Ordered a new Dell Alienware R15!

After 6 years my Alienware R6 is still going strong but it is time for a new PC. Because I was very happy with my R6 I decided to buy a Dell Alienware R15.

This time with a AMD processor and a GEM of a graphic card:

The Geforce 4090

Not that it makes a huge difference in Photoshop in comparison with a cheaper 4070 but for video and other graphic applications it will be visible.

Here is the configuration. According to the webiste of Dell the delivery of this machine will take place on December 12th.

Thank you dad for the financial support!

Alienware Aurora R15

• Bestelgegevens

  Dell Order

  Item number: 799-AANV

• Besturingssysteem

  Windows 11 Pro, English, Dutch, French, German, Italian

  Item number: 619-AQMC

• Beveiligingssoftware

  Not selected in this configuration

  Item number: 817-BBBC

• Bronmedia besturingssysteem

  No Media

  Item number: 620-AAOH

• Chassis opties

  Dark Side of the Moon 1350W PSU, Advanced Liquid Cooled CPU & Clear Side Panel

  Item number: 321-BIKW

• Cooling Option

  Top fan not required

  Item number: 321-BHCL

• diensten

  1Y Premium Support and Onsite Service Upgrade

  Item number: 344-71214

  Y2-3 Premium Support and Onsite Service Extension

  Item number: 344-71216

• Documentatie/schijven

  English, French, German, Italian, Dutch Shipping Docs

  Item number: 340-ACCX

• Draadloos

  Realtek Wi-Fi 6 RTL8852BE, 2x2, 802.11ax, MU-MIMO, Bluetooth(R) wireless card

  Item number: 555-BIFF

• Driver voor draadloze communicatie

  RTL 8852BE wireless driver

  Item number: 340-DDIT

• Etiket

  Regulatory Label

  Item number: 340-DDIY

• Extra software

  Additional Software

  Item number: 658-BFQD

  Game Pass

  Item number: 658-BFQH

• FGA Module

  Custom BTO Configuration

  Item number: 817-BBCE

• Gedis-pakketreferentie

  DAWR15A02

  Item number: 486-80331

• Geheugen

  64GB, 2x32GB, DDR5, 4800MHz

  Item number: 370-AHMH

• Grafische kaart

  NVIDIA(R) GeForce RTX(TM) 4090, 24GB GDDR6X

  Item number: 490-BJDV

• Kabels

  Power Cord - Europe

  Item number: 470-AFNV

• Microsoft Application Software

  Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial - Excludes Office License

  Item number: 630-ABBT

• Muis

  Optical Mouse MS116AW

  Item number: 570-AATJ

• Opslag

  2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive

  Item number: 400-BONT

• Processor

  AMD Ryzen(TM) 9 7950X (16 core, 80MB total cache, up to 5.7GHz max boost)

  Item number: 338-CHHK

• Processoretiket

  AMD Ryzen(TM) 9 Label

  Item number: 389-EFSG

• Supportservices

  1Y Collect and Return Service

  Item number: 302-11095

• Toetsenbord

  Dell Multimedia Keyboard-KB216 - Belgian (AZERTY) - Black

  Item number: 580-ADDJ

• Verpakking

  Shipping Material

  Item number: 328-BFIN

I stopped using the word "PHOTOSHOP". Here is why.

In my career as a photographer I have learned that a large part of the population knows little about photography.

As soon as you say the word Photoshop, these people associate Photoshop with 'fake' and your pictures are not 'real' photos! How crazy is that?

If I then say that I'll edit the photo a bit without using the word 'Photoshop', then suddenly it's all OK. So from now on I say I edit them in Capture One Pro. People don't know this RAW editor anyway, so it must be okay. However, I see little difference whether you use Capture One, Lightroom, Photoshop, Camera RAW, ON1, DXO or another program.

The only difference is Photoshop has many more possibilities, but if you only use a part of these extras in of Photoshop, there is most likely no difference with, for example, Lightroom.

I once had a little friendly discussion with a press photographer who said they weren’t allowed to use Photoshop. I told him that it doesn't matter what program you use. Only the result counts. What is the difference if you make the picture brighter in Photoshop of Lightroom. Absolutely nothing.

Using the skin softener in Lightroom makes the overall brushed part softer and blurrier and the result is much worse compared to artisanal work in Photoshop. Yes, I call the cloning of imperfections artisanal work.

It gets even worse when many women of all ages are using apps to make them look younger. Sometimes it goes so far that the person no longer resembles 'their' original at all.

It seems logical to me when a skin shines too hard you adjust this? It seems logical to me when someone has red ears or nose you equalize the skin colors? It seems logical to me if the white balance of your camera is too blue you modify this? It seems logical to me if the model is darker when you adjust the background? It seems logical to me if someone has a sore on the face you get rid of this? It seems logical to me when a dress is not flattering because of the wind and therefore the model shows thicker you start pushing the dress towards the model? It seems logical to me that you clone away a construction crane? I can give you at least 50 more reasons why there is nothing wrong making a photo better.

Is this photo over orocessed? I think not.

Long live Photoshop, but don't use the word.

Give volume to a face. (contouring)

This is my general dodging and burning photo to give volume to a portrait. I created this image years ago. It might be useful.