Hi ... I also have the Canon EOS 6D. The lens attached in the picture is the Canon 100-400. Hopefully this will show you the space you will have for your gear. The bag I use for travel is the Timbuk2 Informant Size Medium. It is well padded with enough pockets to hold everything I need. I've owned the bag for almost 2 years now. I'm finding that I take it everywhere. When I travel to Cape Cod, it's the only bag I take. One summer, I traveled 24 times by ship to Martha's Vineyard. With the crowds of summer traveling, my camera and lens were well protected from people bumping into me. Very pleased with it. I'm not sure if Timbuk2 is still making it. They might have a replacement by now. I highly recommend the bag. Good luck!

I, too, was in the same situation as you. And, I just made my move within the past two weeks. After researching and reading on UHH and elsewhere, I came up with a plan that is working wonderful for me. My Mac is a 15", 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 Processor, 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Memory, and Graphics is NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB. My camera is the Canon EOS 6D. I do plan on my camera doing most of the work for me. It takes awesome pictures.

First, I purchased a Seagate 1TB Backup Plus Slim Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive from B&H. I spent many countless hours designing my own database structure for storing my photos. Something that would be easy for me to find just about anything. And, it worked! I then spent days moving (drag & copy) photos into the structure already set up on my external.

Second, I was so pleased with the ease of the move, I purchased a second Seagate just like my first one, and backed up one Seagate to the other for a duplicate copy. This whole process lifted a weight off my shoulders. I now owned my own photos.

Third, I patiently did wait for the new Photos. I, too, never used iPhoto. I was trained in Aperture. After playing with Photos a bit, I realized quickly that it did nothing for me as far as photo editing. However, owning the iPhone 6 Plus and an iPad, I did want the Apple Cloud sharing capabilities. Therefore, I am using the new Photos for downloading pictures from my camera. And, the Cloud for bringing in pictures from my phone. The only album I created in Photos was "My Most Recent" pictures. It is here that I filter and delete photos. The photos that are keepers, I might straighten and crop. And, that is it for the new Photos.

Fourth, I was going to go the route of Lightroom to Photoshop Elements 13. That, as of now, has changed. I do have Adobe Photoshop Elements 13. It is powerful and definitely can do everything that I need. I purchased the book "The Photoshop Elements 13 Book for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby & Matt Kloskowski. The book is like my bible. Excellent! I have a learning curve. Any new package you purchase will require change and learning. As of right now, I can see no need for Lightroom for me. After working a photo in Elements, it will be backed up on my Seagates. I can find any photo I took easily.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 allows me to keep and use my plug-ins. I do have the NIK Collection, the complete set of Topaz Labs Products and I recently did the pre-order for the Macphun Creative Kit. All of this works flawlessly in Elements.

I wish you good luck. Making the decision on what is best for you is the hardest part. No two photographers think or work alike. There are plenty of threads on UHH of all the software I mentioned. I did remove Aperture from my Mac. This was strongly suggested by my buddies in my Apple Store. Just ask if you have any further questions. Good luck!

This was their reply! :(

Hi Patty,

First - glad to have you aboard :)
Right now you see a different price as you have already made your first purchase, and our site detects it, thus gives you a discount for any second purchase. This is a good option in case you want to make a gift for your friends at even a lower rate.

I am here for you if you have any questions.

http://macphun.com/creativekit

Gee ... I pre-ordered the Creative Kit for $89.99. This morning, it looks like they dropped the price to $79.99. Has anyone else noticed this?

Back in January 2014, my Apple store recommended Snapheal Pro. Great product for removing those unwanted beer cans and flip flops out of a beach scene. I've been sold since. I will be buying the bundle as well at the fantastic discounted price. And, their products work well as plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop Elements as well. Macphun's support team is always a pleasure!

I would like to thank you all for responding. With loosing Apple's Aperture, it is a learning curve no matter which approach I take. I have lost my original workflow process. My goal is to make smart decisions on the next path I take. I do have Adobe Elements 13 with access to my Topaz Labs products and NIK Collection. As of now, I will most likely continue down this path. Again, your comments were most helpful and welcome. Thank you, Patty

Thanks JimH123 ... this is where I'm getting confused. I thought photoFXlab would make Topaz Labs products a standalone unit? I, too, have the NIK Collection. And, I have been calling the few Topaz Labs products and NIK Collection from Elements 13. So you are saying to stay with version 13 versus 14? After Apple's Aperture and Adobe releasing a new version of Elements with mine being purchased just before their cut off date ... you can see why I tire from being pinned to anyone specific. I'm spending too much time learning new products when I should be out with my camera!

Thank you dannac!

Hello! I can use some insight here. With Aperture being discontinued, I have waited patiently for the new Photos before making decisions. In addition, I seriously needed to come up with a backup plan for my pictures. And, to boot, my 17" Macbook Pro needed to go in for service. This forced me to actually start doing what needed to be done with my photos soon.

My photos have finally been backed up. I have two Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB 2.5" Portable External Hard Drives, red & blue. One is for a backup of the other.

The Mac went in for repair. I was told that Aperture would either be removed or not work properly when I received my Mac back. They were right. It was there but did not work. Thus, it has finally been removed from my system. All work was luckily covered by extended warranty.

One ~ My photos are well organized on my externals. I can find everything with ease. Thus, do I really need Lightroom at this point?

Two ~ I also have many Topaz Labs Products. I am at a point where I can purchase the remainder with photoFXLab. Do I need Adobe Elements 14 at this point at all? Can all my needs be met with Topaz Labs products?

I would love to hear from Topaz Labs users and how they feel about the editing capabilities of their products and mainly, what is lacking. I will have a learning curve wherever I move to next. Just trying to stay focused and not bring in too many new products to learn at the same time. My camera is the Canon EOS 6D. And, my favorite lens is the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM L-Series Telephoto Zoom Lens. My camera and lens combo really does produce a great picture with very little editing to be done.

Thank you for you help, Patty

Thank you very much!!! :)

I, too, am on a Mac using Aperture. When Apple announced its' demise, I, too, had a hissy fit. After calming down, I decided to just read, research and watch. I guess I was hoping in the long run that someone would come out of no where and rescue by purchasing Aperture to keep the program alive. Well, that didn't happen. Overall, the demise of Aperture is a very smart business move for Apple.

Photos, I waited ever so patiently for the release. It actually was what I expected all along, useless for my purposes. Affinity ... don't even want to hop on that ship.

I purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 13. Found a great deal on it at Costco. It was my way to test out an Adobe product. Having used Aperture and before that Corel, I found it very user friendly and adapted well. But, I need the Organization or Database for photos. And, that will be Lightroom. I will do the rent for $9.99 per month. Actually, I'm excited now that I made my decision.

I do have a couple of questions for those who have done the move please.
1. Should I just press that button that lets Adobe do the move for me? Or should I do it manually?
2. I have read previous blogs and I need a direct answer to these two ... EXIF data and GPS data. I'm assuming my camera data moves easily over but I'm not sure about GPS.
3. If my photos are set up database style in Aperture, will Adobe keep my photos organized the same way in the end with the same labeling?
4. And, finally, NIK Collection & Topaz Labs products, will Adobe recognize that they have already been installed and being used in Elements?

Thank you all so much. Reading the discussions everyday has helped me immensely!

I, too, have the new Photos update just waiting to be done. With Aperture unknown for the future, I have purchased and currently am using Elements 13. Having not been familiar with Adobe products, there was a bit of a learning curve. I also use the Nik collection and have most of Topaz Labs software which integrates nicely with Elements 13. My question has to do with organizing my photos now. I was hoping just to use Photos for this reason alone. I do like the idea that my iPad will share what is on my Mac. How do you feel Photos handles the basic organization of photos? I realize most of you love Lightroom. I'm hoping that I can get by with just Photos for now since there's so much change/learning going currently. I didn't really ever use the old Photos and loved Aperture. Thank you in advance for your help..

I have been using the Timbuk2 Informant Sling in Medium. It holds my Canon 6D with an attached 100-400 lens. And, there is plenty of room for my 1.4 extender as well as wallet, phone and misc. It rides on my back and worked out very well in distributing the weight when traveling on a boat and/or walking around Martha's Vineyard all day. It is padded and has 5 removable dividers which can help you set it up anyway that works. It protects the gear well and allows for easy access to the camera. I absolutely love mine and use it all the time even with my other lenses. It was purchased at B&H.

Oh wow ... Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket ... I would probably select Martha's Vineyard. But if it is only for 1 day, you would have to plan carefully. You can visit Nantucket for a day easily. Hyannis has easy access to ferry service for both Islands. Martha's Vineyard I feel has much more to see and shoot. However, I could not visit all towns in one day. If you are staying in Hyannis for a few days, you could do Martha's Vineyard twice. For example, the main towns to visit are Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, Edgartown, Chilmark and Aquinnah. Aquinnah has the cliffs. Gorgeous at sunset around 4:30ish. Chilmark has the famous General Store and Menemsha. Menemsha is a small fishing village. These areas can be seen in a long day planned. Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown can also be done in a long day. Vineyard Haven is my favorite. They are noted for the boats, I have been watching a sailboat for 2 years now being built. Oak Bluffs has the Gingerbread Houses. They are fun to photograph. And Edgartown has a classic, preppy character. All of these towns have lighthouses. All are unique. I found that there is always something to photograph. I take the ship out of Woods Hole and pass right by the Nobska Lighthouse in Falmouth on the ship. There are wonderful places to eat and shop as well. Not sure what kind of camera you are bringing. I have taken my wide angle one trip and now I always take my telephoto lens. Depending on when you go to Hyannis, a whale watch is amazing and you should still be able to do that in the beginning of October. Please ask questions. I will try to help. Public transportation is easily done on Martha's Vineyard. And it is very organized too. If you buy a day pass, you can travel between the towns. The buses run frequently.