Are you doing Project 365/Project Life? This is my fourth year in a row and as time consuming as it is and no matter how far behind I am in my blogging, I still take my photos every single day. It is a project that has consumed me and I just can't seem to stop.
Every once in a while I insert iPhone screen captures of current favourite songs or weather forecasts to fill some gaps or make note of a significant event. The result is a pretty fulsome snapshot of a year in the life.
Despite the number of photos I take, I still beat myself up for not taking more video of the kids. I find myself wishing I had more footage of them as babies, the problem is that ripping videos to DVD and creating menus is time consuming and I have a big enough job processing photos and creating layouts for my photo books. And most importantly videos can't be incorporated into my photo books.
Or so I thought until I came across a brilliant pin on Pinterest. A pin that will revolutionize my photo books and bring them to life.
Instead of taking a photo of that moment where your beautiful child skates up to the boards at hockey practice and waves to you and journaling about it, capture it on video, create a QR code and insert it into your layout. Relive that moment with a quick scan with your smartphone instead of digging through a pile of unlabeled DVDs (because let's face it - you're not going to do it).
Here is the moment I will be using for today:
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
TORUŃ TIPS recommends Polski Piwo!
Our sister site TORUŃ TIPS.COM has published a special page all about the best beer in Poland. It's dedicated to all the Irish football fans who'll be descending on Toruń in June for Euro 2012...and we all know how much beer the Irish love to drink!! ;-)You can read more at: http://www.toruntips.com/beer.html .
Monday, January 23, 2012
Toruń in the Irish press!
Yesterday, The Irish Daily Star ran an article all about Toruń - and why thousands of Irish football fans have chosen our city as their base.You can read the article here at our new sister site TORUŃ TIPS.COM:
Saturday, January 21, 2012
TORUŃ TIPS!
Check it out at: http://toruntips.com/ and let us know what you think!
Keep checking as it will be updated regularly!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
project 365 - tips and tricks $
I was asked the other day if I had tips for anybody starting project 365 or thinking about starting project 365. I have so many I think I could write a book. Here are some off the top of my head:
1. Transfer your photos to the computer. Don't let your camera sit around with weeks and weeks of pictures on it. Transfer them to the computer and look at them. Work on them in photo editing software if you want. Just make sure you pull them from your camera on a regular basis.
2. Post your photos somewhere. Blog them, post them to Facebook, upload them to Flickr. The method you choose doesn't matter as long as you put them somewhere. You don't necessarily have to make them public. You can setup a Blogger account and set your blog as private so only you can see your posts. If you decided to make them public, you will gain a following and you will find that people will start to look forward to your pictures and will question you if you miss a day. That will do wonders to keep you motivated. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you have a dedicated spot for all of your pictures and thoughts.
3. Capture the stories behind the photos. You may think you are going to remember them, but you won't. The moments are fleeting and trust me - when you sit back at the end of the year and go through all of your pictures, they won't mean as much without the backstory.
4. Take your pictures early in the day. Don't give yourself a chance to forget. Get it out of the way just in case you don't get another opportunity. If you come up with another idea later in the day, great. You'll have an extra picture for the day or maybe you'll end up with one that you like better.
5. Backup your pictures. And while you are at it, have a backup of your backup. I burn all of my images to DVD and I copy them onto an external hard drive. You can never be too careful. I've had several times I've gone to find a picture and the disk is either missing or blank. If that happens, you have another copy. The other important thing is to turn your external drive off when you aren't using it. If a virus hits your computer and it's on, it will also be hit.
6. Don't be lazy. When a photograph worthy moment occurs, go get your camera immediately. Don't wait for another opportunity or tell yourself you'll take it later. Take it right then and there or you will regret it.
7. Take your camera with you everywhere you go. Don't leave it at home. The second you leave it at home, you are going to need it and wish you had it.
8. You don't need a fancy tripod. At some point during your 365, it's going to be late in the evening and you are going to realize you haven't taken your photo for the day. You've got two choices - you can use your flash or you can use available light. If you go without the flash, you are going to need to keep the camera as steady as possible. Forget the tripod. A sturdy surface is all you need.
9. Look around and get inspiration from others. I'm not saying copy them. I'm saying look around. What are other people doing? What are they taking pictures of? See what they are doing and draw inspiration from it. Make a list of ideas and post it on the fridge or put it in your camera bag. Then the next time you have no idea what you are going to take a picture of, you have a list.
10. Keep going even if you miss a day. So you missed a day - big deal. Take two pictures the next day. Don't let the whole project fall apart because of one forgotten picture. If you find it too hard to remember and it's getting to difficult, then take all of your pictures on the weekend. Take seven shots on Sunday, edit them all and if you go the blog route, you can create all of your posts at once and set them to publish in the future.
So there you go. What are you waiting for? I'm starting year three of this journey and I love it. I have three baby books sitting on a bookcase empty and I haven't picked up my video camera in over a year but I still have enough memories to last a lifetime. Sure, I don't get much sleep and every year I wonder what on earth I have gotten myself into and should I continue but that's because I've chosen to capture as much as I can and I am not about to stop. There is nothing more rewarding than submitting a year's worth of images and receiving a hardbound book back. The feeling is indescribable and it makes every second of this project worthwhile. Good luck!
1. Transfer your photos to the computer. Don't let your camera sit around with weeks and weeks of pictures on it. Transfer them to the computer and look at them. Work on them in photo editing software if you want. Just make sure you pull them from your camera on a regular basis.
2. Post your photos somewhere. Blog them, post them to Facebook, upload them to Flickr. The method you choose doesn't matter as long as you put them somewhere. You don't necessarily have to make them public. You can setup a Blogger account and set your blog as private so only you can see your posts. If you decided to make them public, you will gain a following and you will find that people will start to look forward to your pictures and will question you if you miss a day. That will do wonders to keep you motivated. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you have a dedicated spot for all of your pictures and thoughts.
3. Capture the stories behind the photos. You may think you are going to remember them, but you won't. The moments are fleeting and trust me - when you sit back at the end of the year and go through all of your pictures, they won't mean as much without the backstory.
4. Take your pictures early in the day. Don't give yourself a chance to forget. Get it out of the way just in case you don't get another opportunity. If you come up with another idea later in the day, great. You'll have an extra picture for the day or maybe you'll end up with one that you like better.
5. Backup your pictures. And while you are at it, have a backup of your backup. I burn all of my images to DVD and I copy them onto an external hard drive. You can never be too careful. I've had several times I've gone to find a picture and the disk is either missing or blank. If that happens, you have another copy. The other important thing is to turn your external drive off when you aren't using it. If a virus hits your computer and it's on, it will also be hit.
6. Don't be lazy. When a photograph worthy moment occurs, go get your camera immediately. Don't wait for another opportunity or tell yourself you'll take it later. Take it right then and there or you will regret it.
7. Take your camera with you everywhere you go. Don't leave it at home. The second you leave it at home, you are going to need it and wish you had it.
8. You don't need a fancy tripod. At some point during your 365, it's going to be late in the evening and you are going to realize you haven't taken your photo for the day. You've got two choices - you can use your flash or you can use available light. If you go without the flash, you are going to need to keep the camera as steady as possible. Forget the tripod. A sturdy surface is all you need.
9. Look around and get inspiration from others. I'm not saying copy them. I'm saying look around. What are other people doing? What are they taking pictures of? See what they are doing and draw inspiration from it. Make a list of ideas and post it on the fridge or put it in your camera bag. Then the next time you have no idea what you are going to take a picture of, you have a list.
10. Keep going even if you miss a day. So you missed a day - big deal. Take two pictures the next day. Don't let the whole project fall apart because of one forgotten picture. If you find it too hard to remember and it's getting to difficult, then take all of your pictures on the weekend. Take seven shots on Sunday, edit them all and if you go the blog route, you can create all of your posts at once and set them to publish in the future.
So there you go. What are you waiting for? I'm starting year three of this journey and I love it. I have three baby books sitting on a bookcase empty and I haven't picked up my video camera in over a year but I still have enough memories to last a lifetime. Sure, I don't get much sleep and every year I wonder what on earth I have gotten myself into and should I continue but that's because I've chosen to capture as much as I can and I am not about to stop. There is nothing more rewarding than submitting a year's worth of images and receiving a hardbound book back. The feeling is indescribable and it makes every second of this project worthwhile. Good luck!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
day 320 - so they all rolled over and one fell out $
It's that time again - midnight shift. I started the night with Ava in bed along with her bed hogging companion, Mr. Bear. By 2 am Owen had climbed in with us and by 4:30 he was sleeping horizontally across the bed and his legs were somehow tucked under my neck.
A few weeks ago, a very nice blog reader asked me how I take my pictures in low light. Here is what works for me and I hope you find it useful:
You don't need a fancy tripod. I lost my tripod mount months ago. I have no idea where it is and I don't need it to take pictures in low light. All you need is something sturdy to balance your camera on. I took the above picture with my camera sitting on a spindle of DVDs on my night table. The picture I took last night? I propped my camera on the bed rail of Owen's bed. These shots? Taken with the camera on the foot board of my bed.
Shoot wide open. Let as much light in as possible. I have two lenses that are perfect for low light. The primary lens I shoot with is a Sigma 17-70 mm that opens up to f2.8. The other lens I use is a Canon 50 mm fixed lens that opens up to f1.8. Both lenses are perfect for low light and great if you want to avoid using your flash at all costs like I do.
Don't crank your iso too high. Go with a lower iso and a longer shutter speed. You'll end up with more light and less noise. I shot the picture above at 400 iso and a 5 second shutter speed. I could have shot it at 1600 iso and a shorter shutter speed, but the picture would have been grainy and if I had to lighten it at all, the noise would have become more pronounced. My subject is lying still and I'm not hand holding the shot so I can afford to leave the shutter open longer.
Tell your subject to sit still. Ava is usually cooperative so I often ask her to sit as still as possible while I take the picture. Other times I just wait until she is totally immersed in whatever she is doing before I take my shots.
Take a pile of pictures. I wasn't too worried about this morning's picture as Owen was lying completely still, but taking a picture of a person who is awake is a different story. You'll want to take lots of pictures just in case. You'll have some terrible ones right off the bat. And others will look good on your camera screen and then not as sharp as you'd like when you open them on the computer. Increase your chances of capturing a great shot by simply having more to choose from.
Hope this helps!
Here's my other picture from today - my sons helping me get ready for work this morning.
A few weeks ago, a very nice blog reader asked me how I take my pictures in low light. Here is what works for me and I hope you find it useful:
You don't need a fancy tripod. I lost my tripod mount months ago. I have no idea where it is and I don't need it to take pictures in low light. All you need is something sturdy to balance your camera on. I took the above picture with my camera sitting on a spindle of DVDs on my night table. The picture I took last night? I propped my camera on the bed rail of Owen's bed. These shots? Taken with the camera on the foot board of my bed.
Shoot wide open. Let as much light in as possible. I have two lenses that are perfect for low light. The primary lens I shoot with is a Sigma 17-70 mm that opens up to f2.8. The other lens I use is a Canon 50 mm fixed lens that opens up to f1.8. Both lenses are perfect for low light and great if you want to avoid using your flash at all costs like I do.
Don't crank your iso too high. Go with a lower iso and a longer shutter speed. You'll end up with more light and less noise. I shot the picture above at 400 iso and a 5 second shutter speed. I could have shot it at 1600 iso and a shorter shutter speed, but the picture would have been grainy and if I had to lighten it at all, the noise would have become more pronounced. My subject is lying still and I'm not hand holding the shot so I can afford to leave the shutter open longer.
Tell your subject to sit still. Ava is usually cooperative so I often ask her to sit as still as possible while I take the picture. Other times I just wait until she is totally immersed in whatever she is doing before I take my shots.
Take a pile of pictures. I wasn't too worried about this morning's picture as Owen was lying completely still, but taking a picture of a person who is awake is a different story. You'll want to take lots of pictures just in case. You'll have some terrible ones right off the bat. And others will look good on your camera screen and then not as sharp as you'd like when you open them on the computer. Increase your chances of capturing a great shot by simply having more to choose from.
Hope this helps!
Here's my other picture from today - my sons helping me get ready for work this morning.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
how I completed my project 365 layouts in a month $
So maybe it was a month. Maybe it was a month and a half. I already don't remember. All I know is I jumped right into Project 365 for the second time while I was still overwhelmed by the thought of all of the weekly layouts I still had to complete for 2009. When I sat down and took a hard look, I really only had a third of the year scrapbooked.
It was at that point I had a brainwave. Sheri and I have both been doing Project 365 and doing weekly layouts. We use many of the same supplies and templates and we have a similar style. Maybe we could help each other out. I contacted Sheri and she was in agreement - let's team up to get our layouts done. We'd each disk our weekly layouts and give the other carte blanche to do whatever we wanted with them - totally rip them off, totally rework or modify wherever we felt like it.
We each collected our files (of course removing any supplies that the other did not have) and swapped disks. It saved a pile of time because the text boxes were all set up and the elements were already in place and we already had titling ideas if we chose to use them.
So here's how I managed to pull it off in the hopes that somebody will find this useful:
Layout #1 - photos swapped and text modified. That was about it.
Layout #2 - photos swapped, new text entered, numbering adjusted and new elements and papers put in place.
Layout #3 - basically totally redone, but I took cues from Sheri's layout for element placement. I loved the rows of flowers she used across her layout, so I went with something similar and did lines of hearts.
Layout #4 - I loved this layout Sheri did so I kept mine similar, swapping in some different supplies but it has a similar look and feel.
Then I took the same layout and modified it for another week later in the year.
From there on I tried to save time where I could by scraplifting myself. I made sure that layouts that I scraplifted had at least several layouts between them so the book would be more balanced. Here are some of my scraplifts.
I took the one page layout I did for week twenty six and turned it into a two week layout for weeks closer to the end of the year.
And I took one of my favourite two page layouts from the summer and turned it into a winter looking two page layout near the end of the year.
So just some tips for anybody trying to get their layouts done. Why re-invent the wheel if you don't have to? I hope you found this helpful!
It was at that point I had a brainwave. Sheri and I have both been doing Project 365 and doing weekly layouts. We use many of the same supplies and templates and we have a similar style. Maybe we could help each other out. I contacted Sheri and she was in agreement - let's team up to get our layouts done. We'd each disk our weekly layouts and give the other carte blanche to do whatever we wanted with them - totally rip them off, totally rework or modify wherever we felt like it.
We each collected our files (of course removing any supplies that the other did not have) and swapped disks. It saved a pile of time because the text boxes were all set up and the elements were already in place and we already had titling ideas if we chose to use them.
So here's how I managed to pull it off in the hopes that somebody will find this useful:
Layout #1 - photos swapped and text modified. That was about it.
Layout #2 - photos swapped, new text entered, numbering adjusted and new elements and papers put in place.
Layout #3 - basically totally redone, but I took cues from Sheri's layout for element placement. I loved the rows of flowers she used across her layout, so I went with something similar and did lines of hearts.
Layout #4 - I loved this layout Sheri did so I kept mine similar, swapping in some different supplies but it has a similar look and feel.
Then I took the same layout and modified it for another week later in the year.
From there on I tried to save time where I could by scraplifting myself. I made sure that layouts that I scraplifted had at least several layouts between them so the book would be more balanced. Here are some of my scraplifts.
I took the one page layout I did for week twenty six and turned it into a two week layout for weeks closer to the end of the year.
And I took one of my favourite two page layouts from the summer and turned it into a winter looking two page layout near the end of the year.
So just some tips for anybody trying to get their layouts done. Why re-invent the wheel if you don't have to? I hope you found this helpful!
Monday, March 29, 2010
painting with light $
I've had a few questions as to how I did my earth hour photos on Saturday so I thought I would share my setup and some tips. I'm more than happy to share.
The technique is called "painting with light" and it involves using a tripod (or hard surface), long exposures and a light source like a flashlight, sparkler or glow stick. I couldn't find my tripod mount so I set the camera on my tv stand instead. I had my daughter stand in the middle of the room in the dark with the flashlight. Focusing was hard because I couldn't get behind my camera to see through the viewfinder and other than a little bit of light coming from candles placed in other parts of the room, the room was pitch black. (It was Earth Hour, so I couldn't cheat and turn on the light to lock the focus.) Anyway, without further ado, here's how you do it:
2. Set up your tripod or put your camera on a hard, steady surface.
4. Flip your camera to shutter priority mode (Tv mode on Canon cameras) and set it to a long exposure. 5 seconds is perfect for something like this (done with a flashlight):
5. Lock your focus on your subject. Click the shutter and either get your subject to start "painting" with their light source or run like hell to get into position while the timer flashes. I found the timer mode easiest and suspect it works even better with a subject as they know the second that light on the timer holds steady they need to get ready.
The timing of this post is perfect because it coincides with the new Photojojo newsletter that just came out today. Check out their very cool idea for painting with light. I hope this is helpful! Please don't hesitate to leave me a comment if you have any questions!
1. Get your light source ready whether it's a flashlight, sparkler, glow stick, etc.
2. Set up your tripod or put your camera on a hard, steady surface.
3. If you are the shooter and the subject or are involved in the light painting, use your camera timer.
4. Flip your camera to shutter priority mode (Tv mode on Canon cameras) and set it to a long exposure. 5 seconds is perfect for something like this (done with a flashlight):
10 seconds works for something like this (also done with a flashlight):
or this (done with a sparkler):
and 10-15 seconds works great for this (Please note this is two images put together in Photoshop. I did 'earth' in one shot and 'hour' in another. Both words were made with a flashlight):
5. Lock your focus on your subject. Click the shutter and either get your subject to start "painting" with their light source or run like hell to get into position while the timer flashes. I found the timer mode easiest and suspect it works even better with a subject as they know the second that light on the timer holds steady they need to get ready.
6. Start painting your design, keeping the following thing in mind - the camera is going to capture light everywhere it sees it and the longer you hold the light source in one spot, the brighter that spot gets and it creates a burn spot. If you are going to be painting something and want to avoid tails on your art, cover it with your hand to kill the light (obviously this doesn't work for sparklers), or hold it in one spot. If you find it burns too much, you can try again with a shorter exposure once you get a feel for how long it takes you to create your design. Also remember that if you are using a flashlight, the lines are wider where there is more light. In the case of the heart above, the thicker lines mean more light was hitting the camera. The thinner lines are where the flashlight is pointed on an angle away from the camera.
7. Have fun and experiment. In most cases we jumped out of the way so we wouldn't be caught in the shot, but there are a million other different ways you can do it. You could shine the flashlight on your face so you appear in the shot. You could set your on camera flash to rear curtain which means that the flash fires at the end of the exposure (instead of the beginning which is the way it usually works) and illuminate your subject using the flash and get something like this:
This shot has some ambient light in the mix. The other shots used a small aperture of f22 but this one was shot with the same shutter speeds as the others, but the aperture was wide open at f2.8, letting candle light from the dining room into the picture.
The timing of this post is perfect because it coincides with the new Photojojo newsletter that just came out today. Check out their very cool idea for painting with light. I hope this is helpful! Please don't hesitate to leave me a comment if you have any questions!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
More info on my archiving process
Well I am glad that my post on archiving was helpful (thanks for the feedback, Sheri and Mel!). Here is some more information and I hope it is helpful.
Here is my file structure on my hard drive/external drive/DVDs (click to see it clearly). My filing became a bit more complicated once the twins arrived. (Folders containing pictures of both of them include a quick description of what each of them is wearing so there isn't any confusion as to who is who down the road.)
My master CD binder with all of my disks. Each volume is backed up on the external drive, a disk is burned and placed in this binder, an additional 3 copies are burned for my kids and then the folder is deleted off my C drive...
These are the CD/DVD sleeves that I use. A pack of 50 is $2.49 from Wal Mart. The Wal Mart I go to sells them in the checkout aisles...
As far as the labels go - I call them labels, but really they are just printed on photo paper. The labels that go in my binder are 4.75" x 4.75" and the labels I put on my paper sleeves are 4" x 4". With these sizes I can either print 2-up of the 4.75" size, or I can print one 4.75" label and two 4" labels up on a sheet or if I am catching up on a few volumes at a time, I print four up of the 4" labels. Once printed, I cut them down. The 4.75" just slides into the clear pocket of my binder and for the 4" size, I use a glue runner to stick the label down over the window on my coloured DVD sleeves.
I find that this process keeps all of my stuff clearly labeled and it keeps me organized. I am very paranoid I will lose everything should a virus rip through my computer. As I post this I am getting organized to archive another volume of pictures as earlier today I got the mysterious yet very scary "blue screen of death"...
Thanks for reading!
Here is my file structure on my hard drive/external drive/DVDs (click to see it clearly). My filing became a bit more complicated once the twins arrived. (Folders containing pictures of both of them include a quick description of what each of them is wearing so there isn't any confusion as to who is who down the road.)
My master CD binder with all of my disks. Each volume is backed up on the external drive, a disk is burned and placed in this binder, an additional 3 copies are burned for my kids and then the folder is deleted off my C drive...
These are the CD/DVD sleeves that I use. A pack of 50 is $2.49 from Wal Mart. The Wal Mart I go to sells them in the checkout aisles...
As far as the labels go - I call them labels, but really they are just printed on photo paper. The labels that go in my binder are 4.75" x 4.75" and the labels I put on my paper sleeves are 4" x 4". With these sizes I can either print 2-up of the 4.75" size, or I can print one 4.75" label and two 4" labels up on a sheet or if I am catching up on a few volumes at a time, I print four up of the 4" labels. Once printed, I cut them down. The 4.75" just slides into the clear pocket of my binder and for the 4" size, I use a glue runner to stick the label down over the window on my coloured DVD sleeves.
I find that this process keeps all of my stuff clearly labeled and it keeps me organized. I am very paranoid I will lose everything should a virus rip through my computer. As I post this I am getting organized to archive another volume of pictures as earlier today I got the mysterious yet very scary "blue screen of death"...
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Archiving
I'm not sure if this will help anybody, but I take an insane amount of pictures (as I am sure you have gathered...) and have to back them up frequently or my computer gets really bogged down and runs out of space.
This is my process for organizing and backing up my pictures.
1. I have a main folder called "Ava, Ethan and Owen Pictures". Everytime I download my pictures to the computer I open a new sub folder and include the date in the name of the folder. For example "African Lion Safari 06.12.08". All of the pictures I took (I don't throw anything out) are then copied into that folder.
2. Within that African Lion Safari folder I open another folder called "Photoshop". All of the pictures I edit are then saved in this folder.
3. Then I open an additional folder and call it "Prints" if I am uploading pictures for printing. I keep them grouped by size and create 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 folders, etc.
4. Once I have enough pictures to fill a DVD (and trust me - it doesn't take me long...), I burn those folders to DVD. I burn 4 copies - one for a master CD book and one for each of my kids that I place in coloured paper CD holders.
5. Then I make a label like the following:
I created these labels using digital scrapbook kits. On the label it has all of the info - volume, subject, date, etc. It also contains four thumbnails of my favourite four pictures on that disk. I then print four labels - one to go in my binder and three extras to stick on the copies for my kids. So far this process works for me. The tricky part is always putting the disks back in the right spot after I use them because none of my disks are labeled with marker (which I discuss below).
Here is a picture of the finished project. Stickers seal the flaps on the back of the sleeves so the DVDs can't fall out and get mixed up.
A little known fact. Ava's first two years are split across 14 volumes of DVDs and so far since February, I have created 8 volumes of the three kids (the disks are filling faster as I am only shooting in RAW now).
6. Once the CDs are burned and I have checked to make sure that the disk is okay and the files are retrievable, I copy the same folders to my external hard drive that is attached to my computer. Once I know those files are also accessible, the folders are then deleted from my C drive. I like the external hard drive because it is yet another backup in case anything should ever happen to my disks. It wasn't expensive and it is nice to have all of my pictures accessible when I am scrapbooking without having to pop disks in and out. However, with that accessibility comes the risk that should a virus hit my computer and the external drive is attached to the computer and turned on, everything on there will be lost. The fact that I have covered my bases with both the drive and the DVDs, I don't need to worry if this happens.
A few notes that might help or you might find interesting/helpful:
- Never write on your CDs/DVDs with permanent marker. The ink can leach into the disk and destroy it. I have heard bad things about the adhesive on DVD labels too.
- I always use DVD+Rs and buy them by the spindle. The technology is over my head but anybody I have ever talked to and anything I have ever read says that you should use +Rs and not -Rs. Sometimes the +Rs might be a dollar more expensive, but for the most part, the spindles are the same price. I always use either Memorex, Maxell or TDK. The best price I've seen is two TDK 100 DVD spindles for the price of one ($25) at Costco occasionally. I don't trust Sony or Kodak disks for the simple fact that I had problems with their CD-Rs years ago and don't want to take the risk of losing anything.
I think that's all I have for now. I hope you find this helpful. I know it helps me to keep things organized and clutter-free on my computer. It also ensures that my kids each have copies of everything and won't have to fight over who gets what picture later on in life.
Thanks for reading!
This is my process for organizing and backing up my pictures.
1. I have a main folder called "Ava, Ethan and Owen Pictures". Everytime I download my pictures to the computer I open a new sub folder and include the date in the name of the folder. For example "African Lion Safari 06.12.08". All of the pictures I took (I don't throw anything out) are then copied into that folder.
2. Within that African Lion Safari folder I open another folder called "Photoshop". All of the pictures I edit are then saved in this folder.
3. Then I open an additional folder and call it "Prints" if I am uploading pictures for printing. I keep them grouped by size and create 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 folders, etc.
4. Once I have enough pictures to fill a DVD (and trust me - it doesn't take me long...), I burn those folders to DVD. I burn 4 copies - one for a master CD book and one for each of my kids that I place in coloured paper CD holders.
5. Then I make a label like the following:
I created these labels using digital scrapbook kits. On the label it has all of the info - volume, subject, date, etc. It also contains four thumbnails of my favourite four pictures on that disk. I then print four labels - one to go in my binder and three extras to stick on the copies for my kids. So far this process works for me. The tricky part is always putting the disks back in the right spot after I use them because none of my disks are labeled with marker (which I discuss below).
Here is a picture of the finished project. Stickers seal the flaps on the back of the sleeves so the DVDs can't fall out and get mixed up.
A little known fact. Ava's first two years are split across 14 volumes of DVDs and so far since February, I have created 8 volumes of the three kids (the disks are filling faster as I am only shooting in RAW now).
6. Once the CDs are burned and I have checked to make sure that the disk is okay and the files are retrievable, I copy the same folders to my external hard drive that is attached to my computer. Once I know those files are also accessible, the folders are then deleted from my C drive. I like the external hard drive because it is yet another backup in case anything should ever happen to my disks. It wasn't expensive and it is nice to have all of my pictures accessible when I am scrapbooking without having to pop disks in and out. However, with that accessibility comes the risk that should a virus hit my computer and the external drive is attached to the computer and turned on, everything on there will be lost. The fact that I have covered my bases with both the drive and the DVDs, I don't need to worry if this happens.
A few notes that might help or you might find interesting/helpful:
- Never write on your CDs/DVDs with permanent marker. The ink can leach into the disk and destroy it. I have heard bad things about the adhesive on DVD labels too.
- I always use DVD+Rs and buy them by the spindle. The technology is over my head but anybody I have ever talked to and anything I have ever read says that you should use +Rs and not -Rs. Sometimes the +Rs might be a dollar more expensive, but for the most part, the spindles are the same price. I always use either Memorex, Maxell or TDK. The best price I've seen is two TDK 100 DVD spindles for the price of one ($25) at Costco occasionally. I don't trust Sony or Kodak disks for the simple fact that I had problems with their CD-Rs years ago and don't want to take the risk of losing anything.
I think that's all I have for now. I hope you find this helpful. I know it helps me to keep things organized and clutter-free on my computer. It also ensures that my kids each have copies of everything and won't have to fight over who gets what picture later on in life.
Thanks for reading!
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