Tag: photography

  • Glass Photo  – A new kind of community!

    Glass Photo – A new kind of community!

    glass photo logo

    Glass Photo

    Discovering Glass: A Home for Photographers Who Value Craft Over Algorithms

    If you’re a photographer today, you know the feeling: you post an image you love, and it disappears into the feed unless it fits a trend, hits a perfect time slot, or pleases an algorithm. It can feel less about photography—and more about playing a game.

    Glass is something different. It’s a photography-first community built intentionally for people who care about images, craft, and meaningful connection. No ads. No algorithmic ranking. No growth hacks—just photography.


    What is Glass?

    Glass is a subscription-based social platform designed specifically for photographers. Think of it as a modern gallery space where images come first and engagement comes from appreciation, not metrics. The feed is chronological and human, with no ads competing for attention and no algorithm deciding what you should see.

    It’s built for photographers of all levels—professionals, hobbyists, film shooters, digital explorers, artists working in alternative processes, and everyone in between. Whether you’re sharing a portfolio, documenting personal projects, or simply enjoying others’ work, the experience feels refreshingly focused and intentional.


    Why People Love Glass

    1. Photography comes before popularity

    Images aren’t drowned out by memes, reels, or viral content. You show your work, and people see it—no boosted posts, no algorithmic lottery.

    2. A supportive, thoughtful community

    Glass feels more like a community darkroom or a friendly gallery opening. Comments tend to be constructive, curious, and kind. Conversations are slower, and that’s a feature, not a bug.

    3. Built for showcasing the art itself

    Large, high-quality image presentation is at the core of the platform. Your work isn’t compressed into a tiny square or overshadowed by UI clutter. On Glass, photography can breathe.

    4. Privacy-respecting and ad-free

    You own your work, and you’re not the product. The experience is calm—no targeted ads, tracking, or engagement-pressure metrics. Just creativity.

    5. Great for discovering inspiration

    Because feeds are chronological and curated through human interest, discovering new artists feels organic—like browsing through portfolios and stumbling onto someone’s style you instantly connect with.


    Why You Should Be Interested

    If you’re tired of the noise of mainstream social platforms and want a space where photography is appreciated for its craftsmanship, Glass is worth exploring. It invites you to slow down, look closer, and share work that matters to you—not just what’s trending.

    It’s a place to:

    💡 Build a meaningful archive of your work
    🗣 Connect with photographers who share your passion
    📷 Find inspiration beyond the algorithm
    🤝 Be part of a community dedicated to the art of photography

    Whether you shoot street, portrait, landscape, experimental, film, or digital—Glass gives your images the space and respect they deserve.


    Final Thoughts

    Glass isn’t about chasing followers—it’s about sharing art. It’s a refuge for photographers who value intention over hustle, and a reminder that photography can still be slow, thoughtful, and human.

    If that sounds like a breath of fresh air, come take a look. There’s a community waiting for you.
    Here’s my profile—come say hi: Peter at Glass Photo


    Referral Code

    Use my referral code to get 25.01% off. Get full access for 29.99$ for the first year, then 39.99$ a year.

    https://glass.photo/referral/43IVMHCC25M6

  • On1 Photo Raw 2026(Beta) vs Adobe LR&PS

    On1 Photo Raw 2026(Beta) vs Adobe LR&PS

    On1 Photo Raw
    On1 Photo Raw
    On1 Photo Raw MAX
    On1 Photo Raw MAX

    A quick functionality test

    In this post I do a quick comparison of the same 5 images processed in both On1 Photo Raw 2026(beta) and Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop. They are both very capable image processors. I used the MAX version of On1 Photo Raw, but the standard version has the same capabilities.

    Sample images processed in Adobe Lightroom and On1 Photo Raw 2026

    Before imageAfter image
    Before imageAfter image
    Before imageAfter image

    Sample focus stacks processed in Adobe LR&PS and On1 Photo Raw 2026

    Before imageAfter image
    Before imageAfter image

    Both applications work and can produce excellent results, with some notable differences in how they handle color and masking. Adobe’s masking AI is very good at identifying and separating many features in an image (water, vegetation, landscape, artificial ground, mountains, sky, buildings, people, subject, background) and auto masking the entire image in a couple of clicks. On1’s new masking in the 2026 beta version is good but not quite up to that level yet. Though this is a beta version and new capabilities are being added and refined constantly. Other than that, in both On1 and Lightroom it is just a matter of personal preference on how you move the sliders around to get the image you want. Photoshop being a full and very complex editor is not quite as initiative and simple to utilize.

    On1 Photo Raw 2026(beta)

    • All in one application
    • MAX version includes plugin for Lightroom
    • includes built in image stacking
    • Includes new AI auto masking
    • Includes Resize AI
    • Mostly AI driven with user fine control overrides
    • Built in library manager
    • Pay once, use that version forever
    • Many new features included in 2026 release I have not tried yet.

    Adobe

    • need to bounce between LR and PS to get all full features
    • very good AI auto masking
    • Limited free generative AI features, accessing premium Firefly features requires purchasing monthly AI credits.
    • Excellent top shelf Digital Asset Manager * This is the one feature I can’t get away from *
    • Pay monthly (or yearly) to keep accessing application(s)

    On1 Photo Raw 2026 will be available October 13!

  • Bags and Camera Backpacks

    Bags and Camera Backpacks

     

    Early gathering of my camera bags farm as it was in 2012
    Early gathering of my bag farm as it was in 2012

    The camera backpack and bags farm

    As requirements and needs change over time one accumulates a variety of camera bags and backpacks in the search of that “perfect” one “does it all” bag that does not exist!

    I dragged them all out, took a photo of the bag family, and cataloged them all. (Going to have to take a new updated photo some day. Since I made half dozen or so new addition since this one was taken.)

    These are the lists of the currently high use bags that head out with me. I have included a list of the entire bag family.

    Lowepro seems to be the preferred go-to manufacturer for soft bags. In all my decades of use their products have never let me down!
    Though the ThinkTank Retrospective 7 has become a favorite for city wanderings and air travel.
    While Pelican (they also make Storm) are my choice for my hard shell cases.

    I have replaced both the old LowePro Photo Trekker Classic and Slingshot 300 AW backpacks with a newer design Lowepro Flipside 400 AW backpack. Hoping for lighter weight and less stress on an easy to malfunction shoulder.

    The search for a camera bag and backpack that is waterproof, weighs next to nothing, is comfortable and can hold everything including the kitchen sink continues!

    The great camera bag reduction of 2022

    Near the end of 2022 we gave away, donated or sold many of the bags we had accumulated. Thus reducing the number to the ones that were actually being used. Somehow even after “the big reduction” there remain a lot of bags that I still a need to find places to store them all.

    My current in active use bags

    Manufacturer Product Usage
    ThinkTank Retrospective 7day hiking, city wandering / urban exploration, travel carry-on
    LowePro Flipside AW 400 field kit, day hiking
    Kata-bags MarvelX-40DLsmall vlogging camera
    LowePro S&F Filter Pouch 100Filter’s and holder
    rarely used anymore
    LowePro S&F Lens Exchange 200 AWFlipSide add-on
    rarely used anymore
    LowePro EX 180 “Strobist” lighting kit
    Gitzo GC3100 Series 3 Tripod Bag vehicle tripod transport
    Benro AC1046 Tripod Bag vehicle tripod transport
    Pelican 1520 case vehicle gear transport
    LowePro Stealth reporter D400 AW events
    LowePro Fastpack 200 wife’s taken it for her kit

    The entire bag farm

    Manufacturer Product Usage
    Benro AC1046 Tripod Bag vehicle tripod transport
    Gitzo GC3100 Series 3 Tripod Bag vehicle tripod transport
    Kata-bags MarvelX-40DLSmall vlogging camera
    LowePro Flipside AW 400 field kit, day hiking
    LowePro S&F Lens Exchange 200 AW FlipSide add-on
    rarely used anymore
    LoweProS&F Filter pouch 100Filter’s and holders
    rarely used anymore
    LowePro Toploader day trips to big city
    LowePro Fastpack 200 wife’s taken it for her kit
    LowePro Stealth reporter D400 AW events
    LowePro EX 180 “Strobist” lighting kit
    LowePro D-pods 30 point&shoot
    LowePro D-Res 20AW camcorder
    Pelican 1520 case vehicle gear transport
    Pelican 1300 case kayaking – dslr
    Storm model 2500 kayaking – P&S
    Storm keycase kayaking – car keys
    Sigma EX 120-300 case came with lens
    Sigma EX 150 macro case came with lens
    ThinkTank Retrospective 7 day hiking, city wandering / urban exploration, travel carry-on
  • Top 10 Software I use for editing

    Top 10 Software I use for editing

    disks & thumbs storage
    disks & thumbs storage

    These are the new and just updated for 2023 TOP 10 software packages I currently use for my image and video editing. As well as the hardware I use to run them on.

    Surprisingly six of the ten programs can be had FREE for non-commercial use!
    While three are subscription model products, and one is free but requires custom proprietary hardware.

    Links to all the applications both free and paid are at the bottom of page.

    The Software

    What I edit still images with:

    NameDescription
    Adobe Creative Cloud Lightroom ClassicImage developer and catalog
    Adobe Creative Cloud PhotoshopImage Editor
    PicolayFocus stacker by Heribert Cypionka
    What I use to edit still images

     My image catalog database is currently

    • Adobe Creative Cloud Lightroom  (Image developer and catalog)

    What I create videos with:

    NameDescription
    Blackmagic DaVnci Resolve 18Insanely powerful video and audio editor
    OBS StudioScreen capture and live stream
    qDslr dashboardTethering and time-lapse
    HandbrakeVideo converter
    AudacityAudio editor
    What I uses to create videos

    The Hardware

    The Monitors

    • ASUS ProArt PA248 (Main image editing display)
    • Samsung S27R350 (Text and control panels)
    • Samsung S27R350 (everything else)

    The rapidly ageing eaters of bits

    • Custom built Intel I7 system with
      • 32Gb RAM
      • 2 * 512Gb SSD + 2 * 4Tb sata3 internal drives
      • Nvidea rtx 1650 4Gb video card
      • Wacom Intuos 3 9*12 tablet
    • Custom built Intel I5 system with
      • 16Gb RAM
      • 512Gb SSD + 4Tb sata3
      • Nvidea rtx 1030 2Gb video card

    Backup & Stability

    • Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (data backup)
    • A random array of Western Digital external drives (backup medium, on and offsite)
    • Apc UPS unit(s) (power stabilization)

    Here are the links to all the products if you want to get any them

    Links will open new tabs or windows.

    Paid/subscription

    NameDescription and linkPlatform
    Adobe Photography bundleincludes both Lightroom & Photoshop for $9.99us/month http://bit.ly/2rbDvvFw m
    Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office(search web for discount coupons!) http://bit.ly/Acronisppw m a i
    Paid software – platform: w = Windows, m = Mac, a = Android, i = Ios

    Free!

    The following seven six products I use can all be downloaded and used for free!

    NameDescription and linkPlatform
    BlackMagic DaVinci Resolve 18(video/audio editor) http://bit.ly/resolvepp – non commercial usew m
    Microsoft ICE(Panorama stitcher) – no longer availablew
    Picolay(Focus stacker, 3d renderer) http://bit.ly/picolayw
    Handbrake(video converter) https://handbrake.fr/w m l
    Audacity(audio editor)  http://bit.ly/audadityppw m l
    qDslr Dashboard(remote camera control)   http://bit.ly/2IVppWf
    Wired, wireless, timelapse, bramping, focus stacking
    Free on windows/mac and paid app for android/ios 
    all
    wmlair
    WeMacro controller *
    * requires wemacro rail
    WeMacro Focus stacking rail software https://bit.ly/wemacrosww m a i
    Free software – platform: w = Windows, m = Mac, l = Linux, a = Android, i = Ios, r = Raspberry
  • CSC Camera prices. A brief history

    CSC Camera prices. A brief history

    Palantir See All mystic DSLR CSC
    Palantir See All, the mystic DSLR

    Are camera CSC body costs rising, stable or falling?

    * NEW * Table updated January 2023 to include the mirror-less R series!

    To answer that question I took a look into the past. Checking in on the mid level CSC bodies from Canon since the introduction of the venerable 3.1 megapixel D30 way back in 2000. I grouped both DSLRs and mirrorless bodies under the CSC umbrella.

    I created a table of a brief history of Canon DSLR & Mirrorless introduction dates and their pricing at the time of introduction.
    Not including the top end 1D series and low end Rebel series.
    Basically cut the top and bottom off,  just looking at the middle so called prosumer level bodies.

    The table lists the Canon body “Manufacturer Suggester Retail Prices” in the USA at time of their announcements.
    Which surprisingly seems to have remained fairly stable over the years for each series of bodies.

    If you factor in the ever rising inflation rate the actual cost of the bodies has in fact been slightly decreasing! Right along with the decreasing buying power of the mighty dollar as the years advance.

    Body Month Year Suggested Price
    at introduction
    Megapixels ProcessorSensor Size
    D30May2000 MSRP US$3,50003.1mp
    D60February2002 MSRP US$2,19906.3mp
    10DFebruary2003 MSRP US$1,49906.3mpDIGICaps-c
    20DAugust2004 MSRP US$1,49908.2mpDIGIC iiaps-c
    30DFebruary2006 MSRP US$1,39908.2mpDIGIC iiaps-c
    40DAugust2007 MSRP US$1,29910.2mpDIGIC iiiaps-c
    50DAugust2008 MSRP US$1,39915.2mpDIGIC 4aps-c
    60DAugust2010 MSRP US$1,09918.0mpDIGIC 4aps-c
    70DJuly2013 MSRP US$1,19920.2mpDIGIC 5+aps-c
    80DFebruary2016 MSRP US$1,19924.2mpDIGIC 6aps-c
    77DFebruary2017 MSRP US$0,89924.2mpDIGIC 7aps-c
    90D (end of line for xxD)August2019 MSRP US$1,19932.5mpDIGIC 8aps-c
    7DSeptember2009 MSRP US$1,69918.0mpdual DIGIC 4aps-c
    7D mk-ii (end of line for 7D series)September2014 MSRP US$1,79920.2mpdual DIGIC 6aps-c
    5DAugust2005 MSRP US$3,29912.8mpDIGIC iiFF
    5D mk-iiSeptember2008 MSRP US$2,69921.1mpDIGIC 4FF
    5D mk-iiiMarch2012 MSRP US$3,29922.3mpDIGIC 5+FF
    6DSeptember2012 MSRP US$2,09920.2mpDIGIC 5+FF
    5DSFebruary2015 MSRP US$3,69950.6mpdual DIGIC 6FF
    5DSrFebruary2016 MSRP US$3,89950.6mpdual DIGIC 6FF
    5D mk-iv (end of line for 5D series)August2016 MSRP US$3,49930.1mpDIGIC 6+FF
    6D mk-ii (end of line for 6D series)June2017 MSRP US$1,99926.2mpDIGIC 7FF
    Mirror less R series
    All EF series discontinued
    ROctober2018MSRP US$2,29930.1mpDIGIC 8FF
    RPMarch2019MSRP US$1,29926.2mpDIGIC 8FF
    R5July2020MSRP US$3,89944.8mpDIGIC XFF
    R6July2020MSRP US$2,49920.1mpDIGIC XFF
    R3November2021MSRP US$5,99924.1mpDIGIC XFF
    R5CMarch2022MSRP US$4,79944.8mpDIGIC XFF Cinema
    R7June2022MSRP US$1,49932.5mpDIGIC Xaps-c
    R10June2022MSRP US$0,79924.2mpDIGIC Xaps-c
    R6-mkiiNovember2022MSRP US$2,49924.2mpDIGIC XFF
    R8February2023MSRP US$1.49924.2mpDIGIC XFF
    R50February2023MSRP US$67924.2mpDIGIC Xaps-c
  • End of Chasing the Ever Elusive Pixel?

    End of Chasing the Ever Elusive Pixel?

    glass bottle skull
    glass bottle skull

    Chasing the ever elusive pixel.

    I am at the point I don’t know why I am bothering.
    It is 2nd quarter 2019 and I have not taken a single image I was actually interested in taking this year so far.
    Yes images have been made, but all for others, nothing that I would have dragged out equipment for given a choice.
    Maybe it is finally time to hang up the cameras.

    Many of the photo cohorts I know have gone a different route.
    They run out every now and then to hunt down a few great images, while videoing their trip and process.
    Filling up a lot of time with impressive drone shots and b-roll to try to create a compelling video,
    then trying to use it to pedal their photo trips and courses.
    Basically they have become photo-tour guides who also happen to take images occasionally.
    For now it seems to pay well, one of the few remaining areas that still does.
    But nothing I currently have interest in doing.

    It is said “Never say never”, for me it seems I have reached the end of my interest in the pastime, at least for now.
    Who knows maybe I’ll find something to get me going again someday, maybe not.

    At the moment I am deciding whether to close out the social media groups, pages and accounts on Facebook/Instagram/twitter.
    Many of which seem to have taken rather obnoxious turns, with the slobs hiding behind their keyboards spewing vitriol
    at each other in many of what used to be former great groups.
    I have already deleted my memberships from the ones that have degenerated the most, now deciding on the rest and the accounts themselves.

  • Vero, the new Instagram Killer?

    Vero, the new Instagram Killer?

    Vero Another social media image sharing service goes hunting to take over the pack in the cloud
    Another social media image sharing service goes hunting to take over the pack in the cloud

    Moved to Vero yet?

    Look for me as “Peter Pauer” on Vero

    New: Vero has launched a desktop app with limited capability, so you can now maintain your id stream from a real computer not just the mobile apps!

    What is Vero?

    Vero is an image sharing social media service similar to Instagram with some MAJOR usage differences!

    Vero has (image, video, music, text, several others) post type capability and you can select which you want to see for the people you follow, and you can restrict who can see your post to your connections or followers.

    The differences

    there are NO AD’s to flood your timelines.
    and it has a NO algorithm linear timeline, so you see what people are doing as they post the content.

    Rapidly growing

    Right now it is experiencing explosive growth. Over the last few days Vero has become adopted by photographers and other creatives who are flocking in droves to set up accounts on the service.

    Photographers and creatives who are completely fed up with the crazy things and algorithm scrambled timelines happening over on Instagram.

    It’s user base streaked past the 1 million mark to well over 3 million in just the last few days.  And its continuing to rapidly grow. This unexpected explosive growth has causing service interruptions as the servers it is on could not handle the new rapid load growth.

    Subscription model, a good thing!

    Originally the first million users to signup were to have free lifetime access, after which new users would need to pay a small yearly access fee.
    However the unintended service interruptions are good news for new people wanting to setup accounts. As they have caused Vero to extended the lifetime free signup access to new users until they get all issues resolved from the high growth rates.

    A side benefit of becoming a paid access service might be no or few bots!
    After all who is going to want to pay to create automated spam bot accounts?

    The App and  futures

    The app  “Vero – True Social” has jumped to #1 in downloads on google store and itume’s. (Currently it is only accessible from a mobile phone platform.)

    Will it be successful and knock the ad clogged, scrambled timeline, berzerk rules on who see what post Instagram out?
    Only time can tell!
    But if Instagram does not wise up and clean up its growing stupidity Vero has a good chance at taking over.

    Is it for you? Can’t say. But I grabbed my slot while the getting was good (free) and will see what develops on this new platform.

    For more information their website is at https://www.vero.co/

  • Winter Photography – Minden Wild Water Preserve

    Winter Photography – Minden Wild Water Preserve

    We decided to take a short day trip to go do some photography at the Wild Water Preserve in Minden, on the coldest day of the year so far.

    A little bit about the Wild Water Preserve

    The Minden Wild Water Preserver Harrington Park is a stretch of rapids
    that run along a portion of the Gull river between Minden Lake and Horseshoe Lake.
    They can be reached by following Horseshoe Lake Road [County Road 20] from Highway 35.
    About a 2.5 hrs. drive north east of Toronto on highway 35.

    google map of Minden Wild Water Preserve
    Wild Water Preserve

    Whitewater Ontario owns and operates the Minden Wild Water Preserve.
    The preserve boasts a campground, amenities and hiking trails on the 100 acre parcel of land for members.

    The river’s whitewater section is 800 meters long and ranges from Class II to IV rapids with large rocks providing some interesting obstacles.
    When kayakers are actively running the rapids, especially in the warmer season,  the preserve becomes a very popular and hectic site.

    In winter the area is more serene, although the water seems even more wild!

    Enjoy a short video

    I made of the waters rushing through the Wild Water Preserve during a cold snap (around -25c) of winter.

    More information can about Minden Wild Water Preserver Harrington Park can be found here

  • Adobe release new products versions

    Adobe release new products versions

    cloudscapes
    cloudscapes

    Adobe releases their new versions of many products.

    Of Interest to photographers are the former Adobe Lightroom CC has been renamed to Lightroom Classic CC
    And the new Lighrtoom CC is now cloud based.

    New plan pricing

    Lightroom CC plan

    Includes the all-new Lightroom CC and 1TB of cloud storage.
    US$9.99/mo.

    Photography plan

    Includes the all-new Lightroom CC, 20GB of cloud storage, Lightroom Classic CC, and Photoshop CC.
    US$9.99/mo.

    Photography plan with 1TB cloud storage

    Includes the all-new Lightroom CC, 1TB of cloud storage, Lightroom Classic CC, and Photoshop CC.
    US$19.99/mo.

    That’s US$10/mo for 980meg of additional storage?
    In a year you could by a 4tb drive for the same amount, and handle your own backups.

    For now think I will stick to the base photography plan!

    Only time will tell how this will work out for them, but working in high end “cloud” systems for years I would not trust my personal important data to any of them.

    Hacks, cracks, thefts and redundancy failures oh my.

    Now the fun starts checking in on just how well these updates and new programs really work!

  • A mini review of Sky Crystals

    A mini review of Sky Crystals

    A mini review of Sky Crystals – Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes

    Sky Crystals - Unraveling the Mysteries of SnowflakesSky Crystals – Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes by Don Komarechka

    My rating: 5 of 5 stars

    Great book! It is a hardcover printed on a heavy stock that showcases the images very well. The book is divided into 3 main sections, with lots of very well reproduced images.

    The first section goes into the science and mechanics of how snow crystals are formed.
    The second covers the equipment and how-to of shooting your own images of snowflakes.
    And the final section covers post processing the many shots in software to arrive at the final image.

    Highly recommended read if you are interested in the science, or photography of snowflakes or even just looking at all the pretty pictures of these short lived wonders.

    It was a catalyst in rekindling my interest in macro photography!
    Very pleased to have purchased it!

    View all my reviews on Goodreads

    The book can be obtained from http://skycrystals.ca/