I’ve been processing images on a Linux desktop or laptop computer since 2005. That’s when I purchased my first digital camera – a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-V1. The “industry standard” software packages weren’t available for Linux. But I soon found my own standard in the open source world.
Toward the end of my film years I was having digital copies made at the lab. A combination of low priced film and low quality scans made some images less than realistic. Colors, especially, were not what I observed in nature. That’s when I began looking for digital solutions.
Every processing session was an experiment when I began with those first Sony files. Some of the tools in the GIMP software (which I used first) were familiar, because I worked in a darkroom through high school. I recognized the dodging paddle, understood burning, and knew how to crop. Slowly, I began to use vignettes, the cloning tool, tone curve, and more.
Removing flaws and distractions was a novelty at first. I cloned out power lines, cleaned up blemishes in portraits, and moved objects from one side of the frame to the other. But I wasn’t happy with digital tricks. I still preferred realistic over artistic.
When I upgraded to a Sony A230, I began shooting and processing RAW files. This was a different kind of experience. I became concerned with an image’s white balance, highlights, shadows, and saturation. These were the kinds of adjustments I needed to make when a scene didn’t look like the real thing.
At some point or another, I tried Darktable, digiKam, LightZone, and eventually Rawatherapee. I was organizing my library with F-Spot, which was replaced by Shotwell. And I still used GIMP from time to time.
By the 2010’s I had an established digital workflow, the bulk of which remains in 2025.
My entire photo library is organized on a System76 desktop in Shotwell. All of those images are stored on an internal backup drive. There are tens of thousands of originals there. Nature and landscape “keepers” – about 500 or so – are also organized in Shotwell on a separate System76 laptop.
I shoot primarily with Olympus mirrorless cameras today, but also have some old Pentax and Sony gear. I shoot them all in RAW+JPEG mode. That means I have two copies of nearly every image in my catalog.
You could call me a backup fanatic. The entire library is copied monthly on two external drives. One is stored at home, the other at the studio. Every SD card is dumped into a cloud transfer drive online before import in Shotwell. They remain there until backups are completed for the month.
Final images are processed in RawTherapee and some are published here on my WordPress website (also open source).
All of my favorite and most important memories of family, friends, home, and life are organized, stored, processed, and published using free and open source software, which have never let me down.
I have been encouraged, and even pressured by a few people, to switch. The new features. The advanced technology. The massive user base. The support from a big company. All reasons to join the crowd and subscribe to Adobe products, they say. But I don’t see it.
Many wonderful hours have been spent working through my portfolio with these open source tools. And I am happy with the results – as close as possible to what I see with my own eyes.