{"id":1998,"date":"2012-05-22T17:14:51","date_gmt":"2012-05-22T08:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2012-05-22\/1998"},"modified":"2012-05-22T17:14:51","modified_gmt":"2012-05-22T08:14:51","slug":"insidious-extortion-ongoing-pitfalls-of-my-lightroom-plugin-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2012-05-22\/1998","title":{"rendered":"Insidious Extortion: Ongoing Pitfalls of My Lightroom Plugin Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D3 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMe Playing Dressup<\/span>\nPaul swung by with his camera while I was<\/span> out on a date<\/span> with my wife last month.\nphoto by Paul Barr<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Back during the Lightroom 2<\/span> days (circa early 2009), I spent<\/span> some\nintense weeks writing a really<\/span> great plugin, allowing a user<\/span> to create\ncustom image metadata fields on the fly. If a user<\/span> suddenly decides that he\nwants an extra metadata field to describe the weather for a shot,<\/span> or the\nflash setup, or a model's<\/span> name, or whatever, just a few<\/span> clicks in a plugin<\/span> dialog and voil\u00e0<\/i>,\nit would appear with the standard image metadata alongside each photo. I really<\/span> wanted this for my own use, and I knew<\/span> lots of folks would be jazzed\nabout it as well.<\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately, I eventually<\/span> noticed an incompatibility with how\nLightroom sometimes loads plugins. I spent<\/span> much energy trying everything I\ncould<\/span> think of to dance around the issue. I'm pretty<\/span> good at this kind of\nthing because I routinely<\/span> push Lightroom's plugin infrastructure well\nbeyond what it was designed for. In a twisted<\/span> way, this is part of the fun\nof Lightroom plugin development for me, to come up with “creative” ways to\nget things done and make my photo workflow easier.<\/p>\n\n

But in this case, back in 2009, it beat me, and with great reluctance I abandoned<\/span> the plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D3 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDedication To The Shot<\/span>\n( this shot<\/a> )\nphoto by Paul Barr<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

(I'm populating this narcissistic post with various\nshots of<\/i> me that I've accumulated from friends I go<\/span> out shooting\nwith, mostly by Paul on his visits to Kyoto.)<\/p>\n\n\n

Over the years I've kept an eye out for a change<\/span> in Lightroom plugin\ninfrastructure that would happen to allow the plugin to work, but it's\nnever come. (To be clear, I can't<\/span> blame Adobe because, again, I'm pushing<\/span> things well beyond the design envelope). But on a<\/span> whim last night, perhaps\nin an effort to avoid actually having to address the hundreds of\nrequest-for-help emails that have accumulated recently, I pulled<\/span> the old\nplugin carcass from my archive and gave it a try.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

It still didn't work, but I expected that.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D3 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSquished Nose<\/span>\nhappens every time the camera is in landscape mode\nphoto by Paul Barr<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

But even though Lightroom's plugin-infrastructure tools have not\nimproved in this particular area, they have definitely improved here and\nthere in other areas, so I gave<\/span> it another try. Combined with perhaps a bit<\/span>\nmore ingenuity under my belt this time, after a few<\/span> hours of hacking\naround, I figured<\/span> out a way<\/span> to make it work!<\/p>\n\n

Woo-hoo!<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D3 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJust Rewards!<\/span>\nthe beer she was pulling was for me\nphoto by Paul Barr<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Getting the custom-metadata plugin working was great news, but also dreadful news.<\/p>\n\n

It's great because now I can use this plugin for myself. It works. It does what<\/span> I need.<\/span> My workflow<\/span> will be better because of it.<\/p>\n\n

It's dreadful because I know others would find it useful, so I feel<\/span> a\nstrong<\/span> desire to release the plugin, and that would take a lot<\/i> more\nwork. I'd have to<\/span> bullet-proof the thing. I'd have to<\/span> write up docs and\nFAQs and make screenshots. I'd have to<\/span> add all kinds of things to the\nplugin that I don't<\/span> personally need, but I'm sure others will ask for (and\nin some cases, demand). Some of those things (such as the ability to\ntransfer the custom metadata when exporting or merging catalogs) pose\nserious complications whose potential solutions are all among the\n“dammed if you do, dammed if you don't” can't-please-everyone\ngenre that will certainly, no matter what, generate complaints and\nrequests.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nE-P2 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFutzing With the Polarizer Filter<\/span>\n\"Why can't Nikon design a lens hood that incorporates access to a filter<\/span>? They must all be idiots!\"\nphoto by Nicolas Joannin<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So in the end, I will spend<\/span> a ridiculous<\/i> amount of time doing all\nthis, resulting in yet another incessant flow of request-for-help mails\nthat fill my inbox and increase my stress. That sounds like a complaint,<\/span>\nand I suppose<\/span> it is, but I choose<\/span> this hobby freely because I like<\/span> most\naspects of it. I just need<\/span> to be smart about how I handle<\/span> the stressful\naspects of it, lest I let<\/span> it drive me into another stress breakdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

I went to bed last night trying to decide whether I want<\/span> to even try\nto release it. Do I want<\/span> to accept the burden of stress that inevitably\ncomes with it? If so, can I do<\/span> anything now to decrease the amount of\nstress generated later?<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D3 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTaking A Rest<\/span><\/span>\nwhile on the outing that produced this post<\/a> and this post<\/a>.\nphoto by Paul Barr<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I woke up without an answer, but as I helped<\/span> prepare Anthony for school, I decided<\/span> to at least give it a try,<\/span> to prepare a version<\/span> with ample\ncaveats about data migration, and see how it went from there. If it became<\/span>\npopular, I'd feel good<\/span> about spending more energy to tackle the tough\nproblems that remained, and if not, well, I just saved<\/span> myself a lot<\/span> of\ngrief.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D3 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIn a Friendly<\/span> Frame of Mind<\/span>\nphoto by Paul Barr<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So it was with that frame of mind that I saw<\/span> Anthony off to school,\nprepared a cup<\/span> of coffee, and checked in on the computer. I found<\/span> among my\nmail the notice of a gift<\/span> from a Boston<\/span> photographer who wanted to register\none of my plugins. As per the<\/span> “donationware”<\/a>\nthing, he didn't have to send me anything at all to use my plugins, but he\nkindly chose to send $5. That was nice, but he also added this personal\nmessage to me:<\/p>\n\n
“<\/span><\/td>\n\n Another extortion payment to keep my Lr plugin running.\n Advice: Make the darn thing about $100, let us pay that and then leave us alone\n STOP INTERRUPTING MY WORK WITH THESE INSIDIOUS 'RE\" REGISTRATIONS.\n\n<\/span>”<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/table>\n\n