Hi all,
The point I'm trying to make, probably badly, is that photography is our first love, and technology comes a poor second. Having emerged from the traditional darkroom after many years into the blinding light, I wouldn't be without Photoshop etc for any money and look forward to each upgrade with great anticipation. It's a wonderful tool enabling us to do things we could never achieve with chemicals. My only complaint is that when a product is shipped, it should be so thoroughly tested, reliable and bug-free that we shouldn't need to go poking into its inards trying to use programming and other high-tech skills that most photographers do not possess nor have any wish to do so.
When, for instance, Bridge inexplicably crashes, I have neither the time , the patience nor the knowledge to find out why - yet I have no choice. What follows is a complete waste of time devoted in a hit and miss fashion trying to solve the problem - time spend on the web looking for people with similar problems who may have an answer, time we all could use working more productively on making good prints and enjoying our hobby, or more seriously, serving our clients. It's fine for photographers with a deep knowledge of the technology involved, but I suspect the vast majority of us have only a rudimentary awareness of how complex applications actually work. That's why we have to rely on forums like this where, in fairness, a vast amount of information is presented - but it takes time to unearth and implement it.
My experience is that since 'going digital' a few years ago, I find myself spending a disproportionate amount of time trying to solve purely technical problems than I do working on pictures. And please, don't anybody reply asking why I don't shut up and buzz off back into the darkroom where I came from. We have reached the point of no return - it ain't an option.
Now that I have that off my chest, I have to to back to Lightroom and find why it suddenly can't find the database it's being using ever since the day I installed it. More wasted time, more high blood pressure and more scouring the web looking for clues. Nobody ever said it would be easy, but nobody ever said it would be such a pain in the ass either!
Regards to all,
Seamus Finn