I’m really not sure what I think of Robert Mapplethorpe (as a photographer). I suppose he’s been copied so much that it is difficult to understand the original impact he made.

Mapplethorpe exhibition poster, just outside the office

But now I’ve got the chance to find out ... not often photography of this calibre comes here to us down here in the Sargasso Sea.

well ok, not quite Venice. But close enough.

Burano: Xpan with 30mm lens on Fuji Velvia 100

I’d love to say this was planned, but actually it was just a quick grab shot, and when I looked at it, first it really demanded a conversion to black and white, and it really had to remain tilted.

Venice, Feb 27th 2010. Somewhere in the Rialto. I think.

Another Ricoh GR-Digital shot.

Since my contributions to this blog have died to a crawl, I think I’d better let the pictures do a bit of talking.

Venice, 27th Feb 2010

February is a great time to visit Venice. Not too crowded, not deadly quiet. This photo was taken using the Ricoh GRD II, and in my opinion is a great example of the almost magical way the GR lens can render this kind of scene. It’s difficult to explain, but there’s a sense of transparency, clarity and luminance which I just don’t get from any other camera. The Ricoh GR (35mm) was just the same.

This version was processed using Apple Aperture. For this particular shot, Aperture and Iridient RAW Developer have remarkably diverse opinions on what looks “right”. Aperture renders a far less saturated sky, but allows a lot more detail extraction in the clouds.

For what it’s worth, RAW Developer’s effort is a lot closer to Ricoh’s in-camera JPG. But I prefer the Aperture feel, in this case.

Has anybody noticed yet ? What’s that ? Oh. Right. I’m last.

Actually I got the tip off for Aperture 3’s release from the excellent and still improving RB Design blog run by Robert Boyer.  I highly recommend his site as well as his eBook series, without a doubt the best value for money technical writing you’re going to find on Aperture. It’s great to see an Aperture-related web site at least on a par with the best of the Lightroom community. Some of Robert’s tips will leave wondering why you never knew that ... and make Aperture really hum. AND he’s got a sense of humour and doesn’t shy clear of the odd rant, bit of invective or rude word. Highly entertaining.

I’m stuck with Aperture 2 since my photo workstation is a Mac G5, and the budget for a Mac Pro is in the realms of fantasy. But I’m not complaining - Aperture 2 does everything I need.

Aperture 3 looks like it has some outstanding new features, and although it isn’t really an issue, at least not for me, it seems to becoming a far more powerful tool than Lightroom. One thing that does disappoint me though is RAW support: although it doesn’t affect me, the lack of support for the Olympus m4/3 series is a let-down, and the no-show for the Leica M9 is really surprising (yes, I know it records DNG, but the Ricoh GRDII also records DNGs, and at default settings they look crap in Aperture). At least the Lumix LX-3 finally made it. But I predict that RAW support is going to provide some fuel for Ye Olde Forum Flame Wars.

Whatever. Welcome Aperture 3. We’ve been expecting you.