Photographer Uses Excire Software to Manage UK Pier Photo

Photographer Will Cheung has spent years documenting the UK's surviving piers, amassing a collection of thousands of images. To organize this sprawling project, he turned to photo management software Excire Foto 2027.

Cheung began the piers project in earnest in 2016, motivated by the structures' photogenic qualities and a desire to visit the coast. He aimed to photograph every pier listed by the National Piers Society, shooting details, frontages, long exposures, and environmental contexts. Over four years, he photographed 52 piers, working primarily during the off-season and fitting trips around his work schedule.

His photographic kit was varied, including full-frame Canon EOS R and Nikon Z systems, alongside APS-C and medium-format Fujifilm cameras. He used a range of lenses from wide-angle to telephoto, supported by a tripod and filters like a polariser and extreme NDs. The project's images were initially imported into separate annual Adobe Lightroom Classic catalogues, which later made collating the complete collection a challenge.

Organizing a Scattered Archive

With plans for a trip to Scotland to photograph its four remaining piers and landscapes, Cheung needed to review his entire collection. Having previously added his entire digital archive to Excire Foto's database, he used the updated 2027 version to consolidate the pier photos. He performed a text search for 'piers' across the database, which quickly returned 9,359 images.

Cheung noted the search was largely accurate, though it also retrieved images of coastal features like groynes and lighthouses, as well as derelict piers outside the project's scope. He manually scrolled through the results, removing inappropriate images. The process of refining the collection and adding any missing photos from his folder-based archive took about an hour.

Key Features of Excire Foto 2027

The article outlines several significant features in the new software version. AI Text Recognition automatically detects visible text in images, allowing for rapid searches of place names or brands. A new Map View uses GPS data from images to plot shooting locations on an interactive map, which the source describes as a great tool for travel, street and landscape photographers.

Other highlighted features include a powerful timeline tool for filtering images by date and a redesigned workflow with a more efficient search bar and Survey view for quick assessment. The software retains all the rating, culling, and search capabilities of its predecessor.

Completing the Project

With his collection now organized, Cheung is prepared to assess his work and plan the final shoots. Only six piers remain: four in Scotland, Ramsey Queen's Pier on the Isle of Man, and the new Colwyn Bay Pier in North Wales. He had previously photographed the original, derelict Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier before it was dismantled. The source concludes by noting Cheung's potential next project could be Victorian viaducts.

Excire Foto 2027 is currently available with a limited-time launch discount, and an additional 15% off is offered with the code AMATEURPHOTO.