The story behind Alba

I’m Michael, the independent developer behind Alba.
With Alba, I’m bringing together my passion for photography, a long career in software, and a lifelong enthusiasm for Apple and the Mac.

I got my first Mac, a Macintosh LC, in 1990 and loved exploring creative applications such as Photoshop and FreeHand. I’ve been drawn to Apple’s products and ethos ever since, and their care for design, the small details and the overall experience has shaped what I want to achieve in my own work. Creating a photography app for the Mac brings those interests together and fulfils a long-held dream.

Photography has deep roots in my family, who ran Pictorial California from the 1920s to the 1960s and worked with photographers including Ansel Adams. My mother is also a photographer, and my own interest began as a child, exploring her old Nikon cameras. I’ve owned many cameras over the years, including my first digital camera, an Olympus C-2020, which I bought in 2000.

I hold a Master of Science in Engineering and have worked as a software developer since the late 1990s. For more than twenty years, I’ve run my own consultancy, working on everything from bootstrapped startups to large platforms and systems.

The idea for Alba grew out of my affection for Apple Aperture. After it was discontinued, I never quite found a replacement that combined everything I wanted: thoughtful design, a familiar Mac experience, responsive browsing across large collections, and powerful editing tools that worked naturally together. When I began, few of the available apps matched that combination for me, so I decided to bring my experience and interests together and pursue my own vision.

Alba means dawn in Spanish and Italian, inspiring the mountain sunrise in the logo and the idea of a new beginning. Its Latin roots mean white, connecting the name to light, color and photography.

Building Alba has taken several years of deliberate work, with equal attention to thoughtful engineering and the details that make it enjoyable to use. I’ve chosen to take the time to refine the rendering and sync engines, performance and everyday interactions rather than rush to expand the feature list. This first release is a starting point, with plenty still to build and a substantial roadmap of features and improvements ahead. The aim is a carefully crafted foundation that allows Alba to evolve into a powerful workspace for photographers without compromising the clear, responsive and natural experience of using it.

Since I started, many excellent photography apps have appeared, and I’ve come to know several of their developers as well as people working at Apple. I’m glad to see so much care and creativity in this space, and I see Alba as my own contribution to that community. I’m committed to developing and refining Alba over the years ahead, and would welcome the chance to collaborate with others and expand the team as Alba grows.