Hockley Photography

I suffered a hard drive failure yesterday. I’ve been meaning to write a long post explaining my storage and backup methods, and I suppose this would be a great time to do so, since my methods were put to the test (and passed). My system isn’t overly complicated, and probably could be enhanced, but here it is:

Primary Storage: Internal Hard Drive

My primary photo storage is on the internal hard drive of my PC. This is where images are transferred from the card reader, this is where they are cataloged, and this is where I make all edits.

First Backup: External Hard Drive

My first backup location is an external hard drive. The external drive is a copy of the photos stored on my PC. When I download images from the card reader, I also make a copy to the external hard drive.

Secondary Backup: Offsite DVDs

My secondary backup method is burning DVDs which are then stored offsite. This is the “last resort” backup, intended for use if something were to happen to my home (fire, major theft, etc). I burn DVDs after photos have been processed and cataloged, and store the DVDs in a relatively secure offsite location.

Yesterday I got back into town from vacation. As I was preparing to shoot a wedding last night, I noticed my external hard drive wasn’t available and the lights were dark. Further troubleshooting indicated a drive failure. I’d purchased the drive about two months ago at Costco. I probably could’ve gotten it a few dollars cheaper online, but one of the reasons I shop at Costco is their awesome returns/exchange policy. Today I drove to Costco, told them what happened, and they promptly gave me a refund for the full price of the drive. I picked up a new drive and was on my way in about 10 minutes.

My files? They’re now happily copied over to the new backup drive. With my backup system of two copies onsite and one copy offsite, a single drive failure will never mean data loss.

Last night I shot Ignite Portland, a fast-paced program featuring a series of presenters. As I’ve started shooting more events that involve using two cameras, it has become quite obvious that carrying two bodies on neck straps is highly impractical.

I did a bit of research and yesterday on my lunch break I headed over to my favorite Portland photography store and purchased an R-Strap. What is an R-Strap? Go to their website and watch the videos - it’s a nylon strap with a heavy-duty fastener that can slide along the strap. The camera hangs from the fastener, along your side or behind your back depending on how the strap is adjusted. To shoot, just swing the camera up to your eye and fire away. Unlike a traditional neck strap, the camera is out of the way when not in use and it also leaves both hands and arms completely free to move around.

The R-Strap is simple, but very functional. I used it last night to carry my 300D + battery grip with a 135 f/2L lens. It was comfortable and very practical; I could swing the camera up for a quick shot in less than a second. I would highly recommend it for event photographers or others who shoot in fast-moving situations.

Shortly after starting this blog I wrote about which DSLR for a beginner and it’s been a popular post. Today I learned of a new site called the DSLR Map which offers a grid and links to information and reviews on a bunch of DSLR cameras. The site has a good start; I assume that some of the blanks will get filled over time. If you’re looking for camera information, check it out.

In the early days of digital photography, memory cards were quite expensive, but the tradeoff and justification when compared with film counterparts was that the memory cards were reusable. You could fit a bunch of shots on your giant 16mb card, then download them and reuse the card, which made up for the fact that the card was far more expensive than a roll of film.

Not anymore. Over on photostream, Colin Jago points out that average-grade SD cards are now cheaper per-shot than traditional film.

I’m not sure this really changes anything, but from the perspective of cost analysis of digital vs. film, the disposable film is now more expensive than the reusable memory cards. Knock on wood, I have yet to have a memory card fail… but at these prices, I won’t feel bad about having to buy a new one.

In the comments to Scott Hanselman’s blog post about our podcast, someone brought up the issue of UV filters, and suggested that one should put a filter on a lens and never take it off. This is an area of debate amongst photographers. On one hand, it sounds like a great idea. Put a piece of glass in front of your expensive lens, and let that glass get any scratches, fingerprints, dust, or other debris which may come into contact with the lens.

There’s a downside, and it’s one that puts me into the “don’t leave a filter on your lens all the time” category. Digital camera sensors are susceptible to lens flare, which is caused by light reflecting back and forth through the various layers of glass in a lens. The result is that bright lights in a photo will often show up mirrored on the “opposite” side of the photo. The problem becomes evident when shooting bright lights, especially lights directed toward the camera. The other downside to having a filter on is that it’s just one more layer of glass for the light to pass though, which will lessen the quality of the image. There are a variety of filters out there, and there are some very good ones that will make image degradation almost unnoticeable, but it’s still there.

Lenses are made from hard glass. About the only time I’d say a filter is good protection is if you’re in a situation such as blowing sand. You’re not going to permanently damage the lens from a light touch. A better protection against hard impacts is the use of a lens hood, which is a hard plastic attachment that goes on the end of the lens and extends outward. Optically, the purpose of a lens hood is to help prevent lens flare from sunlight striking the lens from outward angles, but most lens hoods (for anything but wide angle lenses) will extend at least a couple inches forward, absorbing any impact if you accidentally bump the lens into a wall or god forbid drop it and it lands lens-down.

When I’ve spent $1200 on a high-quality “L” series lens, I’m not going to compromise the engineering by adding another layer of glass.