 20201 iPad Pro to come in a month or so.  

I’m currently on a contract with another government department. Probably my last one here in Ottawa as I plan to move out west in September.  With or without the fiancée.  I know my heart and soul belong out in the mountains.  

Since the iPhone 12 Pro Max can and does shoot ProRaw files, I can create up to 30-40 megabyte files out of a 12 megapixel sensor.  Yes, you can do that with an iPhone.  Since it is such a small sensor, I want to try it early in the morning and in the evening to see how it performs.  I have to see it for myself.  I want to see what I can create and how the iPhone 12 Pro Max handles in low light situations.  The only worry I have is the performance in low light situations.  I shoot the majority of my shots between 7am and 7pm during the summer anyways.  Another worry is reach of the lens.  The longest the iPhone can go is 70MM as far as shots go.  But with Pixelmator Photo running on the iPad Pro, I can increase the resolution and crop closer.  So I guess that solves that issue.  :) 

2021 Apple iPad Pro (M1, 1TB, 16GB RAM), Apple iPhone Pro Max (512G), iPods Pro

April 30, 2021.  Remember that date.  That is the date computing changed forever.  That is the date, the Apple iPad Pro with the M1 processor was released by Apple.  That will be your computer from now on.  No more desktops.  No more laptops.  Just the iPad Pro.  This is the first generation of iPad Pros with a desktop type processor and 16GB of RAM.  You can have up to 2TB of internal storage.  I am currently typing this on a 2018 iPad Pro with the magic keyboard from Apple.  I ordered the M1, 1TB, 16GB of RAM version of the iPad Pro on April 30th, 2021.  I ordered a Dell XPS 17” 9700 laptop back in January.  I will be selling it as soon as I can as I will not be using a Windows/Intel based laptop ever again.  I am hoping that WWDC 2021 hosted by Apple June 7-11, 2021 will migrate iPad OS to a full fledged tablet operating system.  We now have pro hardware running a lack lustre operating system with apps that cannot take the full advantage of the M1 based hardware.  We need pro apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Xcode to run on the iPad Pro.  I would gladly pay $200-300 for Final Cut Pro to run on the iPad Pro.  I already have Affinity Photo running on the 2018 iPad Pro which is an amazing photo editing program.  LumaFusion is an amazing video editing program on the iPad Pro but it’s missing some features that Final Cut Pro has.

Please, please Apple, release Final Cut Pro for the iPad Pro.  Bring back Apple Aperture for us photographer!!!!  I need to more mobile.  I’m using the iPhone 12 Pro Max with the 512GB of internal storage to shoot all my photography and videos.  Please, please bring Final Cut Pro to the iPad Pro.  I’m an extreme Apple product user.  All I ask is for Final Cut Pro to come to the iPad Pro.  Please Apple, listen to your customers and do the right thing.

IOS 14.5 on an Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

channel

So I haven’t posted in a while.  A few weeks at least.  A lot has changed since the last time I posted.  I am no long with Shared Service Canada.  On my own doing a YouTube channel.  Personal debt is all cleared up except for the vehicle.  Credit score has vastly improved to the positive.  A new Apple iPad Pro is on the horizon and will be purchased this week on April 30, 2021.  IOS 14.5 came out today and all the current devices are updated.  The plan to move out west is in the works.  Most of the jobs I am being offered now are all remote or work from home.  No point in staying in Ottawa if all the jobs are work from home.  I can work from home from anywhere.  

I don’t know why I purchased the Dell XPS 17” 9700 laptop.  Well, I didn’t really know that Apple would be upgrading the 2021 Apple iPad Pro so dramatically.  I guess the reason I got the Dell XPS is to use it as a device for work.  So it will remain a device for work.

I’ve been using the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and the 2018 iPad Pro as my daily drivers for a while now.  With the new iPad Pro coming out later this week, it’ll be more of a reason to use the new iPad Pro and iPad OS as my daily driver for my own personal work.  I started a YouTube channel earlier this month.  Please check it out and if you can, subscribe and hit the notification icon.

I’ve been getting a lot of job offers.  A lot of them are remote, work from home types of jobs.  I think this is more proof I can get a job anywhere and work from home.  Time to move out Calgary.

The interoverted photographer

I am by my very basic nature an introvert.  I like people for the most part.  I can even be around them.  But, by my very nature, I am an introvert.  I like to go out and do photography by myself.  Just to recharge and get my thoughts together.  I could spend days and weeks alone with just my cameras.  That is why I miss being out west in the Rocky mountains sitting by a lake with crystal clear water and the mountains as a background.

There is something to be said sitting by a river and listening to the water rushing by.  Breathing in the fresh alpine air.  I truly miss the Rockies just to the west of Calgary.  I could get away from the city for days, just driving in my SUV, stopping to take pictures and videos.  There is a genuine peace with no people around you.  Just you and the natural beauty of the Rocky mountains surrounding you.  I would love to wake up at 4am, walk out to a beautiful lake somewhere in the mountains, compose the camera on the lake in the mountains and just wait for the sun to come up.  The Rocky mountains out in Alberta are my heaven.

Nicki and I are getting married at some point this summer and then heading out west.  We hope to find gainful employment out in Calgary.  Thankfully we have financial stability right now to go to Calgary.  I hope to work in some other industry then computers.  I am done with the I.T. field.  I have to follow my true passion.  I do love photography and it is my very passion.  I have the necessary equipment and skills to make a living with photography.  I just need to be more comfortable in front of a camera.