Adobe just released Creative Suite 6 a few days ago and the layout changes are huge! The constant gray windows, panels, and toolbars we’ve grown accustomed to are now gone for dark gray/black ones (it can be changed back to the old colors if you don’t die easy). For the most part every application has seemed to condense buttons and tools into a minimalistic approach. It looks very sleek, but that doesn’t mean I like what they did!

First and foremost, the new splash pages are simply gorgeous. They make you want to change whatever pathway you’re in and change to graphic illustration. Enough of that, moving onto the application itself.

The biggest quirk I have with this program right now is that it cannot be in full screen mode unless an image is open. Until that happens, it has to stay in standard screen mode. This definitely has its negatives in my eyes, but on the positive side, setting standard screen mode as a smaller window will allow you to open up finder to find your images that need editing (If you’re not a fan of the Mini Bridge). Speaking of Mini Bridge, the new location at the bottom of the screen is a lot better.

Now that all the obvious changes are out of the way, here’s what I think. It’s fast. Every filter, content aware adjustment, etc. feels a lot quicker. However, by far the greatest change in photoshop is background saving. Automatic background saving is new too, but the fact that you can continue to work while your work saves is monumentally huge. Photoshop also has new sampling settings (used in resizing images). If you didn’t notice the new default is bicubic automatic, you’re going to think the new Photoshop is crap. This new automatic setting over sharpens things by a lot, so change that sampling method back to regular bicubic and you’ll be a lot happier. Its too soon to give an extremely in depth review and opinion on the new suite, but it’s got a lot of potential to improve everyone’s workflow drastically.

Finally after contemplating this for so long and trying to get it right, I think it’s finally ready to share with everyone else. Like most others, I like to have my photography gear well organized for easier access. I put labels on the lens caps when they go into my bag for easier access when my jobs are fast paced and every moment counts. I’ve done post its with lens models written on it, fancy labels, nearly everything short of writing on it with white out. Post its fall off, fancy labels aren’t as legible as they should be and white out, well, its a little too permanent for me.

I finally cut some vinyl labels that are white to go against black lens caps, making it contrast against each other extremely well and they’re extremely legible. I spent the past few days testing them out in real life situations and I think I’ve got something pretty great. The labels should last 7 years in direct sunlight, and I’m sure no one out there leaves their lenses cooking in the sun so they should last as long as your lenses!

I currently have lens markers for every single (yes, even EF-S) Canon lens available. If there’s enough demand I could even make it for Nikon (I just need a rear cap so I know how big it can be). Send me an email (allan@ahigaphotography.com) and let me know what you think! I’ll be selling them shortly and the store will be linked through my Facebook Fan Page via a tab. I’ll also be giving some away this weekend so check my Facebook Fan Page regularly, the lucky few will even get personalized markers with their name so no one walks off with their lenses!

Rain ruins planned shoots 98% of the time, but I absolutely love photographing things in the rain. Complete cloud cover produces that extremely even and soft lighting, and when the sun tries to but can’t quite break through the clouds it even pumps up tones from a slightly muted look to a somewhat contrasty photo. This week was full of those days and turned almost every day into a lazy Sunday. So today’s focus was on the herb and vegetable “garden” that’s in the works. So far it’s habaneros, candy mint (tastes just like a candy cane!), Manoa lettuce, and cilantro. In 6-8 weeks I’ll be all set for one crazy tasting taco!