The Home of the Hybrid Photographer

Well, LIDF has been going in some manner for quite some time, but it has been sitting stagnant. I think its time to call it a day… sort of.

I will no longer be producing “content” for LIDF. By content, I mean what I have been doing so far.  Instructionals, presets and what not. I cannot maintain this type of content with my duties with X-Equals, its time to let go.

So, after this post, LIDF will become more of a personal blog. I will be sharing my photos (primarily film shots) along with penitent technical details. I will occasionally drop in for one of my rants or random thoughts. Don’t expect any cohesive articles, I am just going to be talking here. I hope you drop by and visit occasionally.

So, I’m eliminating content, but I am not going to stop producing content. It just wont be here anymore. I’ve been talking with Brandon of X-Equals, and I am hoping to include more of my traditional photography content on his blog. I already write a lot about digital photography, Lightroom and develop presets for X-Equals. Since my film workflow is centered upon Lightroom, it still fits at X-Equals.

So, if you are looking for fresh traditional photography content, I will be posting it at X-Equals. When I do, I will be sure to comment on it here and link you over.

If you are looking for presets, again, go to X-Equals. I am the preset platform developer for X-Equals, and all of what I have produced for LIDF is now available on X-Equals, most of which is vastly improved… check out XeL: Black and White for my newest renditions of classic black and white films for digital.

I will maintain all existing content, including all of the free LIDF presets here. But be warned, my old presets will likely no longer work properly in Lightroom 4. If you like these presets, there is a way to convert them to Lightroom 4, which I will be detailing soon on X-Equals, or look at XeL: Black and White and the forth coming XeL: Color for my newest renditions.

I may drop an occasional beta preset here, or I may do a quick write up on a process I am using. But, in general, most all that will be at X-Equals.

So, I want to make an offer to thank everyone for their support over the years. Brandon has authorized me to offer a 75% off coupon for any product offered in the X-Equals store. With this coupon, you can get XeL:Black and White for $5. Please consider giving it a go, the preset emulations in this collection are much better than the black and white presets available here. And within the week, we will be updating the product for Lightroom 4. If you purchase XeL: Black and White now, you will get an email with a free download link for the updated product as soon as its available.

So, head on over to X-Equals and use the coupon code LIDF at checkout to get 75% any purchase.  Offer Expired

I hope everyone continues to drop by now and again. I might have some interesting rambling or an image that you might enjoy.

It’s been a hell of a ride, but its time to let go.

Thank you all,

Michael W. Gray

I would like to apologize for the lack of updates in the past month, as I have been rather busy on a litany of projects and LIDF kind of slipped to the ways side. Primarily I have been trying to polish up my scanning series, so that as the articles drop, they will be solid off the bat.

Good news though. Saturday will be the first official post in the scanning series and it will be looking at software. For those of you activly scanning already it may not be of much interest, but I feel that the choice of scanning software is second only to choosing you scanner. I won’t touch on what scanners to use, as there are differing needs and differing capabilities. However I have a few reviews waiting in the wings of the units I am familiar with, and if any of you have a scanner you would like to review, e-mail me what you got and I will run it on LIDF for all to see.

But that is coming this weekend, so look for it.

Also, since I already have you here, I would like to direct you to one of my favorite blogs I have came across in recent months. 1/125 (http://one125.net) is the creation of Nick Shere (@kukkurovaca ) and Karl Gunnarsson ( @kalli) and is a refreshing view on the world of photography. It is a tum-blog, so the posts are usually short, full of opinion and entertaining as hell. Both guys are good photographers with unique outlooks on photography, both the act of and the photographic world in general.

I highly recommend you give 1/125 a look. It covers opinions on classic works, current events and thoughts on photography. Much like me, both Nick and Karl are hybrid photographers, utilizing both film and digital in their work, so I feel their opinions may well be of interest to many LifeInDigitalFilm fans.

Also, while you are purveying the web, make sure to drop by X-Equals and check out my latest piece there, covering a quick workflow to fix bad exposures.

Anyways, just wanted to check in since I had a few minutes, I’ll see ya this weekend when we take a look at scanning software.

Later all,

Michael

Well, it looks like its another post finally. But, its a fluff piece. I’m working on new content for LIDF, looking to broaden the horizons. To that extent I have been taking time to build up new content and laying low on the LIDF front. That is not to say that I have not been busy. I’ve been working on a new series of articles over at the X=blog delving deep into the Camera Profiles in Lightroom.

Part one is currently live over at Brandon’s fine site. In it I cover the basics of camera profiles and how to use them. You can find it HERE. Part two will be dropping soon, so check out X= frequently to see it once it drops. In it I will be covering the process by which you can develop you own camera profiles, and how to share settings between cameras. Part three is currently in my text editor being written, and it will cover making creative profiles….such as camera profiles that simulate film, much like my presets. So get a color checker and join me over at X= for the profling fun.

As to me, I’ve spent much of the past two months getting back in touch with traditional film photography. Aside from a wedding and a few portrait sessions, I haven’t touched my digital gear much lately. I can’t say that I regret it either. Shooting film feels different and I enjoy it. In that same vein, I have developed scanning methods and a Lightroom workflow for dealing with film…I will be sharing the insights I have garnered on that from in the coming posts.

In all, please bear with me a little longer as I prepare to relaunch my efforts here on LifeInDigitalFilm. The new Cold Storage Collection is well on it’s way to completion and should drop by the end of this month. I’ll contact those of you who already have the 1st collection before I release it to get contact info to send you a link to your copy of the new set.

Hang around, once we’re back rolling I think you will enjoy what I have cooking for you. And I’ll throw in a couple presets too.

Until later,

Michael

[EDIT: New LifeInDigitalFilm is up int test mode. Very basic WordPress theme for the moment, but it is functional. Hope to have new posts starting this weekend. Check it out:

www.lifeindigitalfilm.net

When fully ready to go, I will either redirect the current lifeindigitalfilm.com or I will keep the blogger dot com site up for a while, linking to new posts on dot net. Let me know what you think is the best idea]

Just a heads up, LifeInDigitalFilm will be switching over to WordPress as a blogging platform. This switch will give me more option and more creative control over LifeInDigitalFilm. Most likely there will be no posts until the switch is complete. During this time, LifeInDigitalFilm.com will still be operational as it is. I will update this post with additional information as necessary, and give you the link to try out the new LifeInDigitalFilm before the switch is complete.

I hope to have the switch over completed as soon as possible, hopefully within the next week. If there are any delays I will let you know. I was planning on finishing up the tutorial and release a few more presets before the switch, but I decided I was going to jump on it now.

Bear with me, this is gonna be worth it.

Michael

PS: In the mean time, if you find you enjoy my presets and wish to show some support for LifeInDigitalFilm, consider purchasing my Cold Storage Preset Collection. It is a collection of many of my presets on this site, along with 12 exclusive presets. More information can be found HERE. Your purchase helps me aquire more film for emulation and pay for processing and scanning needed for emulation analysis.

Anyone who purchases (or have already purchased) the Cold Storage Collection will recieve a free upgrade to Cold Storage Vol. 2 upon its release in Late May, along with a special pack of presets just for my early supporters. More information on this will be sent to those who have ordered the Cold Storage Collection shortly before the release of Cold Storage 2. If you have already purchased the Cold Storage Collection and are using a new E-mail address send me an E-mail to help@lifeindigitalfilm.com with your new e-mail address as well as the e-mail address used for purchase so I can update my records for when I send out the upgrade links.

I currently have my system back up and I am catching up on a backlog of photowork and guest blog posts. LIDF will resume this Sunday/Monday. New presets are coming. Maybe even Saturday night if all goes well.

Be back soon,

Michael