Adam Price

Great points. For a lightfast beginner core stick to single-pigment colors with ASTM I/II ratings: PB29 ultramarine, PB15:3 phthalo blue GS, PY150 or PY154 for yellow, PR254 pyrrole red, PV19 rose, plus earths like PBr7 burnt sienna or PR101. I’d also skip PV23 dioxazine violet in delicate washes since it can shift, and when you do your fade test, try one set behind glass and another outdoors because window glass filters a lot of UV.

Switching to a password manager is a smart move if you're reusing passwords, because it lets you generate and store unique, complex ones for every account without having to remember them all. The big upside is security. With a manager, you can create passwords that are 20 characters long with random letters, numbers, and symbols, which makes them way harder to crack than something simple you memorize. Plus, most managers autofill your logins on websites and apps, saving you time and reducing the risk of typing errors that could expose you to keyloggers. For example, I use Bitwarden, and it syncs across my phone and computer seamlessly, so I never get locked out. That said, you're right to be nervous about putting everything in one place, so pick a reputable one with strong encryption like AES-256. Watch out for your master password. Make it something super strong and unique, and enable two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of protection. Also, keep an eye on updates. Managers sometimes have vulnerabilities, so stay current with patches. If you're really paranoid, export your vault periodically as a backup, but store it encrypted on a separate drive. Overall, the convenience and security boost far outweigh the risks if you set it up properly.

Low light makes any DSLR hunt because it needs contrast to lock on. Try single point AF with the center point and One Shot for still scenes. Aim at a hard edge with contrast such as where a window frame meets a wall or the lettering on a shirt and half press to lock and then recompose. If it still struggles, briefly add light with a phone flashlight to get focus, then turn it off and shoot. Live View can sometimes focus more reliably in dim rooms, so give that a try for family shots. Do a quick tune up before your trip. Clean the front element and the lens mount contacts with a dry microfiber, reseat the lens, and remove any filters that might be causing reflections. Make sure the lens switch is on AF and that you are not closer than the minimum focus distance. Reset camera settings, enable AF assist in the menu if your camera has it, and charge a fresh battery. Use a faster shutter to avoid motion blur that looks like bad focus by raising ISO, and use a wider aperture to feed the AF system more light, then stop down a bit if depth of field is too thin. If your camera supports AF microadjust, run a simple test at home to see if the lens is consistently front or back focusing. If you have another lens, compare behavior to learn whether the issue is the lens or the body. Keep stabilization on when handholding and turn it off on a tripod.

Back in the day we'd print photos and stick them in albums or burn them to CDs that gathered dust in a drawer. These days I just dump everything into folders by year and month on my external hard drive. No fancy apps and just sort by date taken and delete duplicates manually when I feel like it. For sharing with grandparents, I use Google Photos' shared albums since it's free and simple. Keeps things cross-platform without much hassle. Don't overthink it. automatic stuff often breaks anyway.