Tips, tricks & techniques...
getting more out of your Mac.


My Road set up... 15 inch MacBook Pro i7, 800 fire wire
card reader and two Lacie Rugged hard drives with a triple interface.

In recent months I have seen quiet a few newcomers to Mac or as we like to call them “Switchers” they moved from PC to MAC.
For those who are new to Mac and I am sure for some long time users as well, I like to share some simple shortcuts today making your work on a Mac even more enjoyable.

OK. lets start with Apple’s Snow Leopard 10.6.4

Sharing articles from your Safari Web Browser made easy

Did you know when you're browsing the web in Safari and found an article you like to share with friends or business partners that with a simple click you can send the page without copy and paste via e-mail?
Once in Safari just press Apple (Command Key) and the letter “I” instantly Mail will open up and the article is right there, add the e-mail address and you’re done. Very slick if you like to share articles without copy and paste. (Screenshot below)

Safari & Mail shortcut for sharing articles

The easy way in using Quick Look

I guess most of us know the slick “Quick Look” function on Snow Leopard by highlighting the document or photo icon on your desk top or files located in folders by clicking the right mouse button or going to File and activate Quick Look.
However there is a much faster and slicker way of doing exactly that.

Quick Look, highlighted only one Icon
Note: The Icon for sending your photos direct to your iPhoto Library
add to iPhoto is just above the arrow Icon for Full screen


Highlighted multiple Desk Top Icons, then open in Quick Look

Just highlight the document or what ever you like to look at and press "Spacebar" Wow... so much faster and efficient, I use it a lot for a Quick Look at photos, pdf files with multiple pages or other documents. You can even select multiple photos and within seconds you find what you're looking for, instead open the software which can take time e.g. open Word can take up to 15 seconds depending on the speed of your Machine. This one is a real time saver!

Very useful for screenshots, finding the right one quick, also great for locating Videos or photos you might have uploaded on your desk top and of course reading documents in full screen without open the software is just so much more fun.
There is even an Icon for sending your photos direct to your iPhoto Library.

A Quick look at your Videos

Don't be shy give it a test drive and play around a bit... you find endless possibilities and remember next time you’re looking for this elusive photo, video, document or like to read your pdf pages in full screen, just highlight the Icon press "SPACEBAR" without open the software.

A cool way moving selected Photos from
iPhoto (iLife '09) to your Aperture 3 Library.

Mac is all about drag and drop…very simple and efficient; say you decided to move from iPhoto to Aperture 3 and like to move “not all” but some of your important Photos to the Aperture Library.
Open Aperture 3 go to Import and select in the panel show iPhoto Browser click and your iPhoto Browser will open. Then highlight the photo or multiple ones and drag them into your Aperture 3 Library, (see screenshots) Aperture creates automatically a new Project, the only thing left to do, name the Project…and you're done.

Aperture 3 and Import panel open showing the iPhoto Browser bar.

Aperture 3 behind the open iPhoto Browser panel, it is here where
you select your photos and drag them into your Aperture 3 Library

In this exercise I have selected the Marine Images from my iPhoto Library, see screenshots.
Now you have your selected Photos in your Aperture Library…it is really that simple, very fast, efficient and so integrated.

Underwater Photos from my iPhoto library have now been moved to
my Aperture 3 library, at the same time Aperture created a new Project.

Of course you can also import your whole iPhoto Library if you chose to do so, in my workflow I use iPhoto for private photographs and my low res. images for the Web, using Aperture 3 for my pro and heavy workload.
Utilizing the full integration on the Mac can be so much fun, but it's also faster and more efficient.
GD

The latest Software update 10.6.4 includes a fix and resolve an issue editing
photos with iPhoto or Aperture 3 in full screen view.

Make sure you have a good connection this one is very big some 641.1 MB

The 10.6.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

• resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
• resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
• address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
• improve reliability of VPN connections
• resolve a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
• resolve an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
• improve compatibility with some braille displays

“My Photo Gallery” the Prototype...

© Gunther Deichmann - “My Cambodian Gallery” 1.36 min QT Prototype only.
Broadband recommended 13.2MB

During my last trip in Cambodia I used the new Nikon D300s a lot (I might add for the first time) but had very little time to test the Video function on the D300s (a lot more when I get back from Nepal/India in March)
All image editing was done with Aperture 2.1.4 and the video was very quickly edited using the new Quick Time on Snow Leopard which is fast and so easy to use.

I managed to get a bit of Video footage, nothing special but easily applied in a presentation like this. Of course the music was created in GarageBand before and I pulled this track from my archives.
In due time and when I get back from India I put up a nice mix with stills and Video. Having the ability now to create presentations where we can use stills and video combined is just so nice and cool.
I hope you like this small and first demo...the adventure only started.
Also on YouTube as: "My Gallery" the Prototype http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVi8IgL1tGI&feature=channel
GD

Aperture 2.1.4 Tip: Sluggish performance?

For those of you who have missed this post from March 2009 and due to more recent concern re. Aperture 2 performance with newer Camera models, I have posted this article again plus some additional comments re. Aperture 2.1.4

© Gunther Deichmann - Phnom Kulen, Cambodia very first test
on the Nikon D300s using the repaired 180mm 2.8 lens.
Shooting Raw and imported into Aperture 2.
Thanks to Nikon Singapore for doing such a great Job on my Lens.

BTW importing files from the new Canon D7 and the Nikon D300s are absolutely flawless since the recent RAW file update by Apple. As a matter of fact I was in Cambodia at the time when the update arrived...installed it and imported all my RAW photos from the Nikon D300s without any problems, about 2000 plus of them, including some Video files and Aperture 2.1.4 ask me where to store them too. They went on the Desk Top for some very quick editing with the new and very cool QT, released together with Snow Leopard

Video Screen shot from the Nikon D300s straight from the Box
into the Phnom Kulen Waterfall in Cambodia ...very first test.
No adjustments on camera or lens, more and real video
from the Nikon D300s later.

In 2009 we saw quiet a few new camera models hitting the market; bigger...better?...more pixels... hence requiring more storage and more computing power and I am sure the trend is going to continue in 2010.
I have mention the word Patience in my post from the 24th of December...see below some excerpts from the article, we see more new Camera models in 2010 and if we like it or not they will require some more powerful computers to cope with the ever increase in MB per image. The performance can drastically be improved by running Leopard or the latest Snow Leopard...I have written an article on the performance increase on the Snow Leopard, big difference in speed and no more sluggish behavior.
(Article from September 5, 2009: Test driving Aperture 2.1.4 on Snow Leopard. Is Aperture 2 running smoother & more efficient now?) Again I have posted the most important improvements below.

© Gunther Deichmann - Heritage Suites Hotel Spa
Nikon D300s using the 50mm 1.4 G lens. (wide open)
Imported into Aperture 2 as RAW file.

Excerpts from my previous post Dec. 24, 2009
New Camera models have been popping up non-stop in 2009; now we blame Apple and other for not keeping up… sad! What ever happen to patience? From my past experience when Apple has done something they did it real well and not using some Beta version like Adobe with Lightroom. Would you buy or work with a Beta Version of a Camera? As a serious Photographer I don’t like to test things, I like them to work…don’t forget who came out first with the almost perfect Digital Photography workflow…Aperture was way ahead and made things possible which had been very difficult before and could only achieved with Photoshop then.
Patience…all real GOOD things take Time and I am sure Apple will come up with something soon enough…they have always done so in the past, maybe a bit slower but for sure it will be awesome and no need for Beta testing.

Last years article on performance re. Aperture 2

Just like a car engine, Aperture 2 needs also a good tune up once in a while to run smooth and trouble free.
Say you working happily away and all off a sudden this window appears asking you to Rebuild or run a Consistency check.

Since you never seen this window before…panic strikes… oh my what is wrong?
This happen to me a few times, pushing Aperture to the limit…but don’t worry it is an easy fix.

It’s Ok… Close down Aperture, then hold down the Option and Apple Key while restarting Aperture again, now this little window appears asking you either to Rebuild or run a Consistency Check.
I have run both options and not only if I got the warning but also when I noticed that Aperture was running sluggish or behaving a bit erratic.

This works well if you have a lot of projects and images, however you have to have a bit of patience running the Rebuilding or Consistency Check as this could take some time, it all depends on the size of your Library.
Don’t Panic again if after the Consistency Check some of your Projects and files have disappeared, no worries just repeat the step and this time run Rebuild and you find all your Projects are there.
If you’re not comfortable activating the Rebuild or Consistency Check window then just wait until the window appears one day, but then you have almost no choice but to go through this exercise keeping Aperture 2 running nice smoothly.
But isn’t nice that Aperture 2 is given you a warning sign, just like the oil indicator for your Car engine.

Now a final word of advise, make sure you made a back up of all your Images on an external drive, regardless how good your Mac or how big your drive is and how well Aperture 2 performs, back up is rule number one… disaster can strike anytime.

Note: I work exclusively with reference files and keep all my Projects on external drives as well, backing up everything in the field with two identical hard drives. Back home I then transfer all my files and Projects to my Mac Pro storing everything again on my Raid system for back ups, only then I delete the Images on my portable Hard drives. I also archive my Project when I am done with them on external drives, giving me breathing space for my Library, I can always go back to them when needed.

Excerpts from the article September 5, 2009:

Test driving Aperture 2.1.4 on Snow Leopard. Is Aperture 2
running smoother & more efficient now?

1. Opening Aperture, much faster now with Snow Leopard

2. Going to full screen mode, no more delay, it is instantly

3.Selecting multiple images in editing mode and then going to full screen, very fast now.

4. Retouch Tools & Spot Patch Tools have improved by 100% almost no more delay when retouching using clone or repair tools, this is a very big improvement.

5. Opening from within Aperture an External editor like Photoshop CS3 is super fast now

6. Opening Mail from within Aperture also super fast improvement by at least X2

7. I exported some 28 high res Raw images in one go as Versions to full jpg size, wow, that went real fast, again a huge improvement.

8. I also experienced the same during import using a fire wire 800 Card reader, nice speed increase.

9.There had been some delays before on some commands in particular the Cloning and Repair but that has disappeared now.

10. I tried also the slide show with some 50 plus Raw images, almost no delay very cool.

11. Edit with: Dodge & Burn, very fast opening with the use of the Tools, super fast on saving and closing.

12. Hitting the Z key (zoom) wow again, it is instant; the bit sluggish Navigation before is now very smooth, the same applies for the Loupe much faster and so much more responsive on all settings.

Aperture 2.1.4 performs very impressive on Snow Leopard, a significant speed increase and overall smooth performance. I think Aperture was ahead of its time and was just waiting for the New Cat…. Snow Leopard is made for Aperture 2.1.4 the perfect combination. Not to mention the increase of disk space after installation of the S.L.very cool. (see my comments from my previous Blog Post)

Run like you never run before… Aperture 2.1.4 is doing just that; everything is just so much more liquid and responsive.
I only used Raw and very large Tiff files, really pushing it, editing has picked up another 100%.
So, if you’re using Aperture 2.1.4 go ahead and install Snow Leopard, find out why I love Aperture even more now, feel and experience the difference.
GD

Please note the above information is based on my personal test only, and I can’t be held liable if you experience different results or performances.

Trash: Deleted file by mistake, red square

Put Back

A seldom mentioned and a new edition amongst others in Snow Leopard is the Put Back option from the Trash back to its original location.
Say for example you done your cleanup and deleted hundreds of documents, all of them in the Trash, just to make sure you open the Trash and check for a last time before you empty it, just in case, we don’t want to delete anything we might need or we dumped by mistake.
In Snow Leopard you open the Trash located at the Dock, ones the folder is open check your files and the ones you like to keep or have thrown out by mistake you just highlight those, then you go to File scroll down and you see Put Back click on it and your files go back where they came from in the first place.
With this cool and simple addition in Snow Leopard check your Trash before you finally empty it, this is very nice in particular if you have forgotten where the files originated.


I just love Quick Look!

For those new to Leopard and now Snow Leopard: Quick Look is a super cool feature but did you know once you clicked on it, (you can use the right mouse button to get to it or go to File) it not only shows you the document but you can do a lot more without open the actually software, Acrobat Reader in this case since I used a pdf file.

Try this…click say on a pdf file with multiple pages on the MacBook Pro you use the scroll pad and enlarge it or click full screen,
ok nothing new…but it is to big, you like to see a few more pages then just hit – (minus button on the keyboard) and it gets smaller every time you hit it to the size you comfortable with, nice if you use another keyboard.

Expose or show all Windows:

Another cool addition on all new Mac’s is the Expose button also called Show all Windows, this one is located on your keyboard (F3) have a go at it open multiple windows and click on F3 real nice and so convenient. Not like before, on Snow Leopard the arrangement is very nice now.

Just one more:

How often it happen you tried to eject a flash drive or your external drive and could not do that, can't eject drive file is in use or something like that. It is funny, I encountered this before, but now I am waiting for it so I can check it out. Anyway, if this occurs Snow Leopard will let you know where the problem is, it was frustrating before not knowing what was going on.
GD

© Gunther Deichmann - Buddhist Nun at Preah Khan,
Angkor Siem Reap Cambodia Sept.'09

"I hope she is praying for good weather."
Please take a few moments and think about those people who
are stranded and their homes are underwater or lost.

It is raining Cat and Dogs in Manila, the worst I have seen in a very long time, then yesterday Palau in the Limelight with an extraordinary achievement declaring at the UN in New York the Worlds first Shark Sanctuary, a little update on Snow Leopard, Aperture 2.1.4 & slowly drifting back to my recent Photo Workshop in Cambodia.

© Gunther Deichmann - Novice Monk at the Monastery near
Angkor Wat, nice Weather and a smiling face. Cambodia Sept. 2009

Wow what a mix today… a Kaleidoscope of recent events.
But then it is raining or should I say pouring non-stop, nobody dares to go outside into the flooded streets of Manila including myself. A friend of mine tried to visit me today, but no way... he couldn’t get out of his Hotel...

Manila is flooded, period! The only way to commute today is by Boat !

I just made it home last night…& now we lost power too...nice to have a Mac BookPro with a fully charged Battery and what better way to recap the past few days in a few sentences on today’s Blog, the only question is when do I get this post uploaded, your guess is as good then mine...

© Gunther Deichmann - this Butterfly landed right in front of me,
getting salt from the stones inside Preah Khan,
Siem Reap, Cambodia Sept. 2009

Lets start with Snow Leopard and the things I discovered during my recent trip to Cambodia.
Encountered a small problem in Aperture 2.1.4 whereas the Original images took time to appear after they had been modified, the version showed up but the Original Raw file took some time to show.
That small problem has now gone away after I upgraded to the latest Version of Snow Leopard 10.6.1 upon my return from Cambodia.
Everything else worked just flawless and I encountered no other glitches with SL and Aperture 2.1.4 dealing with over 3000 plus images on location. ,

I also notice that there is no more Software update via the Desktop, (Download Only) now you have to go direct into the system, which is fine, but if you have a slow connection or get interrupted that could cause a problem. Why Apple has removed this I don’t know, maybe it is a Copyright/Piracy issue, who knows!

Otherwise I am extremely happy with Snow Leopard, fast and efficient a great operating system and definitely worth every cent, as a matter of fact, great value for US$ 29.95. BTW the battery life on my new MacBook Pro is just awesome. Some of my students in Cambodia also used for the first time SL and encountered no problems either.

© Gunther Deichmann - reflections of the Sure Prot Angkor Thom Ruins
at Sunset,directly opposite the Elephant Terraces,
Siem Reap, Cambodia Sept. 2009

Back from Cambodia only a couple of days, I had already a session at the Power Mac Center on iWork ’09 with Keynote and Pages.

__________________________________________________________

Then the NEWS came in from Palau, the first World Shark Sanctuary declared by the President of Palau at the United Nations in New York last Friday. This small Island Nation in the Pacific has shown the rest of the world how to stop the killing of our Sharks, congratulations again to Palau and I am proud to be associated with the Shark Sanctuary in Palau.
http://www.palautours.com/blog.html

Contact the Palau Shark Sanctuary:
http://www.sharksanctuary.com/contact-us.html
email : sharksanctuary@gmail.com
Tel:      + 680-488-1062
Cell:    +  680-775-1062
Palau is GMT + 9 hours / same time zone as Japan.

For more Images on Palau please visit my Photo Shelter Galleries & follow the LINKS below:

1.General:  http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/gdeichmann/gallery/Palau-Micronesia-Tribal-Aerial-Waterfall-Animals-Landscape-People-Islands-Tourism-Jellyfish/G0000C.NjlJIRAik/

2. Aerials: http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/gdeichmann/gallery/1-Palau-Micronesia-Aerials-Jan-2008-largest-collection-of-aerial-Photography-on-Palau/G00000jBlBEacoyY/

3. Aerials 2: http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/gdeichmann/gallery/2-Palau-Micronesia-Aerials-2nd-Gallery-largest-collection-of-Aerials-on-Palau/G0000EnEkvDHJjo8/

__________________________________________________________

Now back to Cambodia, my sincere thanks to all participants from my last Photo Workshop “Angkor Wat & beyond…” you have been a great group and made my job so much easier, thanks again to you all, I will remember the friendship we shared and for sure the non-stop giggles, thanks to you all I had a great time too.

To the staff and management from the Heritage Suite Hotel in Siem Reap our appreciations for an outstanding job & their incredible hospitality during our stay. Thank you all!

A very special mention and thanks goes to Didier Faraud from the Heritage Adventures for showing us some additional places rarely visited by others. A real adventure... on foot, by 4x4 wheel drive and Ox Cart, thanks a lot Didier.

I have been asked already for more images on Cambodia, please have a little patience I am going to upload the students Gallery asap. But one thing for sure, I was impressed with their images and dedication to Photography, they did an outstanding job not only in the field but after the shoot too using Aperture 2 for the workflow.
More images from the students and myself very soon...so please stay tuned.
GD

Composite Image: © Gunther Deichmann - Speed and much more efficient...
running Aperture 2.1.4 on Snow Leopard...a cool New Cat!

1. Opening Aperture, much faster now with Snow Leopard

2. Going to full screen mode, no more delay, it is instantly

3.Selecting multiple images in editing mode and then going to full screen, very fast now.

4. Retouch Tools & Spot Patch Tools have improved by 100% almost no more delay when retouching using clone or repair tools, this is a very big improvement.

5. Opening from within Aperture an External editor like Photoshop CS3 is super fast now

6. Opening Mail from within Aperture also super fast improvement by at least X2

7. I exported some 28 high res Raw images in one go as Versions to full jpg size, wow, that went real fast, again a huge improvement.

8. I also experienced the same during import using a fire wire 800 Card reader, nice speed increase.

9.There had been some delays before on some commands in particular the Cloning and Repair but that has disappeared now.

10. I tried also the slide show with some 50 plus Raw images, almost no delay very cool.

11. Edit with: Dodge & Burn, very fast opening with the use of the Tools, super fast on saving and closing.

12. Hitting the Z key (zoom) wow again, it is instant; the bit sluggish Navigation before is now very smooth, the same applies for the Loupe much faster and so much more responsive on all settings.

Aperture 2.1.4 performs very impressive on Snow Leopard, a significant speed increase and overall smooth performance. I think Aperture was ahead of its time and was just waiting for the New Cat…. Snow Leopard is made for Aperture 2.1.4 the perfect combination. Not to mention the increase of disk space after installation of the S.L.very cool. (see my comments from my previous Blog Post)

Run like you never run before… Aperture 2.1.4 is doing just that; everything is just so much more liquid and responsive.
I only used Raw and very large Tiff files, really pushing it, editing has picked up another 100%.
So, if you’re using Aperture 2.1.4 go ahead and install Snow Leopard, find out why I love Aperture even more now, feel and experience the difference.
GD

Please note the above information is based on my personal test only, and I can’t be held liable if you experience different results or performances.