I'm not adverse to learning new things. I quite enjoy coming up with new solutions and techniques to improve my results. I just prefer change when it's my idea.
I use Adobe software as the core of my image editing routine. Lightroom handles 95% of it, while special tasks are farmed out to an older version of Photoshop. I use a specialist program to drive the two scanners for the film that I use, and a nifty little program for focus stacking and super-resolution processing with some digital images.
But nothing lasts forever. The next version of Photoshop will be my last chance to upgrade at a reduced price, and after that they're getting rid of their policy that lets people skip generations without penalty. There's nothing in the new versions that I need, but the raw files from two of the three digital cameras that I routinely use aren't supported in the version that I have. This affects my ability to easily merge multiple photos into layers or panoramas, and is generally a nuisance.
Lightroom is also changing. I've been using it longer than most people, and stayed with it through three generations. Now LR4 is in its public trials, and it looks great – but I've developed a few decent tricks in soon-to-be-old versons. My favourite was to work with the exposure and brightness controls in opposition to each other: exposure is global, and can cause highlight clipping, but brightness will try very hard not to clip, and only influences the brighter parts of the image. The contrast control works to change the range that the brightness influences. Between those adjustments an amazing range of control could be had, and it was quick and easy to create the results that I wanted.
Lightroom 4: no more brightness control.
Nobody says that I have to upgrade. I can stay with what I'm doing, keep the results I already have, and not need to do anything differently. But what fun is that?
So it's inevitable that I'm going to need to learn new tricks sooner or later. Lightroom Four is almost certainly in my future. But this also seems like a good time to re-evaluate what I want my software to do, and consider some new options that weren't out there when I first signed up with Adobe. I'm hearing interesting things about Apple's Aperture, and DxO Optics has a reputation as the best choice for photographers who want to squeeze the best from their cameras and lenses. That sounds fascinating – and they all offer free trials.
I may need a new computer soon.
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