blob:diet.mayoclinic.org/5a091b43-5d0b-4d28-b9e2-6a6ca432627c
All posts by Karen Vigmostad
Shooting raw versus .jpg images
As of June 3, 2021, not sure what I am going to do with this old blog. I will probably switch this over to circlingthelakes.com where I have been active, or to fivebluelakes.com that plan to launch in 2021.
Below is the content from years ago with the header above.
Updated 6/3/2021
I shoot raw images so it’s a cinch to make .jpg images with Adobe Lightroom to share. But I’ve been learning that for various reasons quite a few photographers only shoot .jpg. Some of the reasons given seem sound yet others short-sighted. So I was pleased to come across a terrific UTube video illustrating why you want to shoot in RAW if your goal is–like mine–to end up with the very best photo quality. The video was done by Toronto’s Gallery 44 on their 44widegallery’s channel.
For technical explanation of RAW files, Luminous Landscape has a nice one. However, I no longer agree with their conclusion that the ideal solution is to shoot raw and .jpg at the same time. I used to believe this and I actually switched from Canon to Nikon for that very reason when I bought my first digital camera (a D70). At the time 8 years ago Canon didn’t have a camera in my price range with that option and I didn’t know a thing about processing digital images so bought Nikon’s D70. It was a good decision at the time, but now that I have Adobe Lightroom under my belt and am slogging my way through an Adobe Photoshop class, I’ll never take a .jpg again other than with my iPhone.
I will share the reasons why I recently upgraded to a new Nikon D7000 with the Nikkor 18-200 zoom lens soon. For now, let me just say that it’s happiness in a black metal/plastic box.
Enjoying travel photographer Trey Ratcliff

I’ve been poking around the Internet for the very best photographic images, websites, resources, and photographers. One of my latest finds is travel photographer Trey Ratcliff. His images are fascinating and fantastic, and as a bonus he seems like such a nice guy. Hope our paths cross someday.
Trey posts an image a day from somewhere in the world on stuckincustoms.com. He has innovated HDR (high dynamic range) photography and offers a free HDR tutorial on his site. He also offers many terrific resources so it’s a site worth spending some time on. He has also created a free app called Stuck on Earth to find the best places to take photos whereever you are. I plan to check that out soon.
I’ve learned about the copyright system Trey embraces called Creative Commons. Not sure it’s right for me, but I’ll continue to investigate because it seems designed for the more free-floating world of digital images.
Trey seems to be a mecca for creating community no matter where he goes. Trey was interviewed about the rise of social media among photographers during the recent South by Southwest Interactive Conference 2012 in Austin, Texas. Hope you check out his images through his blog, Google+, or friend Trey on Facebook.