Here is a little video I shot of Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures‘ annual crag cleanup day.  I literally went from a 17 hour flight from the states, to the Mae On crag with camera in hand and eyes slightly glazed.  A fun experience nonetheless!

Over the last 6 months, I have worked to develop a rating and labeling system that could be integrated into my workflow. This Lightroom workflow is based on several different photographers’ workflows, including the Workflow smart collections by John Beardsworth.  You can download a Lightroom catalog containing my smart collections here (right click, and choose ‘save as’ to save the zip file to disk).

I designed this step-by-step workflow to help me manage my professional and personal photographs and video in one catalog.  All my photos and video, regardless of their origins (iPhone, 5D MK II, GoPro) are imported into this catalog.  I chose the “pick flag” as the basic editing unit. Unflagged images are considered unedited.  ”Rejected Flag” images are to be deleted. Only images with pick flags will move on to the next workflow step (note that pick flags added in a quick collection are specific to the quick collection only!).

Once images have pick flags, they are further sorted with ratings. I have chosen the following standard for my catalog rating system:

• ★ = To Archive (images that I want to keep but not develop, i.e. multiples of a better shot that I want to archive for safekeeping)
• ★★ = Client Images to be Worked on (Images that I want to develop that are specific to a paid client shoot, i.e. images that the client would think are great, but I would not include in my stock library)
• ★★★ = Images to be Worked On (Images that I plan to spend time developing /processing in Lightroom, normally only images I think have a chance to sell.)
• ★★★★ = Outstanding Images (Truly great images.  Be selective!)
• ★★★★★ = The Very Best (your very best, portfolio quality images only)

The Workflow in Use

Once you understand the rating and labeling system, you are ready to import the catalog file you downloaded into your catalog.  In Lightroom, Navigate to “File –> Import from catalog.”  In the subsequent dialog box, choose the Lightroom catalog file you downloaded above in this post.  Lightroom will add the smart collections necessary for this workflow to your catalog. You will note numbers in front of the collection set and smart collection names.  These allow for ordering of the smart collections and sets.

The Library collection set contains 3 smart collections.  ”All Edited Photographs” (flagged, rating ≥ 1 star) is a quick way to see or search every photo in your library that has been edited. ”All Edited Professional Photographs” (flagged, rating ≥ 1 star, label ≠ red) contains all edited photos, but excludes your personal photos.  All Personal Photographs (label color = red) is self explanatory.

The Edit Workflow collection set contains 9 smart collections to help you manage your editing, developing and Photoshop retouching.  ”0.10 Unedited All, 0.12 Unedited Last Month and 0.14 Unedited Last Week” (pick flag ≠ rejected, pick flag ≠ flagged, label color ≠ red) contain all images that have not yet been edited (there is an additional, obvious date filter in the latter two).  To make a first edit of your photos, select one of the “Unedited” smart collections.  Hit “Tab” on your keyboard to hide the develop panels in Lightroom.  Then hit “L” twice to darken the screen around the image.  Now you can hit “P” to assign a pick flag to an image or “x” to reject an image. If an image is not of professional value, only personal, hit the “6″ key to assign the red, “Personal Photography” label. Any of these keys change the images unflagged state, and it is immediately removed from the “Unedited” smart collections.  This stage of editing moves very quickly.

Once you have finished your first edit, you can move on the the “Second Edit” smart collection  (pick flag ≠ rejected, pick flag = flagged, label color ≠ red, rating  < 1 star).  Here, I give images a star rating as delineated above by hitting the “1″ key to the “5″ key as needed.  Again, once you select a rating, the image is removed from the smart collection (I may also reject additional photos in this step).  The “To Delete” (pick flag = rejected) collection is perhaps a bit redundant, as hitting “command delete” will show all rejected images.  Still, it is nice to be able to review your rejected images before you delete them from the computer.

The “To Be Developed” (pick flag = flagged, label color = none, rating  ≥ 3 star) contains all images I would like to work on.  Once an image is developed, I decide if I wish to retouch it further in Photoshop, or simply make it a master file.  If I plan to retouch it in Photoshop, I hit the “7″ key, giving it a yellow color label and sending it to the “To be Retouched in PS” (pick flag = flagged, label color = yellow, rating  ≥ 3 star) smart collection.  If I feel the photo is done and doesn’t warrant Photoshop retouching, I hit the “9″ key, giving the photo a blue “Master” label and sending it to the appropriate “Master File”  (pick flag = flagged, label color = blue, rating  ≥ 3 star, file type = ) collection depending on the filetype.  Here, the smart collections are organized by a filter that selects for file type.

The only tricky step in the workflow follows from the “To Be Retouched in PS” collection.  Here, I can see all the images I plan to retouch in Photoshop. Right click on one image and choose “Edit in Photoshop.”  This will cause Lightroom to generate a copy for Photoshop.  Once you complete your retouching in Photoshop, save the file and quit Photoshop.  In Lightroom, you will now see two versions of your image – one DNG/RAW (original) and one TIFF/PSD (retouched).  Select the original DNG/RAW file and hit the “8″ key to give the image a green, “Retouched in PS” label.  Select the TIFF/PSD file and hit the “9″ key to give it a “Master File” label.  Now, when you view the two files in the “All Edited Photos” smart collection, you will see the green original next to the blue, finished master file!

You will notice there are a number of other collection sets that are contained in this workflow.  The “Missing Metadata” set includes a series of smart collections that tell you when you have Master Files (blue label) images that are missing titles, keywords, country or captions. The Stock / Archive set contains smart folders I use to manage my content with stock agencies (feel free to delete these collections if you don’t need them). The Photosafe set contains collections that pertain to the Photosafe Lightroom plugin by Jeffrey Friedl. This handy plugin allows you to “lock” your images so they can’t be accidentally deleted from Lightroom.

The “Video” and “Personal Pix” sets are pretty self explanatory.  I manage my videos much in the same way as the photos.  The personal photos are sent to the collection in the initial edit I discussed above.  Once the images have the red, “Personal Photography” label, they appear in this series of smart collections where I can assign ratings (I only use ratings on personal photos to identify the real stand outs). Once I give a personal photo a rating, it is considered finished. Usually, I just make sure the personal photos have keywords (so I can find them in the future).  The “Smart Collections” set is default with Lightroom.  I have not yet found a way to delete this set.  If you do, please let me know!

A great deal of time and effort went into creating this workflow and subsequent post.  If you enjoyed this post and find it useful, please consider a donation!  Any amount helps.  Thanks for reading!

View full gallery and purchase / license prints here…

Early morning light over landscape of myriad silhouetted karst towers, Yangshuo, Guilin, China (Dan Morris)

Sun rises over landscape of myriad silhouetted karst towers, Yangshuo, Guilin, China (Dan Morris)

Sun rises over landscape of myriad silhouetted karst towers, Yangshuo, Guilin, China (Dan Morris)

Early morning light over landscape of Yangshuo and myriad karst towers, Yangshuo, Guilin, China (Dan Morris)

Early morning light over landscape of rice paddies and myriad silhouetted karst towers, Yangshuo, Guilin, China (Dan Morris)

Altapro photo by Dan Morris

My tripods have seen their share of abuse over the years, whether checked in airplane cargo holds or steadying my camera, chest deep in the ocean. My oldest Manfrotto tripod is almost like a travel valise, tagged with customs and security stickers from 17 years of travel around the globe. As much as I regret having to retire said travel companion, it seems I have found its replacement in the Vanguard Alta Pro 283 CB 100.

The Alta Pro 283 CB 100 is a package that includes the Alta Pro 283 CT carbon fiber legs and the SBH-100 fluid-ball head. The legs easily extend from quarter-twist leg locks. My Manfrotto tripods all have lever releases on the legs. That said, I adapted to the twist-locks quickly.  A built-in level makes positioning the legs easy in rugged terrain. Depressing thumpads on each of the legs enables them to be easily moved from 25 degrees all the way to 80 degree angles. The included non-slip rubber feet are easy on hardwood floors. If you need a little more bite, simply screw in the rubber feet a few turns and metal spikes emerge – nice.

The central column can be moved from a 0 degree angle to 180 degrees, allowing for ground level photography (in case you were planning on photographing ants…). My Manfrotto legs also do this. This is where I ran into my only snag. The Manfrotto center column is designed so that it can’t be removed while rotating it on it’s long axis. While taking my Altapro for a test drive, I rotated the center column with a 5D MK II and L lens attached. As I raised the column, I failed to notice the marking “stop here” (it was on the opposite side of the column). I suddenly found myself unexpectedly holding tripod legs in one hand and a center column with $5000 of camera gear attached in the other. Now that I am aware of this, it won’t happen again. That said, it would have been nice if it were marked better, or some documentation about this included in the package.

The SBH 100 is an elegantly finished quick-release ball head. It utilizes a small mounting plate (ships with two – a nice feature) that snap into place and are then tightened with a locking knob. While a quick-release lever may be faster, I found this system to feel more solid. To release the camera, simply loosened the knob and then press the release button.  The position of the head is indicated by the degree marks on its base allowing for precise control when rotating horizontally – great if you are trying panoramic and want to return to your exact starting point.  There are two knobs on either side of the head. The smaller knob controls the lateral rotation while the larger knob enables the ball’s fluid motion. Both knobs are easy to tighten and release – no need to lose skin cranking them down. They function almost like a fine focus, making it easy to find that sweet spot where motion in the ball head is possible, but the camera stays locked in place when the hands come off.

Conclusions:

The Altapro 283 CB 100 is an outstanding all-around tripod. Its full-size legs and solid ball-head allow for demanding professional work and for heavy pro lenses. Its light weight makes it a great travel companion (although a bit large). The build quality and functionality is outstanding. The three levels are a welcome addition that will rid you of your horizon problems – especially when the camera is close to the ground. The center column rotation could use some improvement – specifically to prevent it from popping out accidentally. That said, being aware of this problem will likely prevent this from happening. I would not hesitate to recommend this tripod! I look forward to covering it with airport security stickers from new adventures!

Things I Love:

• High quality machining.
• VERY lightweight – as light as smaller, travel tripods.
• Levels on both legs and head make for easy horizon adjustments.
• Locking knobs are smooth and make fine tuning position a snap.
• 360 degree markings allow for easy, accurate head positioning and panoramic.

Things to Improve:

• Does not come with a warning that the center column can easily pop out when rotating along its axis. WARNING! Detach camera before manipulating the column axis!

View more information about the product on Vanguard’s website here.

These days, the traveling photographer faces many obstacles. Perhaps the most important, is how to safely transport gear. Ask any #Tog who has traveled for a client and they will tell you that they never let their camera out of their sight. Yet, we’ve all been bumped to another flight only to arrive on that flight to see a full cabin and an attendant asking you to check your camera bag. Those with a large camera bag then face the uncomfortable prospect of heading to a shoot and not knowing whether their camera will arrive at their destination with them. Enter the Up-Rise 48 backpack by Vanguard.

The Up-Rise 48 backpack holds one DSLR camera with grip, three-four lenses, flash, tripod, accessories and a laptop computer up to 15.” It does all of this in a comfortable, low-profile pack that easily fits in a small overhead compartment or stows under the seat in front of you.

The camera compartment contains numerous, padded velcro organizers, making it easy to configure for your specific lens and camera needs. I have been able to comfortably fit a 5D MK II with vertical grip, 4 pro lenses, a speedlite, filters and more. Plenty for a good day shooting! An included divider can be used to create space above the camera gear to store miscellaneous items. A small elastic mesh pouch toward the top of the compartment can hold CF cards, cable release or similarly sized items. It would be nice if there were more internal pockets here for securing and organizing these small, miscellaneous items. Unzipping the outer panel allows the pack to expand to accommodate an extra large gear load.

The laptop compartment sits between the wearer’s back and the camera compartment. The compartment zipper runs the length of the pack and makes it a snap to slide your laptop inside (I use a 15” Macbook Pro). I was impressed – I could hardly tell there was a laptop in the pack, even when fully loaded to the brim with camera gear as well!

Asking whether comfort in a camera bag is more important than functionality is a tough one… and possibly dependent on age! That said, this pack is extremely comfortable. The suspension is composed of two beefy, well-padded shoulder straps opposed by a section of three pads. Called the “Air System” these three airways between these back pads are designed to increase backside ventilation. The pack is extremely comfortable. It feels snug and secure on my back – enough so to wear when mountain biking. The ventilation system seems to work well so far, but I may need to run this through some testing in the summer heat to be sure. A hefty, well padded handle on the top of the pack functions both for hand carrying, and even for wall hauling (I hauled this bag, fully loaded up a climb in Southern Utah suspended from the handle).

On one side of the pack, you’ll find a small zipped compartment that houses the detachable rain fly. Just below the fly, a double-zipper wide-access point allows you to quickly get at your gear in the camera compartment.  A fastex buckle at the top of the zip prevents accidental opening and disaster. Once the buckle has been unfastened, a quick pull on the handle, or zipper pull will open the side of the pack, giving you direct access to the camera body and attached lens. This is a nice feature and makes the backpack function much like the one-strap slingshot bags that are so prolific today (with the added security of a second shoulder strap).

Conclusions:

The Up-Rise 48 camera backpack is a well-constructed mid-size bag perfect for the traveling photographer. It is comfortable and functional. Due to its low profile, it can fit in small overhead compartments, and even below the seat in front of you in a pinch. It is sizable enough to carry plenty of professional camera gear and accessories for a long trip at home or abroad. Gear is easily accessible and storing and removing your laptop is a cinch. The side pocket is handy for quick camera access. Although I would prefer there were more small pockets inside for organizing small loose items, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this bag to enthusiast and pro alike.

Things I Love:

• Solid construction (survived being rope-hauled up climbs in Southern Utah without any damage).
• Very comfortable even when loaded with full photo kit.
• Low profile makes it easy to store in overhead compartments on small planes.
• Laptop slides into and out of pocket easily and is imperceptible while wearing pack.

Things to Improve:

• Side pocket is narrow and is difficult to remove a camera with vertical grip.
• Not enough inner pockets to organize CF cards and small items.

View more information about the product on Vanguard’s website here.

A British friend held a party Friday night in honor of the day’s wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. All in attendance (of the party, that is) dressed as well-known Brits, past and present. I had so much fun shooting with my iPhone’s Hipstamatic app, I thought I would post the images here…

Thailand is well known as the land of smiles, beautiful beaches and incredible climbing on “Salvador Daliesque” limestone. What many do not know, however, is that the same conditions that create the endless climbable yellow and orange karst towers also create a fantastic network of underground caves. On arrival in Thailand, many adventurers head south to climb in the idyllic locations of Rai Leh (above left photo) and Koh Phi Phi. But those looking for something a little different should look to the northern hub of Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is the old capital of Siam (around 700 years ago).  It is world renowned for it’s myriad Buddhist temples and delicious Thai food. Just outside of this ancient city is an incredible limestone crag called Crazy Horse Buttress, developed by Josh Morris (full disclosure: my younger brother).  There, climbers will find a slew of climbs ranging from beginner to advanced (5 – 8a+).  But its inside the crag that the fun begins.

The Anxiety State Crisis Cave (Tham Wiung Fah) is a massive cavern, more than 70m deep, inside the limestone formation that makes up Crazy Horse Buttress.  Perhaps the most incredible climb I’ve ever done can be found here.  Anxiety State Crisis (7a, see bottom photo) takes a line up a featured pillar in the center of the cave. Alternatively, for those looking to go down, just left of the climb’s start is a hole leading even explorers even deeper.  Proper caving rigs are required to descend into and ascend out of this pit (see below photo).

The staff at Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures (CMRCA) adventures offer a wealth of information on adventuring in the areas surrounding Chiang Mai.  Whether you are a newcomer wanting to try caving / climbing, or a veteran, they offer courses, gear rental and valuable advice.  Check out their website to get the latest info on caving expeditions.

Here’s a short video showing a few of CMRCA’s latest caving exploits:

I recently partnered up with photographer Chris Noble on a shoot for Norweigian magazine, Fri Flyt. Magnus Midtbo, currently ranked fifth in the world of sport climbing, was flown in for a portrait session in my studio.

For more about the shoot, see the post here.