I came to a resolution the other day: Adobe Lightroom is not for me. I've been using the program for over six months now, enjoying the free beta version with all its powerful organization, tagging, and editing tools.

But something was lacking in the program overall, and I finally came to the decision. I've trashed the application and returned to an Adobe Bridge & Photoshop workflow.

Why? you ask? Here's why:

1. Slow Runnings - I'm using a PowerBook G4, purchased in 2004. This mighty little machine has held up mighty well, over the years, let me tell you. It's powerful and Gets It Done. But Lightroom is a beast. The previews take forever to load, and I spend more time waiting for things to refresh than I do actually perusing my (massive) photo library.
   
   
2. Clunky Tools - I have to confess: I'm a Photoshop gal. I know that program inside and out. Got a damaged picture? I can retouch it. Color adjustment? Done. But Lightroom takes Photoshop's powerful image-editing tools and makes them dumb. For someone who's so familiar with Photoshop, the tools that Lightroom has to offer are mediocre, at best.
   
   
3. Unused Features - After awhile, I noticed that I used very few of the features available to Lightroom, spending most of my time in the "Library" and "Develop" panels. I didn't need the slideshow or the web-gallery functionality; I knew enough to do it myself, and they didn't offer that much ease or control either. Plus, burning a CD, creating a web gallery, and making a slideshow are so easy with Photoshop and Apple's built-in tools. If I really need a quick fix, I can go there.

So there you have it, folks. Lightroom--a fancy program that promises to "do-it-all"--doesn't really do much.

But perhaps I'm being too harsh. There is one thing I'll miss about Lightroom, and that's the cataloguing power that I had. I used it to get myself more organized than ever before, and I now have a foolproof system to tracking everything. Now that the system is in place, though, Lightroom is unnecessary. So thank you, Lightroom, for helping me do my work better. You were a good to me, and I hope other photographers find you as helpful as I did, if for a time.