I vaguely remember the old days, back before I had an SLR and lenses and filters and a tripod, when I’d see a pretty scene, whip out my point & shoot and take a picture before continuing on my way.  I wasn’t creating art.  Nope, I was just memorializing on film (yes, film) a scene or a moment that intrigued me.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Things are different today.  I lug around a big D-SLR with several lenses, a few filters, a tripod and a bunch of other stuff that I use not to record simple memories, but to create something approaching “art”.

Over the years I’ve heard photographers say they are “taking pictures, making images, capturing a moment, shooting photos” and a billion other phrases that essentially mean the same thing.  Or do they?

I can’t help but think that “taking pictures” or “shooting photos” is entirely different from what I and most other serious photographers do when we head out with our cameras.  I like to think that I am creating art.  By it’s very nature, art is subjective.  What I think is a gorgeous piece of artwork you may think is a bunch of squiggly lines on canvas.  So, the images I create, that I consider art, you may consider just another pretty photo.  Or, maybe it’s just another ugly photo.  Only you can decide that.  The point is this – I’m not just documenting a scene before me.  I’m trying to create something that is elevated from being a mere snapshot to something that others may consider to art.

What’s the difference?  Here’s what I think.  Taking a picture doesn’t involve much, if any creativity, very little effort and no creative vision.  You see a big mountain reflecting in an alpine lake, you walk up to the lakeshore, point your camera and click the shutter.  Done.

Creating art works in a whole different way.  Let’s assume the same situation; big mountain and pretty reflection in alpine lake.  Maybe you’re there mid-day and the sky is clear blue.  As you approach the lake you’re analyzing the scene before you.  Are there wildflowers lining the lake?  Is there an interesting rock just off the shore, or maybe the water is so clear you can see rounded cobbles receding into the depths of the lake.  Would any of it make an interesting foreground?  You study the landscape to determine if the rising or setting sun would best illuminate the mountain peak and whether or not there’s a ridge or a peak that will block that beautiful light.  You walk up and down the lakeshore looking for the most dynamic position from which to photograph the scene.  Will you need to use filters to control dynamic range or tame glare on the lake?  Maybe the scene would look better in autumn, or summer.  Perhaps you’ll have to keep coming back, over and over, to get just the right conditions with dramatic clouds over the peaks as golden light bathes the slopes and the perfectly calm lake catches a crystal clear reflection?  These and many more are all considerations flying through our minds as we visualize the art we want to create at this magnificent location.

And that brings me to a conclusion and a question.  Is the difference between “taking pictures” and “creating art” the act of visualizing an end result, then using your creativity and skills to make an image that fulfills your vision?

Now that you know how I feel, let’s hear your thoughts.  Is there a difference between “taking a picture” and “creating art”?  If so, what is it?  The discussion is open!

A couple weeks ago I upgraded from Lightroom 2 to Lightroom 3.  The upgrade, installation and catalog transfer went off without a hitch.  I was most concerned about transferring my LR2 catalog to LR3, and I did back up the catalog before initiating a transfer, but it was still a bit nerve wracking.  Fortunately, it was super easy and there were no complications.

At the time I upgraded I had just returned from a trip to the Tetons where I led a 3 day workshop with Adobe Certified Expert, Nat Coalson.  During the workshop Nat walked everyone through the process of importing, editing, cataloging and processing images using Lightroom’s powerful database and RAW conversion utilities.  He also mentioned that Lightroom 3 renders images much better than Lightroom 2.  Needless to say, I was anxious to not only see my images from the trip but also to see what this new version of Lightroom could do.

Once my images were imported I began the editing process.  I immediately noticed a different in how images were rendered using LR3.  They looked better, cleaner maybe, although I can’t quite put my finger on it.  Definitely an improvement.  I found a few images and got to work processing them.  All was going smoothly until I started using the adjustment brushes, clone/heal tool and the graduated filter – they were slow.  Super slow.  Unbearably slow, actually.  All of those tools screamed in LR2.  Why now were they all dogs?

I did some research and it didn’t take long to discover that this was a common problem.  I emailed Nat and asked if he had any suggestions.  Luckily, he did.  He also sent me a couple links I hadn’t already found that I discovered were quite helpful.  It appears that Adobe is also aware of the issue and are working to resolve it.  That’s all fine and dandy but I needed it fixed NOW because frankly, I don’t have much patience.

One of the links Nat referred me to was an entry written by the Lightroom Queen on her blog.  This is a great article and her blog is an awesome resource for anything and everything related to Lightroom.  Bookmark it and you won’t regret it.

In the end, I did two simple things that seem to have worked to speed up the performance of Lightroom 3, including using the aforementioned adjustment brushes.

1)  Optimize your catalog.  This alone helped a little bit, but I didn’t see significant improvement.  I’ve got Lightroom 3 set up such that every time I quit the application I’m prompted to back up and optimize the catalog.  Not a bad idea, really.

2) Increase the Camera Raw Cache.  The default setting for this cache is 1 GB.  Unless you’re using a 3.2 megapixel camera from 2001 this likely won’t be enough.  The maximum cache is 50 GB.  I set mine to 30 GB.  Problem solved.  I’ve had no issues with LR3 being sluggish in about a week now.  Making this change seemed to have the most profound effect on Lightroom 3 performance.  To increase the Camera Raw Cache, on a Mac, follow this click string: Lightroom > Preferences > File Handling.  At the bottom of the dialogue box you will see “Camera Raw Cache Settings”.

I have no doubt there are other fixes but this is what worked for me.  It will be interesting to see what Adobe does to resolve the issue globally.  Whatever it is, hopefully they get to it sooner rather than later.  Adobe, are you listening?

Got a tip to share that’ll make Lightroom run faster?  Post a comment and help out a frustrated fellow photographer!