It’s an essential and great question, “What’s your workflow?” My goal is to be out behind the camera and not the computer so I have streamlined my workflow as much as I can possibly make it. I use my workflow also to take advantage of the blessing of digital to learn from my own photography, instantly. So over the years, I have refined my workflow with these goals in mind. As my boys like to say, I’m just a machine because I power through my images so bloody fast. How fast? For example, a 4000 image air-to-air photo mission shot in the afternoon will be edited, tagged, played with, shared, filed, renamed, and backed up by the time I put my head on the pillow.

How do I do it so fast or a more importantly, with such efficiency? There are two main factors, the first and the most important one is, I only take those images I like. This is really, really important. Two, I use computers to do what they do best, sort data. The entire website is about how I take only the photographs I like. Here’s how I go about dealing with images and thoughts you might consider incorporating in your workflow.

The workflow starts at the camera. As I mentioned, I only take those photos I want and like. The camera is set to capture raw files, Nikon Nefs. Those photos I do capture, are captured as “right” or as finished as possible at the time the camera goes click. Exposure, white balance, B&W or color, and Camera Preset, are all selected and used so the photograph is captured as finished as the camera and I can create. These basics are not left for post-processing to do. Most importantly, all the arranging of the elements and “cropping” is done in-camera through physical placement and lens selection. I wrap this all up in one word, craftsmanship. This makes the workflow so much faster and more rewarding. This is because I don’t have to “previsualize” what the photograph “should look like” later, I can see it right now while sorting. The speed in my workflow starts at the camera than in my case with the Z 9, Z 6II & Z30. Inserted in them are ProGrade 1TB CFExpress cards & ProGrade Digital SDXC UHS-II V90 300R which speeds up both the capture and then next, the ingest.

At the end of a shoot when I’m back at the computer, I do a number of things. First is launch Photo Mechanic Plus and begin the Ingest process (my ingest settings are to the right). Photo Mechanic Plus is the fastest DAM on the planet, period! It will Ingest (upload) the Nefs and display accurate thumbnails (based on the Raw file & Instruction Set) so I see instantly exactly what I captured. Currently, my reader of choice is the Delkin DDReasder-54 CFExpress reader. It’s the fastest and smallest I’ve found. I want small as it travels in my briefcase along with my computer and drives. Second, I put the batteries from the camera in a charger. Lastly, I check the camera sensor and if needed, I clean it. By the time I’ve all of done this, Photo Mechanic has long finished ingesting all the photographs, formatted the CFExpress Card, and unmounted it so I can reinsert it back into the camera ready to shoot.

I’m a Mac guy with a MacBook Pro M2 16″ for on the road and an iMac M1 back in the office. Both machines are loaded with the same software (Photo Mechanic Plus, NX Studio, Bridge, Photoshop) with the same settings. They have the fastest hardware available so they go as fast as a computer can go with the task at hand.

It’s now time to sit down and go through the ingested photographs. What you see at the top of this page is the Photo Mechanic Plus (PM) light table and what it will look like when I’m finished (files renamed and tagged). I get there starting with the images that were ingested into a folder created by PM on ingest (folder name is the day’s date). The folder PM creates is created inside the folder Moose Shoots that’s on the root (a folder I created prior to ingesting and always use) folder. When I am all done at the end of the day, the Moose Shoots folder will be empty. I have created a video with all my Photo Mechanic Plus settings. These aid me in going as fast as I can while sorting the images. My default is having PM sort the light table thumbnails by Filename (that’s not the PM default). If I’ve shot with multiple cameras and/or I know the camera created a new folder when I was shooting, I manually change the sort from Filename to Capture Time (I make sure the camera’s time and time zone are all in sync for this reason). I start by selecting the very first image (top left corner), hit the Space Bar, and then hit the F key twice. This makes the workspace fill with just the image, having maximized the preview on the computer. I want to see the image full screen and none of the text or filmstrip. Those elements distract the eye from the image. With the workspace all set, the sort begins. For me it’s real simple, if the image is sharp I keep it and if it’s not, it’s deleted. I’ve already decided at the camera I like the image so during the sort it’s just the mechanics asking if it’s sharp. With my right hand, my index finger is on the delete key and the thumb is on the right arrow key. As fast as I can I hit those two keys sorting through all the images.

As I go through the Nefs, I often take a moment to finish an image or two. I encourage folks to do this. I might finish an image to see if I have a huge dust issue to deal with (normally an air-to-air shoot) or apply the finishing approach I thought about when I took the photograph. I will hit the ESC button (image was full screen, this brings PM back to light table) and with that image still selected, I hit Cmd+E (Ctrl+E) which launches Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) where I do the lion share of my finishing (you create this keyboard shortcut in PM Preferences). If I finish an image and save it as a PSD, in PM I will hit the 1 key which gives the image a Red Tag. While going through the images and I come across images I want to finish later, I hit the 2 key and tag it with Yellow. When I’m done with the entire sort, I can bring up just the tagged images in the light table (see illustration to the left, bar found top-right corner of light table, clicking on rightmost box displays all tagged files) so I know what I have finished and what I need to finish. Once all the images in that folder have been finished as PSDs, I tag all the files in PM by hitting the Cmd+A then Cmd+1 (Ctrl+A Ctrl+1).

When I’m sorting through my aviation images, I do one thing I don’t do with any other images. When I’m done with the sort and before I finish them, I go back and keyword all the aircraft. Whatever the model is, that’s what the file receives for a Keyword. For example, a DC-3 is labeled DC-3 and a C-47 is labeled C-47. This is for many reasons, the main one being taking care of clients fast and being accurate. There is a difference between a P-51c & P-51D and I can do a quick search in PM and Bridge for a particular aircraft model. Otherwise, there is no keywording of any of my other images. You can see an illustration of my Bridge sort here.

I save all the finished and unfinished Nefs and all PSDs. I save all my Nefs in which PM keeps organized in the folders I’ve created on external drives. All the Nefs are organized into their assigned folders and each individual image has a unique Alpha Numeric number assigned to it which carries through from the Nef to the PSD. All the Nefs are stored on their own separate drives and those drives are all backed up to other drives. The PSDs or the “Gallery files” are stored on to their own, different drives and those backed up to other drives. Finished PSDs are organized into their own folders such as Birds, Locations, Products, etc (Nefs are organized much more succinctly). To sort through and select my finished PSDs I use Bridge (not PM). Bridge by my default is set to sort the folder by Keyword which will sort alphabetically by keyword and then by file name. I do this for many reasons all coming down to speed. Workflow for us is not only about getting the images captured, sorted, and finished, but also getting them out to clients and you. Bridge is a fast portal to Photoshop for all that is needed, be it for the web, editorial, prints, and to the client fast.

At the end of the shoot and before I finish for the day, the drives are all backed up using SuperDuper. I have moved to using Samsung 8TB SSD drives on the road for my storage. The primary drive resides in my briefcase. The backup drive resides in my camera bag. Since the camera bag never leaves my side, I know that all those images I’ve captured are with me sorted, filed, numbered, and finished. When I get back to the office, the primary drive is plugged in and the Nefs and PSDs are moved over to the main library which is backed up and the end of the process. And that’s my basic workflow. Hope this helps you and your workflow!

I’ve talked about the BlowerBaby and really like it but quite literally the Nitecore BlowerBaby BB2 blows it away! Simply put, it’s a can of air in a handheld, rechargeable palm size unit perfect for home, office or field! That’s it, it blows and blows making sensor cleaning a snap!

“My fingers are soooo cold!” This is a problem we can solve easily anymore. This is my annual Glove Review to help you find the right gloves for you. Many years ago my friends started to talk about their gloves in levels, a system I have come to embrace with the higher the number, the heavier the glove for the colder the ambient air conditions. Here’s my glove recommendations for 2022-23, Levels 1 – 4. (I have an entire 90min class on being prepared for winter photography over at KelbyOne for much more in-depth discussion).

The gloves and mittens you see here, I take them ALL with me whenever I think it’s going to be cold. And when I go out shooting, I have them ALL with me to keep my hands warm according to temperatures. When the wind comes up, you put on Level 1, when there is wind and cold, Level 2 and when it’s really, really cold, Level 3 and since I’m the only crazy one who owns the mittens (besides my wife Sharon), I have a Level 4 (see below). And there are times when I will wear a Level 1 under my Level 4 so I guess we could call that a Level 5. Bottom line is pretty darn simple, you think you’re going to need gloves, have Level 1 through Level 3 with you IN THE FIELD so you can enjoy the great shooting at hand. Here are my recommendations for Level 1 through 3 gloves for this year.

I replaced my Level 1 & 2 gloves for the 22-23 season taking advantage of Amazons “Try before you by” options. I found I needed to go up a size with Gloves B so I liked having that flexibility of easy return. Here ya go!

Gloves A (Level 1) are the all-important windstoppers with this year making the switch to the Manzella Men’s Lightweight Gore-Tex Infinium Glove. Gloves B (Level 2) are what I wear most often, the SEALSKINZ Men’s Waterproof Dragon Eye Gloves. The first glove ( A ) is when it’s just starting to get cold. This next glove SEALSKINZ Men’s Waterproof Dragon Eye Gloves ( B ) is what I wear probably the most of all of these. The SEALSKINZ Men’s Waterproof Dragon Eye Gloves simply rock with lots of warmth and flexibility. They have three layers, non-slip liner, special cut and are waterproof! These are the gloves I always have in my jacket and take care of my hands the majority of my shooting. When going to extremes like when the air temp hovers around zero of lower, I turn to ice climber gloves or Level 3. I was pleased the pair I got last year (Gloves C ) the DAKINE Titan Insulated Gloves are still available this year. They do look bulky but I found them to work really well. They keep the digits warm, permit basic operation and ability to push some buttons. You can push all the buttons on the camera body. You can even run a video camera with them.

Note: At the time this post was written, C is out of stock. Click on the “Similar” button to see replacements.

My favorite though are ones my family gave me years ago for ultimate in cold weather protection. These gloves mittens I love to shoot with! Actually, they are custom made trapper mittens that are strictly for cold weather use.

How cold? Well, at 12degrees my hands were almost uncomfortably warm, not perspiring but almost too much warmth. Working in places like Yellowstone or the Arctic in the winter, these mittens are so perfect. Yeah, I can squeeze off the shutter, no, can’t work any other feature on the body. No, can’t buy these at REI. They are a two-layer mitten, a heavy wool removable liner, and outer Beaver fur. I just can’t wait to get out in the cold and put them to use! Thanks, family!

The key here is, no one glove does it all. I hope this helps you keep shooting in the worst weather which often yields, the best photography!

I have been an Epson Ultra Smooth Fine Art lover since it was first released. It has long been discontinued and for a while, I used Hot Press Natural & Enchanced Matte but it just wasn’t the same. A large, large print critter order came in for the holidays and I needed to be thrilled with the results so I contacted my good friend Dano who wisely said, “Legacy Fibre.” As in, that’s what his whole email said to me. Well …

I bought a 50′ roll and made my first test 22.5 by 33.75 inch print of the wolf image that you see here. Me being me, my head went back and forth, back and forth like at a tennis match watching the print head laying down the image. When it came out, a smile came across my face. I put it through the deroller and laid it next to the Hot Press Natural and an Ultra Smooth print of the same image. Oh my, it didn’t take another test print to win me over, but I made two more of two different images just to make sure. The feel and detail is such you can taste them. The range is spot on and the depth brings the textures to life. The wolves are mellow set of subdued colors. In comparison I printed some parrots from Australia which are anything but subdued. This matte paper brought both spectrums to life in deliciousness. I was thrilled and so was our client. I had printed on Legacy Fibre when it first came out but not 24x30s, smaller stuff. Wish I had because I have found Legacy Fibre is the critter photographer’s best friend!

The Z 30 has been part of my kit for some time now, bought it when it first arrived at Bedfords. I’ve not put it down since as it solved one of the biggest problems since I started shooting forty years ago. The one thing I lack in my files are literally photographs of me taking photographs! You see, I really hate being in front of a camera for many reasons, one being, seeing what the person is doing with the camera and knowing it isn’t going to turn out good. The other, I just don’t have the patience to have my picture taken. Another is I just don’t like the verticals the iPhone takes. Well, the Z 30 was made for me! I’m being 100% serious here, the “selfie mode” of the Z 30 is brilliant, simply brilliant! The portrait of me you see like on Twitter or AnyQuestion, I took those with the Z 30 with the selfie mode.

The Z 9 is still my primary camera which is why I have two of them but the Z 30 goes everywhere they go! With the Z16-50 attached, it slips right into my briefcase. When conditions work for that portrait, ya simply flip out the LCD monitor to the front so the lens and monitor are both facing you. That puts the Z 30 into selfie mode. Be it still or video, you depress the button, it counts down and click! It is literally that simple! For video, I have the Rode VideoMic NTG Camera-mount Shotgun Microphone which is perfect. It’s small, light, runs from the Z 30 and the perfect small mic for the selfie mode. The Z 30 does not have a EVF, you only have the monitor to frame your photo. With my reading glasses, I use the Z 30 at times as a landscape camera and it does the same great job as the Z 9 in this mode. The Z 30 is perfectly designed for its role in our photography. And now, forty years later, I have no excuse for BTS of me in the field!

And we are talkin a whole lot of good stuff! Check this out! At the bottom of the page is a video spelling out all the new features and potential of the amazing Z 9!

Note: The changes listed below under “Still Photography”, “Video Recording”, “Displays”, “Playback”, “Controls”, and “Network” are detailed in the Supplementary Firmware Update Manual.

My Z 9 3.0 Settings

■ Still Photography

• The [Image size] item in the photo shooting menu is now [Image size settings] and offers new options that apply only to pictures taken using the DX image area.
• Added [C60] to the frame rates available for high-speed frame capture. Custom Setting d4 in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] is now [Pre-Release Capture options].
• Added [High-frequency flicker reduction] to the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU].
• Added [Focus position auto reset] under [Focus shift shooting] in the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU].

■ Video Recording

• Added [High-frequency flicker reduction] to the [VIDEO RECORDING MENU].
• Added [Hi-Res Zoom] to the [VIDEO RECORDING MENU].
• Added [Reset using remote] under [Timecode] in the [VIDEO RECORDING MENU].

■ Displays

• The [Prioritize viewfinder] monitor mode has been replaced by [Prioritize viewfinder (1)] and [Prioritize viewfinder (2)].
• Expanded the range of monitor brightness options to include both brighter and darker settings.
• Made the following additions to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU]:
– Added a [3D-tracking focus point color] option for Custom Setting a11 [Focus point display].
– Added [Always] and [Only when flash is not used] options for Custom Setting d9 [View mode (photo Lv)] > [Show effects of settings].

■ Playback

• The [Rotate tall] item in the playback menu is now [Auto-rotate pictures]. If [ON] is selected, the playback displays in the monitor and viewfinder will rotate automatically to match camera orientation.
• The playback display now shows the color temperature for pictures taken with [Preset manual] selected for [White balance].
• Options are now available for handling as a group each series of photographs taken in continuous-release modes.
• Added [File info] to the options available under [Playback display options] in the [PLAYBACK MENU].

■ Controls

• Added a full-format option under [Format memory card] in the [SETUP MENU] for use with compatible CFexpress memory cards.
• Made the following additions to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU]:
– Added a [Type A auto restore delay] option for Custom Setting d14 [Release timing indicator].
– Added [Center-weighted area] to the items available for customizing shooting displays using Custom Settings d18 [Custom monitor shooting display] and d19 [Custom viewfinder shooting display].
– Custom Settings f2 [Custom controls (shooting)], f3 [Custom controls (playback)], and g2 [Custom controls] now offer access to an expanded selection of custom roles and controls.

■ Network

• Connection status is now shown in the shooting display when the camera is connected to an FTP server.
• The camera now supports FTPS.
• Added an [ATOMOS AirGlu BT options] item to the [NETWORK MENU].

■ Other Changes

• Improved autofocus accuracy.
• Improved low-light autofocus performance, lowering the minimum level of illumination required by 0.5 EV.
• Reduced the sensitivity of [3D-tracking] to objects passing between the subject and the camera.
• Improved focus performance when [Animal] is selected for [AF subject detection options] during [3D-tracking].
• Reduced the tendency of the camera to focus on the background during subject detection when [Wide-area AF (S/L/C1/C2)], [3D-tracking], or [Auto-area AF] was selected.
• Focus peaking, electronic rangefinding, and the focus distance indicator are now available when focus is adjusted using the lens focus ring, not only in manual focus mode but in other focus modes as well. In addition, adjustments have been made to the length of time the focus distance indicator is displayed.
• Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO sensitivity will now be displayed if exposure is adjusted while the live view display is zoomed in.
• Improved manual focus response in video mode and when silent mode is selected during still photography.
• The shooting display now shows synchronized release connection status. Improvements have also been made to the display in the remote camera list accessed via [Connect to other cameras] > [Remote camera list] in the [NETWORK MENU].
• [Português (PT)] has been added to the languages available via the [Language] item in the [SETUP MENU] for Z 9 cameras sold in Canada and the United States.
• Fixed the following issues:
– If (a) AF-S was selected for focus mode, (b) an AF-area mode that supported subject detection was selected via a control to which [AF-area mode + AF-ON] had been assigned using Custom Setting f2 [Custom controls (shooting)], and (c) an option other than [Subject detection off] was selected for [AF subject detection options] in the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU], then pressing the custom control would sometimes fail to activate subject detection.
– If (a) 3D-tracking was selected for AF-area mode, (b) an option other than [Subject detection off] was selected for [AF subject detection options] in the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU], and (c) the shooting settings recalled via a control to which [Recall shooting functions] or [Recall shooting functions (hold)] was assigned using Custom Setting f2 [Custom controls (shooting)] had [3D-tracking] selected for [AF-area mode] and [Subject detection off] chosen for [AF subject detection options], then subject detection would continue during AF-ON after the custom control was pressed.
– If (a) AF-C was selected for focus mode, (b) an option other than [3D-tracking] was selected for AF-area mode, (c) an option other than [Subject detection off] was selected for [AF subject detection options] in the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU], and (d) the shooting settings recalled via a control to which [Recall shooting functions] or [Recall shooting functions (hold)] was assigned using Custom Setting f2 [Custom controls (shooting)] had [3D-tracking] selected for [AF-area mode], then subject detection would not be performed where expected when AF-ON was initiated via the custom control.
– Shutter speeds of 1/320 s to 1/640 s would produce uneven exposure across the frame in pictures taken with SB‑800 flash units using auto FP high-speed sync.
– Choosing a different Custom Settings bank in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] after selecting a non-default setting for [Auto bracketing] > [Increment] in the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU] would cause the value for [Auto bracketing] > [Increment] in the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU] to revert to 1.
– Shooting information would in rare circumstances disappear from the viewfinder.
– Attempting to record 8K video with a NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4S lens attached and an option other than [Off] selected for [Vibration reduction] in the [VIDEO RECORDING MENU] would sometimes cause the camera to stop responding.
– Tracking small or low-contrast subjects against a solid-color background such as a blue sky would sometimes cause the focus area to move to the top of the display.
– Selecting [C30] or [C120] for release mode when an option other than [Off] was chosen for [Active D-Lighting] in the [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU] would cause monitor or viewfinder brightness to change.
– The camera would in rare circumstances fail to record 8K video correctly.
– In video mode, the camera would fail to increase the aperture (lower the f/-number) after reaching the upper limit for ISO sensitivity in modes P and S if the value selected for [ISO sensitivity settings] > [Maximum sensitivity] in the [VIDEO RECORDING MENU] was below [12800].

You can download 3.0 here!