Safeguarding your work

You've heard it a million times.. maybe more.  Backup your stuff.  Make a copy and keep it off site.  Don't format a memory card unless you have at least two backup copies of your data.  In theory it's really easy to do but in practice, many if not most folks have woefully inadequate backup plans.

As recently as last month I have experienced hard drive failures taking with them valuable data, but truth be told I have never lost a single image that I didn't want to lose.  I've often thought of my backup strategy as excruciating to keep up with..time consuming and resulting in more hard drives than I can manage, but it works.


If someone expresses an interest in the details, I'll share...but the short story is..  I keep at least three copies of every image..

• Field backup to a Hyper Drive (deleted along with the memory cards after all other copies below are done);
• One working copy on a dedicated internal hard drive. (OS and editing apps are on the primary drive);
• One copy on an external back-up drive, usually a Western Digital MyBook of some incarnation;
• One copy in the clouds using BackBlaze.  
• I said "at least three" copies because I've gotten paranoid of late and keep a mirrored copy of the external drive off-site..that makes four copies. 

The problem is that these copies are across multiple drives and it has become increasingly difficult to track.  Add to this challenge that hard drives experience instant mortality..one day they work and the next...not so much.  The WD MyBook 1 Terabyte that croaked last month is a perfect example, and it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Enter Drobo...by Data Robotics.  

The Drobo is an external housing that can hold multiple drives and writes data to them in a RAID configuration. Well, Data Robotics calls it Beyond RAID and truth told, I don't know exactly what that means or how it actually works, but it works well.  I put it in service as the primary back-up device about a month ago and it has replaced an abundance of external drives scattered around my studio.  I still keep one copy of critical data in the clouds and one off-site.

I bought the base model which can hold four drives with a maximum capacity of 4tb each, and you can mix and match sizes and speeds.  There are other Drobo versions that hold many more drives and all can be set up using either USB 2.0, Firewire or Ethernet cables.

It comes with proprietary software that allows all sorts of monitoring of the drives, updating, formatting and such, but my favorite feature is that it can perform scheduled backups of what-ever I choose.  Right now I have it scheduled to go once a week and I perform manual back-ups to it after each shoot, but at some point I am going to let go of the leash and allow it do it's thing.

Technology is moving way too fast for me to grasp all the nuances, so I have a bit of blind faith with this, but the front panel monitor lights indicate that all the drives are healthy (green LED's) and there is plenty of available space (Blue LED's).  MyComputer shows the multiple drives as one big storage device, and I use BeyondCompare to confirm that all the data is there and sync'd across the various backups.. 

I am watching this whole affair with a careful eye and will keep you updated over time.

Interesting side note...As I was sync'ng the data to the Drobo, I inadvertently deleted all images from 2001 through 2003... DOH!!   It happens.  I knew I had all this data in the clouds, but the off-site back-up easily repaired the data vacancy..

A moment of magic with Apple...

I'm still in love with my iPhone.. it's been over a year and I doubt I have come close to tapping into more than 25% of what it can do..and it's near bullet-proof.  Sort of...

I caved in a few months ago and made the decision to jail-break my phone..  Not sure why but it seemed like a good thing to do.  But as the days past, I realized that since all I accomplished was uncovering more untapped resources, when the next OS update Apple rolled out for the 3Gs I would revert back to factory spec.

Never as easy as others tell you it will be....

Yes, it's been a while...

Summer is coming to an end...  I've had a lot of time to reflect. 

From what I have read from other bloggers, there is a metamorphosis that occurs somewhere around month four of blogging...  You look back at where you started and question where you are going...

I've focused on what I thought others would want to read and realized it wasn't what I wanted to share.  At least not in the format in which I wanted to share it....

More follows the break..

Why, oh Why? I just don't get it....

There was nothing wrong with the first version of Nikon's 200-400VR super-tele.. 

I am no marketing guru, but if it ain't broke don't fix it..go after something that needs fixin'.

How about an update to the Cream Machine...the 85 f/1.4?

Update the original 80-400VR and it will sell like hot-cakes..probably enough to equal expected sales on this new 200-400.

Give us a few more constant f/4.0 lenses like the Canon line has.

Please, give me D3s performance in a Dx sensor...  I so love my D3, but I do miss the crop.

Oh well...I can keep dreaming.

Speeding things up with keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom

Gotta love this one!!

I am a two fisted editor...  I use a Wacom Intuos tablet with my right hand and rifle all over the keyboard using shortcut keys with my left hand.  I am considering replacing the keyboard with a Shuttle, but that's another story..

The list keystroke shortcuts in Lightroom is extensive.  It's been published a few times but I edit in the dark and reading a cheat sheet is impossible.  Press Ctrl + / (Command + / on the Mac) to display an overlay of shortcuts over the top of your Lightroom window.

The list is specific to the module you are so check it in the Develop module for shortcuts for that module and in the Library for Library shortcuts and so on.

Lightroom 3 beta 2 - Noise Reduction dialog simply rocks!

First chance I have had for extended play with the most recent beta 2 release of Lightroom 3 was this evening..  And WOW!  The speed is dramatically improved, the image quality is significantly improved and the noise reduction sliders simply rock!!  A gentle touch of Luminance slider followed with my normal sharpening routine, using the Sharpening Masking yields a wonderfully clean shadow area.

I do have to voice my nitpick.. I don't care for the new import dialog.  Maybe time will help, but it isn't to my liking.  And I forget to unplug my iPhone when launching the Import dialog, it takes forever to open.

Signs of Spring

My two most favorite times of each year are the transitions from summer to fall and winter to spring.  I suffer from severe cabin fever so being able to get out wearing flip-flops and shorts is like rebirth.

With the coming of spring, the birds become more active..  Searching for a mate, nest building and establishing territories..this all makes for some fun photo opps!

More here.....

Adobe have just announced the release of Adobe Lightroom 3.0 Public Beta 2!

Here’s the official announcement: http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/

And the download link, of course! http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/

So what’s new so far…? I’ve included the details from beta 1, for those who are interested, and the features new to beta 2 are in bold..

The changes and advancements are fantastic, but I still have yet to wholesale migrate over to the beta version as I expect there is more to come.  For now, all of my high level work and my workshops continue to utilize Lightroom v2.6.

Work that continues to inspire me

I don't know much about this photographer, but I know I lover her work..  I follow Deb Layden's blog and web posts with childish anticipation.  Ironic because her niche is "capturing the experience of childhood and beyond".

Pay a visit to her website...she has a wonderful eye, produces some inspiring compositions and does fantastic work in post production and delivery.  She also does some workshops that I have on my To-Do list for this year...


Pixel Fairies Productions..  Website and blog

Elastic mouse syndrome...

Ok, I'm a jerk.

It took me over thirty minutes to figure out why my mouse just stopped working (a Logitech wireless Laser something or other).  It was fine this morning.  Tonight, all the mouse pointer does is move about a quarter inch on the screen and bounce back to where it started..

I rebooted.  Un-plugged and plugged back in.  Changed batteries.  Moved it around the desk.  Nuthin' worked.  It might as well be velcro'd to the computer screen.

The culprit?

Stick your Wacom pen in the nifty little holder Wacom provides and put the pen and holder on the tablet's writing surface.

Thank you teacher, I'll just take a zero on this..