Don't Shoot Raw + JPEG

www.dennismook.com is my website with my images.  Please check it out.

Don't shoot Raw + JPEG.  Shoot raw only, save the space on your memory cards but still get the benefits of shooting raw + jpeg.  Let me tell you how.

For several years, I had to go to Hawaii several times per year for work.  Each trip lasted 5-10 days.  As much as I tried, I didn't have much time to photograph as my work took me back and forth to the various islands each day.  However, I found time in the mornings as dawn was breaking, sometimes in the afternoon if work finished early and, on a few of the trips, I was there over a weekend. 

Flying from the east coast of the continental United States the 5000 miles to the Hawaiian Islands for a week or more takes some planning, especially if you are a serious photographer in one of the planet's most beautiful places.  As my clothes fully filled my checked baggage and not wanting to check valuable camera gear, I was relegated to carry my camera gear and all my work-related stuff, including computer, as carry-on luggage.  To save space in my carry-on bags, I had a very small 12" laptop that I used for travel.  The laptop was not very powerful and wouldn't run Photoshop or Lightroom in any manner that was efficient.  Processing a raw image took minutes, not seconds. 

The bottom line was that I really couldn't use my computer for editing and processing the large raw files I created so I couldn't easily share my images.  Additionally, Windows 98 at the time, did not have a codec that allowed me to even look at my raw files in a Windows viewer or in its Windows Explorer.  At least, I was not aware of one at the time.  So, I started shooting raw + jpeg in order to solve these two problems.  In my daily excitement of creating some very interesting images, I wanted to edit and process those images as well as send some jpeg images out to family and friends while I was in Hawaii to share the beauty of the islands and the people.

At some point in time, I discovered the free program by Michael Tapes entitled "Instant JPEG from RAW."  (http://michaeltapesdesign.com/instant-jpeg-from-raw.html)  This program takes advantage of the fact that in every raw image you make, there is an embedded jpeg image.  I bet some of you didn't know that.  That jpeg is what you see on the rear LCD on your camera.  This program allows you to effortlessly extract that jpeg from each raw image for viewing or editing.  The program allows you some choices of sizes of jpeg and well as the ability to create a separate folder in which the extracted jpegs will now reside.  I downloaded that image and have been using it regularly since.

The benefits are that I save a great deal of space on my memory cards, my computer processes the jpeg in a much more efficient manner and I get to freely share my images when I travel with family and friends.

I recommend trying it and seeing if you, too, like the program.

Thanks for looking.

Enjoy!
Dennis Mook