Since recently I have been trying out Adobe Lightroom. I always used Photoshop for touch ups. So Lightroom was very different, it's basically just a digital darkroom. Instead of Actions like in Photoshop it has Presets. You can load downloaded ones, or create your own. Once the preset is loaded you just mouse over on it and get a small thumbnail preview of how the photo will look. Once you apply a preset you can change settings and adjust the photo to your taste.

But you can easily go to far with Lightroom, so a good photo composition is still key factor to a good photo. But taking photos with the Ricoh really lets one see how good DSLRs are. With my Nikon D70 in automatic mode I can shoot away perfect photos. But the Ricoh GR is not so great in automatic. I never shoot automatic, since I got the D70 I've been using manual 100% of the time. Once you can use manual easily automatic is like a handicap.

Everyone who owns a DSLR with a kit lens can take a good photo quality wise, so to stand out nowadays composition is everything. 10 people can photograph the same item, but only a few will take a unique view of the item.

The trick is to take a mundane object and make an interesting photo out of it. And also to know how the photo will look best, e.g. in B&W or colors? I decided to give it a try and create a composition in my room and use my desk lamp as only light source.

My shoes

See full size versions on my flickr macro set

The whole process took very little time to get done. The longest part was taking the photos. Then load them on the computer, open Lightroom, select the best shots, apply presets and done. But for me the thrill of photography is always getting a good composition. When I started taking photos with a Fuji S5000 I would sit/stand for hours observing animals in the nature to get that one great shot.

If you want to challenge yourself, get a fixed lens like a 28mm or 50mm and shoot in manual only. Think good about the composition and remember that digital editing is just the finishing touch, not what makes the picture.