GPU What?

“In most specifications, the Graphics Processing Unit, or GPU, is way down on the spec list and is rarely, if ever, considered by photographers looking to purchase a new computer,” Kinghorn writes. “This is likely to change by the time you purchase your next computer.”

Actually, truth be known, I’m on a limited budget and choices for Macs are few, so GPU appraisal might not factor into my purchase. However, truth be known, I’m pleased to know about the GPU, of which I will appraise, and of which Kinghorn explains the importance:

“GPU vs. CPU
“Traditionally, when we make corrections to our photos in a program like Photoshop or Lightroom, the application applies those corrections serially, one pixel at a time, until all the pixels in the photo are adjusted. This is the way CPU (Central Processing Unit) computations are made and is the current standard for most applications on your computer.

“The GPU works differently. Instead of queuing up a list of corrections and applying them pixel by pixel, the GPU performs calculations on several pixels simultaneously. By performing corrections in parallel, the GPU significantly reduces the amount of time needed to perform a complex correction. So, for difficult tasks, you’ll spend less time waiting and more time working.”

Kinghorn explains that while photographers might be in the dark about the GPU, “GPU processing has been used in CGI and 3D modeling for many years.”

He explains that CGI and 3D technology is quickly making its way into the realm of all image making, and as more programs are developed that take advantage of GPU technology, the need for GPU-powerful computers will become as critical as having sufficient RAM.

Action To Take?

For now, Kinghorn suggests, what is important is simply to be aware. And so, when I go to purchase my next Mac, even if economics don’t really give me an option, I’m still going to check out what kind of GPU technology I’m getting. Like Kinghorn, I want to try to stay one step ahead of tomorrow’s technology.

In moviemaking, something called a “logline” is used to describe a scene in a way that allows the moviemaker to focus on how to best tell the story of that scene in relation to the overall movie (which, it turns out, can also be defined by a logline).

As photographers, we can apply these concepts to still images, using a logline to clearly define the goal of set of images. We can then use that logline (as well as other concepts of film editing) to help us best select and order images to most effectively tell our stories. (This is my idea, although probably not new.) Let me move on. . .

I’m not yet 20 pages into “The Lean Forward Moment,” which is an amazingly engaging book by Norman Hollyn, a seasoned editing pro and a fantastic teacher, and these are some of the ideas that are racing through my head. The subtitle of his book, which Jay Kinghorn highly recomended to me, reads: “Create compelling stories for film, TV and the Web.” However, as I suggest above, the food for thought of this books seems totally applicable to still-only photographers.

(If you read this blog regularly, you probably know that I don’t even really believe in “still-only” photography anymore. Thanks to the Digital Revolution, visual media have gotten wonderfully mixed up, and stand alone still images are hard to come by in professional photography. Think: Flash presentations of still images = “motion” = not “still-only photography.”)

I’ll review “The Lean Forward Moment” in full for you once I’ve read it in full, but in the meantime let me share one reason the book has got me so excited: As photographers, we ALWAYS have the hardest dang time editing their own images. Then grouping them just right becomes a major bummer. Selecting and presenting images is fundamental to photography, yet who has got a true and comfortable hold on this process?

How to present one’s complete style (say, a general portfolio) in a mere 20 images from an archive of thousands? How to select and order 15 images in a way that best tells the story of a given assignment, a wedding, a portrait session, a nature shoot or. . . ANYTHING?

I don’t have a clear answer yet, but I know that my own thinking is being greatly helped by the first few pages of “The Lean Forward Moment.” This is not a how-to book in the button-clicking, program-using sense. It is a how-to book in the conceptual sense. For example, Hollyn explores how very different experiences can be created for the viewer using the same three shots in different orders. This creates a different dramatic reaction, which creates a different story.

Do you show the close up of Adam’s shocked expression first or rather a close up of the dead body he encounters? Different order, different effect on the audience. And as Hollyn points out, movie making (like all storytelling) is all about creating a desired reaction in the audience – the one that has been defined by that logline.

I’ll repeat that I don’t have any solid advice at this point, but I write this post because I think I’m onto something incredibly important for most, if not all, photographers. I’ve never thought about my image making and image presentation in this way, but I wish I had. Like many, I suspect, I’ve focused on trying to select the “best” images, or at least the “best images that show the full range of my story coverage.” But that’s fairly abstract, I now realize, and probably why I’ve found the task so frustrating.

When it comes to putting 15 or 20 shots in order, I usually fall back on the typical advice of showing the “strongest” image first (what’s that?), then trying to create some kind of rhythm (huh?), then ending with a winner. But have I ever really focused clearly on the mind of my audience and what I want them to feel or learn? Sure, of course I have, but only to a certain extent, and not in the manner that Hollyn is proposing. I realize now that I’ve been lacking the vocabulary and approach that Hollyn is bringing to light. . . and in less than 20 pages!

Hollyn opens his introduction by saying that the best filmmakers are those with the best editing skills. The best editors know how to craft the best stories, and therefore those who are able to best contribute to filmmaking are those who understand the deepest levels of editing, whether they are writer, directors or even actors. I get that point. And I think the point that as a photographer, my craft is going to get a major boost if I understand these editing principles as well.

As I say, I’ll be back with a “The Lean Forward Moment” review, and I’ll try to channel any image editing tips I pick up during the read. But at this point I’m writing this post to get a dialog started. So definitely drop a line to share:

• Your best editing suggestions creating a powerful group of images.

• Any editing problems that that plague you.

• Any great image editing resources.

I’m not the only one struggling with still image editing. Let’s help each get beyond merely ranking images and figure out how to best tell our stories with groups of still images!

Kinghorn ran into the Jobo PhotoGPS at the Photo Marketing Show and reports in his newsletter:

“This [JOBO PhotoGPS] device can be a huge time-saver when embedding location information into your photos. This makes searching your image library more productive. In past issues, I featured compelling multimedia projects linking photographs to the location they were taken. This can be done manually through a painstaking process, or automatically by embedding GPS coordinates into a photo’s EXIF metadata. Typically, this requires a photographer to purchase a hand-held GPS unit to capture the GPS information. The new PhotoGPS unit from JOBO is a small device that slips into your camera’s hot shoe and captures GPS readings every time you trip the shutter. This GPS data can easily be synchronized and embedded after the shoot using JOBO’s PhotoGPS software.

“Embedding GPS data into your photos is useful, but also embedding the City, State and Country automatically in your photo’s metadata is indispensable. This promises to eliminate much of the location-related keywording and data entry photographers use for organizing photos in their image library. This tiny unit provides both a workflow boost and a creative opportunity for photographers wishing to integrate photos with maps for a rich, multimedia experience.”

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What’s particularly nice about Kinghorn’s video (besides his clear, lucid teaching style) is that he covers correction techniques for both “straight” photography as well as more creative enhancements. He also shares critical workflow tips, showing how to use presets to make great skies in no time.

To keep up with Kinghorn’s latest offerings, be sure to sign up for his free newsletter.

As Kinghorn writes in his latest Professional Digital Workflow newsletter:

“Upgrading to a new version of your favorite applications always is a mixed blessing: you get to take advantage of a host of new features, but at the same time, you must take time to learn and adapt to the new features. To help you get up to speed quickly with Adobe Lightroom 2, we’ve assembled a list of resources to make the upgrade as easy as possible.”

Kinghorn’s top five list:

• The Professional Digital Workflow Lightroom 2 Mini-site

• NAPP: Lightroom 2 Learning Center

• Adobe: Lightroom Support Center

• Julianne Kost: Lightroom 2 Tutorials

• Victoria Brampton: Lightroom 2 Keyboard Shortcuts

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