Jack Baty

Director of Unspecified Services

Uses

Some things I use

A list of things that I use to manage my life or that I simply enjoy using.

Last updated September 2023. (Still working on it)

Computer Hardware

  • Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max (2020) – Finally, Apple makes a great laptop again.
  • Apple iPad Pro 10.9 (2021) – I am not an iPad person, but this is a great “get-away” device. The Magic Keyboard makes it usable.
  • iPhone 15 Pro – I’ve finally gone with a “full-size” phone. No more Minis. It’s fine.
  • Apple Studio display – Just the right size. Gorgeous view.
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015) – I tinker with Linux on this. I hate the trackpad more than anything.
  • Mac Mini (2012) - For cold storage, Roon Core, and Plex. It replaces the Synology
  • Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2 – The greatest keyboard there is. It’s nearly perfect.
  • Logitech MX Master 3 mouse - I still prefer a mouse over a trackpad. This is a good one.

Software

Here’s the software that I currently use on a regular basis

  • Emacs and  Org mode – I write nearly everything in Org-mode. Tasks, lists, documents, publishing, all in plain text. I basically live there.
  • DEVONthink – Email Archives, Manuals, PDFs, Scanned documents. Years of archives remain searchable and synced across devices. It’s also another way into my ~/org files.
  • Apple Mail – It’s fine, and it’s always right there.
  • BBEdit – As much as I try to remain in Emacs for editing, whenever I need something fancy done with a lot of text, I turn to BBEdit. It’s the editor I’ve used the longest. In fact, it may be the piece of software I’ve used the longest, period. It remains truly great.
  • Kitty Terminal – I spend a lot of time in a terminal. Apple’s built-in Terminal is fine, but Kitty is faster and has “Layouts” .
  • Git – For a long time I pushed Mercurial over Git, as it was simpler to use and understand. I lost, so everything goes in Git. 
  • 1Password – Password management
  • Arq Backup – Helps me keep things backed up properly
  • Raycast – Launcher and generally useful utility for all sorts of automation and shortcuts. Replaced Alfred for me a year or so ago.
  • Espanso - Text expansion utility. It’s free, cross-platform, fast, and appropriately nerdy.
  • CleanShot X — Far and away the best screenshot utility there is
  • Apple Messages – Nearly everyone I communicate with uses Apple devices
  • Signal – For non-Apple and/or private communication

Services

Photography

Cameras I use most frequently

  • Leica MP (Black Paint) - OMG it’s so beautiful. I bought it new in 2021 as my “forever” camera.
  • Leica Q2 (Digital) - Wonderful everyday carry digital camera.
  • Leica SL2 (Digital) - Superb build and image quality. Best EVF I’ve ever used. And made for use with adapted M lenses.
  • Leica M3 - OG Leica M. Built in 1960 and works like butter.
  • Ricoh GRIII (Digital) - Pocketable, high-quality (APS-C), and fun to use snapshot camera.
  • Fujifilm X100 - The O.G. Fuji X camera. It’s 12 years old now but I still use it, even though the rear buttons suck and it’s only 12 MP.

Cameras I use occasionally

  • Leica IIIf – Barnack! Mine was made in 1946.
  • Hasselblad 500C/M - The Hasselblad V series cameras are iconic, beautiful, and superbly engineered. They also produce wonderful images, which is why they are my favorite all-around cameras.
  • Graflex Crown Graphic - Large Format (4×5) film camera. Mine is beat up and held together with gaffer tape, and I love it. It’s a pain in the ass to use, but there’s nothing like a 4×5 negative.
  • Canon Pro-zoom 814 Electronic – Super8 movie film camera
  • Nikon F100 – 35mm auto-focus film camera. Best bang for the buck in film cameras.
  • Olympus OM–1n – 35mm film camera. Tiny and jewel-like. Amazing viewfinder.
  • Olympus OM–2n – 35mm film camera
  • Olympus Stylus Epic – Compact 35mm film camera

Retired cameras

  • Canon AE–1 Program – 35mm Film SLR. This is the first “real” camera I ever owned.
  • Canon Canonet – 35mm rangefinder camera. Retired.
  • Minolta Autocord – Medium format TLR. Retired.
  • Graflex Speed Graphic – Another 4×5 film camera. Mine has a bad light leak so it sits on a shelf.

Software for photography

  • Capture One Pro – Raw file editor
  • Apple Photos – For iPhone shots and keepers exported from my editor
  • Photo Mechanic – Ingesting, tagging, and renaming photos from cards. Nothing is faster or easier. I’d like to not need it, but trying to caption and tag dozens of photos at a time is an exercise in frustration in any other app.

Photo Hardware

  • Epson ET-8500 - “EcoTank” photo printer. Great photo printer that doesn’t cost a fortue to run.
  • Epson V850 – Flatbed film scanner. Works great for medium and large format. Less great for 35mm, but still fine.
  • Profoto D1 Monolights – Aging but still great for studio portraits.
  • Billingham Hadley Pro Small – Beautiful and well-made camera bag

Darkroom

I use a basement bathroom as a makeshift darkroom.

  • Leitz Focomat v35 – 35mm auto-focus enlarger. Solid and reliable. It is a fantastic device.
  • Beseler 45MXT – This is for printing medium and large format negatives. Mine is a little janky but works great overall.
  • Leitz Focomat IIc – Manufactured from 1956–1983, the Focomat IIc is a giant, over-engineered marvel of an enlarger. I bought mine as a fixer-upper from Craigslist and I still don’t have it working completely. Getting there, though.

Pen and Paper

Every Day Carry