Hello...
Derek 'Del' Jones
My name is Derek Jones, commonly known as Del. I reside on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, and have spent much of my professional life working as a stage lighting designer. I also occasionally engage in voice-over work and pursue writing short stories and photography in my spare time.
I am a committed advocate for open-source software and digital privacy, and I actively maintain a self-hosted environment for many of the tools and services I use. Travel has always been an important part of my life and remains a continuing passion.
This site contains a selection of personal reflections and occasional commentary. It is not intended as a comprehensive journal or blog, but rather a quiet space for the occasional thought. I maintain a minimal presence on social media, as I value a degree of privacy in both my personal and professional life.
Thank you for visiting—I hope you find something of interest here.
Check out my full LinkStack and contact details.
Del...
Self-hosted Photo Library
Why I use Piwigo for my photo storage.
Over time, I realised my photo collection is more than just files—it’s a record of my life, travels, and the people I care about. Trusting those memories to a commercial cloud service never sat right with me. I wanted something that gave me control, security, and freedom, without the constant worry of subscriptions or sudden policy changes. That’s why I chose Piwigo. Hosting it myself means my photos stay in my hands, on my own server, with no compromise on quality. I don’t have to accept compression or hidden limits; I can preserve every image exactly as I captured it.
What I love most is how Piwigo grows with me. It’s open-source, so I can customise it endlessly—through themes, plugins, or integrations. It doesn’t matter whether I’m managing a few hundred photos or tens of thousands; Piwigo scales gracefully. The organisational tools, such as albums, tags, and metadata support, make it easy to keep everything structured, even when my collection feels overwhelming.
There’s also a sense of pride in running my own gallery. Instead of being locked into someone else’s ecosystem, I’ve built a space that reflects me. I can share albums with family and friends, knowing I control the privacy settings. I can access my gallery from anywhere via the web or mobile app, without sacrificing ownership.
For me, Piwigo isn’t just a technical solution—it’s a philosophy. It represents independence, respect for my data, and the joy of shaping my own digital space. Choosing Piwigo as my preferred photo storage is about more than convenience; it’s about valuing my memories enough to keep them safe, private, and truly mine.
Have a look for yourself at Derek Jones Photography
How I use DevonThink - A Lighting Designers view
How a stage and television lighting designer uses DevonThink
Over the years, I have used both PC and MAC computers, but for the last 15 years, I have settled on a MAC for work and personal use. When I bought my first MAC I came across DevonThink and found the concept very intriguing, but at the same time confusing. I couldn’t quite get my head around it. It all sounded a bit… well… abstract. I had more questions than answers. I also found it a little clunky, so I gave up. Just like that! I never touched it again. Maybe I was trying to overthink the whole thing. I couldn’t see the wood for the trees as it was actually very simple.
Fast forward to November 2023, and I thought that I’d give DevonThink another go. I downloaded it and installed the trial, but before the trial had ended I purchased the Pro version. Now DevonThink is the heart of how I work and run my work life. So how did this happen?
By trade, I am a stage and television lighting designer. I do many different kinds of shows and events, from small 300-person business conferences to arena-sized music shows, TV and video shoots. The biggest thing about my gig is the paperwork. There can be so much of it. CAD drawings, PDFs, images, photos, and all formats of documents, such as Word, Pages, and spreadsheets. Sometimes, the amount of paperwork for one job can be so overwhelming.
My old method of keeping this stuff in order was to simply create a job folder in Finder with the name of the sho,w and inside the folder, there would be many sub-folders where I would put all the various assets sorted into categories as they came to me. Later, whenever I needed to access a document, I’d either go into the job folder and click through the sub-folders tree until I found what I needed, or use Spotlight to hunt the document down, which didn’t always work as I would expect. Yes, I used tags, aliases, and so on, and this simple method kind of worked, but it was slow, messy, and clumsy.
DevonThink has changed all of that now and has become the real hub of my work, and has converted and improved my workflow, making me think and organise myself with more clarity. Now I can find anything that I need with speed, freeing up time to act on what I was searching for and not having to think too hard about where it is in my file structure.
So, how do I use DevonThink as a stage and television lighting designer?
It took a little thinking through and a leap of faith. I did a lot of YouTube watching and reading on the DevonThink forum. Lots of experimenting was also done. It’s the best way to learn, just keep a backup, that’s all! I wanted to make sure that I understood clearly what DevonThink was all about. With trepidation, I created a database called WORK. In this work group (or folder for simplicity) I created some more groups that relate to my work. These are just generic work folders that contain health and safety docs, first aid, public liability insurance docs, and other insurance documents. I also have manuals for software and lighting equipment manuals in these folders. I started with items that didn’t change very much, important to my work, yes, but not accessed very often. I did a full Files and Folders Import. DevonThink was to become my go-to place, so Indexing Files and Folders was not for me. I didn’t want to use the OSX Finder at all.
Once I had experimented for a while with these folders and files and was happy, I decided to move over all of my work. The jobs that I am currently working on and the jobs coming up in the future. I kept the original folders in Finder for a while until I was happy and that I wasn’t going to mess it up with DevonThink. The paranoia was so much that I ran both methods at the same time until I was absolutely happy. Even then, I zipped up and archived the Finder items and kept them safe for a while longer… Just in case!
After moving some items around and creating new groups, I wanted to automate the process so that when a new job came in, all the groups that I needed, along with a single “Where are we with this job?” document, would be created and populated for me, ready to receive all the documents that would soon come my way.
I started by creating a template that would generate a group of folders for me. I managed to create a template called New Job, which was easy to create within DevonThink and on OSX. So now when I click:
Data/New from template/Classifications/New Job
A new group is created in the Global Inbox that looks like this:
To a non-stage lighting person, this probably looks like nothing, but to me, it makes my work much easier and cleaner, and I can change the template as I go, adding and removing folders as my requirements change.
CADS: is where all the CAD drawings go to
Accommodation: Details about where I’ll be staying for the job. This would be a collection of web links, a reservations pdf, etc. I can stay in many different places on a single job!
Travel: Self-explanatory. How am I getting there? What are the details? Flight, train, and car rental dates and times.
Documents: Spreadsheets and text docs, any document that is a PDF.
Visuals: This is where all the visuals that I have generated for the client’s show or event using my visualisation software are kept.
Finance: All the quotes from equipment suppliers, my costs, crew costs, etc. Anything to do with money!
PDFs: This folder is always the most populated, as in my industry, the PDF is a big deal!
Notes: Any extra notes that I might take or get about the job that I have to deal with much later on.
Kit Lists: An important one this. It has all the equipment that I will spec and use for the job. This can constantly change.
Images and graphics: Photographs of the venue, and images from the client, such as set ideas, logos, etc.
Inbox: Nothing in here yet.
Anything Else: This is where stuff goes that I can’t put away anywhere else for the moment, or needs me to think about it a bit more.
Capture: This is the virtualisation software I use. Many versions of a show go in here. I can create 3D renders for a client and myself that change regularly, so all the files for Capture go in here.
Finally, JOB NAME - Where are we with this Job? This is a rich text document that does what it says. It’s a partially empty document with some basic information that is already in, such as the show name, client name, and dates of the event. Then, under that, I insert the date and time and then add significant notes and details about the job. Changes to the show, key people’s contact details, change of times, etc., etc.
This document is the hub of the job because anywhere within the document, I can place a copy link from any asset in DevonThink, which will then allow me quick access to the ite,m saving me from searching for the asset. This doc gets my daily attention as I have to keep it up to date with new and changing information, and add any other asset link addresses for later use. I boil down all the important information from all the sub-folders of a job into this one document using links and edit it every day. Being able to link to other items in DevonThink in a document is one of the great advantages of using DevonThink, but you do have to keep it up to date for it to be useful.
This New Job template is created in the Global Inbox. All I do is rename the group with the show name and copy that name to the JOB NAME document within the folder, then move the lot to the JOBS group in my WORK group. Now all my jobs are in one folder.
Then the real fun starts. Items such as drawings, CADs, docs, and PDFs come via email, shared or Air Dropped to me. In the old days, I’d just gather this new stuff on my desktop and then file it into the appropriate folders in Finder. Now DevonThink AI does this for me.
I was a little sceptical about this function at first, but I found that the more data I put into DevonThink, the more the AI kicked in and suggested the right folder to put items into. Now, 90% of the time, DevonThink knows which job group and sub-group an item needs to go to. It is rather spooky to watch, but I can tell you it does work.
Each job can have lots of emails and docs. For each attachment or shared item that comes to me, I just put it into the Global Inbox via OCR, and I convert almost everything I can into a searchable PDF. Everything goes in there, but I mean everything. I print nothing, I save nothing in the usual way in Finder. I just sent it to DevonThink. It’s like a “scruffy” unorganised folder where stuff just gets thrown into for sorting later. I didn’t intend to go paperless; it just happened naturally. I have invested in a scanner now, so if I do get given something on paper, I scan it into DevonThink, and I’m done.
So I have all these items in my Global Inbox. When do I clean it up?
This usually happens at the end of the working day. I get a large glass of red wine, and I go through all the items in the Global InBox. As I click each item in the Inbox, the See Also & Classify tab in the inspector suggests where the item should go in my database. First, I read or look at an item and act on it if I need to, and copy the link item into my “Where are we with this?” document. I’m a big fan of tags, so I will tag the item, then click the suggested location in See Also & Classify, and boom, it’s gone to the right group.
When I go to a meeting or an on-site location, I use my iPhone or iPad to recall everything I need to know about the job I’m working on. All at my fingertips and instantly available. No trawling through folders or searching with Spotlight. Using DevonThink To Go, all my jobs and the assets for the jobs are all there. Using an Apple Pencil, I can amend PDFs and schedules, etc. During the meeting, all my new notes get synced back to my MAC for sorting later on. The DevonThink sync function is taken care of using WebDav to my self-hosted Nextcloud instance. It has not let me down yet!
It has taken a bit of trial and error. Reading, watching, and listening to other DevonThink users, but without a doubt, my old cumbersome, messy workflow is now streamlined and easy. I am spending less time looking for stuff; now I’m doing stuff. My creative lighting designs may not have improved, but the way I put a job together and manage it is now at another level.
Now I can’t do without my DevonThink. I am now in the process of moving and administering all my personal stuff. I have created a new database called Personal, and everything not work-related is thrown into it. I write as a hobby, so I have moved my research and writing to DevonThink.
Of course, people have different jobs and have different ways of using DevonThink. My method is no big deal, but I wanted to share how I use this software. Maybe you have spotted another way of doing what I do, or maybe I have given you an idea of how to streamline your work.
Help or harm?
Dj
The end of Rocketbook?
How do you like to take notes? Do you prefer using an electronic device like an iPad with an Apple Pencil? Or perhaps you have one of those lovely Remarkable notebooks? Or do you still enjoy the classic way with paper and pen?
I mostly use my laptop or phone for everything. I like Apple Notes and DevonThink, but I also love jotting things down quickly with pen and paper.
I discovered Rocketbook, the reusable notebook, and decided to give it a shot back in December 2025. I picked up the Fusion legal-sized notebook and a three-pack of Pilot Frixon pens from my local stationery shop—they come in black, blue and red. Very handy! I used the Rocketbook app, which was alright. What really stood out was how well it transcribed my handwriting. My handwriting isn’t perfect, but it got it right about 95% of the time, which was enough to copy the transcribed text into a document I needed to share.
Then came the disappointing news that BIC, the company behind the Rocketbook name and IP, was pulling out of support. It’s a shame. Yes, the app will be supported for another year, but what happens then? The books are now available at huge discounts.
So, what should I do?
Electronic note-taking devices are generally quite good, but what if something goes wrong with the device? You’d have to get it fixed, which can be expensive. What if the battery dies? You’d have to replace it, which isn’t great for the environment either. What if it gets stolen? (How’s your backup working? Is the device locked? Anything private?)
The reusable Rocketbook notebook. You can scratch out your notes, take a photo, wipe it clean and start fresh. That’s a pretty good idea. The books are cheap, especially now. You can get the Frixon pens at any stationery shop, well, almost. It’s good for the environment because I only need one book, no batteries or charging to worry about, and no repairs.
And what about transcribing my notes? The Rocketbook app was the best in all the tests I did for transcribing my handwriting. I tried the following:
CamScanner - Didn’t quite get my notes right.
Adobe Scan - Needs a monthly subscription to transcribe.
Google Lens - Didn’t work for me.
Google Drive - Needed Google Docs, but it just wouldn’t cooperate.
Nextcloud Scan - Gave a good preview, but saving it as the preview was a bit tricky.
Pen to Print - pricey if you didn’t transcribe often.
None of these options was perfect, and some features required a subscription. Instead, I took a photo of my notes and uploaded it to an AI chatbot like ChatGPT or CoPilot, asking it to transcribe. It was almost spot on, and with ChatGPT, I even got a summary of the notes! It was fantastic. Sure, you might need to pay the chatbot a monthly fee (on ChatGPT, I used four image uploads before my free quota expired for the day), but if you upload lots of images, the bot can do much more than just transcribe your notes.
I’m not saying I don’t love electronic note-taking. I use Apple Notes and DevonThink every day at work and in my personal time, but sometimes I prefer writing and being able to jot down notes during meetings instead of typing like a court stenographer. But the reusable notebook is definitely a winner. It’s affordable and good for the environment; what’s not to like?
So, if you’re a Rocketbook user and a bit bummed about BIC’s withdrawal, don’t worry! Buy the books—they’re so cheap now. But maybe grab some Pilot Frixon pens from your local stationery shop. Use the Rocketbook app until it’s no longer available, or someone takes over, or just take a photo of your notes, use a chatbot to transcribe them and then copy and paste them wherever you need.
Is it really the end of the Rocketbook?
Happy 2026 to you all...
Happy New Year... So that's 2025 done with. In all, not a bad year, both personally and professionally. Plenty of varied work both in the UK and abroad. Lots of van travel and tips away to Europe and Asia, a place I am still in as I write this. I will be in Asia until the beginning of March, back to some work to keep some pennies rolling in.
Highlights for 2026...? Nothing that stands out yet. Work-wise, there is something every much, not too much, not too little, just enough to keep things rolling along. There are a few non-work trips in the pipeline.
2026 is looking like it could be another good year. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed. In th emean time, I'd like to wish you a fabulous 2026. Lots of health, wealth and happiness.
Not a bad year in all...
Work in 2025 has been pretty good, a busy year really, but, still managed to get some good travel in. Not bad. My thing these days is to get a good work-life balance in. I've had it with chasing work.
Did a nice little tour in Oz and NZ with this bunch of lovely people though, just as the year closed.
This is the Oz crew who were fabulous.... Thanks gang...
However.... Get this lot... This was the fantastic lighting crew from NZ.
Merry Christmas and here's to a fabulous 2026
Del x