This site documents a modern RAW photography workflow built on open standards, file-based metadata and open-source tools – and the tech that makes them possible.
7 minutes read time If you’ve been struggling to find a Photo Manager - digikam or PhotoPrism kind - that doesn’t trip over its own features, this article is for you. And no, the solution isn’t the one you think it is. "When nothing else seems to work, slipping into a true Open Source Photography... Continue Reading →
4 minutes read time The Test: I’m not going to drag you through every twist and turn of my PhotoPrism experiment. Let’s just say it was… educational. One minute everything looked great, the next a database vanished, an index restarted, or a thumbnail batch decided to take a holiday. Nothing exploded, but it never felt... Continue Reading →
If you’ve read Part I, you’ll remember I ended with a promise:I was running a full, real-world 2025 test of digiKam - no theory, no demo files, just my own archive, my own workflow, and the occasional swear word.And honestly? That test taught me more than I expected. But not in the way most people... Continue Reading →
If you’ve never heard of PhotoPrism: think Google Photos, but fully offline, open-source, privacy-friendly, and running on your own hardware. Smart search, object recognition, clean interface - minus the data mining and the cloud dependency. It doesn’t edit photos; it simply organises them incredibly well. After years of wrestling with old and new digiKam’s database... Continue Reading →
2 minutes read time. This part ties into the “Stop Calling It RAW” series - this time tackling the myth of editing order - some of you might be surprised by what’s coming next, and it can be a tough one ! During a recent bushcraft weekend, I ended up talking to a professional woodworker... Continue Reading →
5 minute read. Well, “Stop Calling It RAW” caused a bit of a stir, didn’t it? I’ve never seen that many readers on a single day for one article - that says something. Not everyone agreed with me, and that’s perfectly fine. But one truth remains hard to ignore: RAWs are never truly raw. So... Continue Reading →
Hi there – just a quick note in response to some recent reader questions.I always try to reply individually, but when the topic is complex and relevant to many of you, I’m happy to follow up with a broader reply to the open source photography community. And yes, this is one of those topics: messy,... Continue Reading →
One thing I aim for on Open Source Photography is showing a different way of doing photography and editing - without the “one-size-fits-all” approach. These days, it’s also about responding quickly when readers run into real-world issues. If you’ve got a problem, chances are, someone else does too. That’s the kind of thing I love... Continue Reading →
9 minutes read time In this Deep Dive, I’m picking up where my earlier article “Problem Solving: How to Migrate Your Photo Library from Apple Photos and Lightroom to Open Source” left off. This time, we’re going beyond theory - with a closer look at digiKam, and more importantly, how it actually performs in a... Continue Reading →
Did you happen to see the header photo on the main page? It’s a misty landscape, a bit blurry and painterly. The idea was to create an image that feels like a dreamy, perhaps even slightly ethereal, painting. Some time ago, I experimented with this style, inspired by the techniques of Jo Stephen, a photographer... Continue Reading →
Introduction:The header photo isn't very good. It's been edited to make it clear what this article is about. So, it's not the final result we're aiming for. Also, the editing was done using RawTherapee and Showfoto, but you could use other photo editing programs too. RawTherapee was used for adjusting the exposure, while Showfoto has... Continue Reading →
