How Do You Backup Your Photographs?

We all know we ought to do it. It’s one of those givens–backup or beware!

Knowing the value and importance of something is one thing; it is quite another to actually do it. Backing up files goes right up there with going to the dentist or sitting in traffic. We all have to face these things but they certainly are not fun to do.

So, how do you backup your photos? Do you use an external hard drive? Do you use a Drobo or Raid system? Or do you cross your fingers and just hope for the best?

I’ve been reading and hearing a lot about the Drobo and I think I might give this a try.

But what do you do?

More on Social Media

I’ve been posting to this blog for over a year now. WordPress has made blogging very easy for me and I enjoy sharing photographic insights with others. It’s a cool way to connect with others and create dialogue with fellow photographers. It also allows customers and those interested in my photography to stay updated.

This week I also began to Twitter more frequently. I had a Twitter account for some time but did not fully see the potential of this powerful social medium. Now I am posting a daily tweet including a PhotoTip. You can follow me on Twitter to see a new photo tip each day.

I also have a Facebook page that replicates each day’s blog post and displays some photos and upcoming events.

Statues

Photographers are always looking for new subjects to photograph. It’s in our blood, I guess. We just cannot help ourselves. There is always that elusive photo that we’ve had back in the recesses of our photo brain out there somewhere. We can see it our mind’s eye and we hope and pray we will be able to see it with our camera sometime very soon!

But what do we do when we cannot find that once in a lifetime subject? Do we put our camera away and go in the corner and pout? Or do we keep our eye behind the viewfinder and keep trying?

Here is a series of photos I captured one day when the creative camera juices were flowing a little bit. It was great fun!

Get the Little Things Out of the Way

Most of us photographers like to spend time behind the camera. After all, we are photographers so this is our rightful place, isn’t it?

The problem is there are so many other details and little things that can distract us and prevent us from spending time behind the camera. Think about going on vacation for example. Just to get away there are a ton of things that must be done. Our to do list grows to enormous size and we have a lot of details to wrap up before can leave.

Even preparing for a photography-specific vacation requires paying attention to a lot of mundane details: did you charge your batteries? Did you pack enough spare flash cards? What lenses are you going to bring? Do you have cleaning supplies packed? How will you backup in the field? Do you know exactly where you are going? Do you have enough money for everything? Did you put on clean underwear? (Opps, that was bad!)

But in all seriousness all these little details can get in our way. So sit down, make a list, and begin checking these items off. The sooner you take care of the little things the sooner you can focus your camera!

Are You Tweeting?

Do you use Twitter?

Twitter is a neat  social media application that allows you to share information with others and also follow the happenings of other people/businesses you might be interested in following. Each message must be short–140 characters or less. There are many people connecting with each other tough Twitter every day.

Give it a try! You can create your own Twitter account by going to twitter.com

I just updated my Twitter page, which you can see here: twitter.com/bobshank

The text and photos down the left and right sides are what I added to spruce up my Twitter page a bit. It was fun to do and now my page reflects a similar look and feel to my website.

I hope you are “tweeting” the official term for sending messages through Twitter. If  you are tweeting, follow me and I will follow you!

 

Handling Flash Cards

I have a Nikon D300 camera so I use compact flash cards. I have CF cards in the following sizes: 8GB, 4GB, & 3 1GB. I keep each card in its individual case until the one in use is full and then I switch them. The problem is twofold. First, it takes time to take a fresh CF card out of its plastic holder and then swap it with the current one. Second, once cards are filled it can be confusing to which ones are still empty. I do try to keep the empty cards in my right pants pocket and the filled cards in my left pocket. Only once have I ever inadvertently formatted a card that full of photos. It hurt to lose these photos and prompted me to seek a better procedure in handling flash cards.

So what do you do? How do you handle your flash cards? Could you please explain the process you use? I’ve been thinking that a case to hold all of my cards could be helpful, but what do you do when handling flash cards?

Using Flash

As a wildlife and sports photographer I do not use flash all that much. Yes, there are times when fill flash is needed for a shot, but those times are relatively few and far between for me. In fact, until recently I didn’t even pay attention to the necessity of learning about flash photography.

All this is changing, especially since the new flash strobes do an incredible job of replicating the natural light look. It is amazing what these small strobes can do and they even work wirelessly! I love the Nikon system that incorporates built-in wireless flash. With just a simple set up I can use my pop-up flash to fire an off-camera flash and get a variety of different looks. It is amazing!

Now don’t get me wrong; y0u still won’t see a flash on my camera very often, but when needed I will know how to use it. And isn’t this what photography is all about; using the tools at our disposal to achieve what we are looking for in a photograph?

Swans

This week I had the privilege of being on a spiritual retreat where I was able to relax and enjoy a slower than usual pace. I also had the opportunity to photograph some beautiful swans that were on the retreat property.

Here are some of the photographs that I captured today.

Getting Ready for the Craft Fair

I will be displaying some of my photographs this Saturday at the Holiday Boutique. This is a craft fair held at Stroudsburg United Methodist Church and features a variety of craft vendors. It is a great place to see crafters displaying their beautiful work and do a little early Christmas shopping.

This week I am making last-minute preparations for my display. Just today I received a shipment of my Pennsylvania Elk Calendars and a Photo Flip Book. Last week I received a photo mug and holiday greeting cards. These items will be on display so orders can be placed with any of my photographs. I will have 4 elk calendars for sale and they turned out beautifully if I do say so myself.

I also have to print some price lists, frame some photographs, and refine my tri-fold plywood display so everything will be ready to be set up on Friday. It is an exciting time and I always enjoy seeing what the other crafters will be displaying.

If you are in the Poconos on Saturday, stop in to look around. I will be there and I’d love to see you!

Cowboys vs. Eagles

Last night my friend John invited me at attend the Sunday night football game in Philadelphia. I’ve been going to Eagles games with John since 1993. The atmosphere is always electric and prime time games are absolutely full of energy. Last night was a perfect example. The Cowboys and Eagles both came into the game with 5-2 records so this game was to determine who the sole leader of the NFC East would be now. Can you feel the energy?

Now a professional football game is chock full of dazzling sights and sounds. Fireworks, energetic cheerleaders, crazy fans, and superhuman football players just to name a few. But as I took my seat in the stands and looked down onto the field my attention was drawn to something different right away–the photographers on the sideline.

Yeah, I know, not your usual sight of interest for most guys my age, but I can’t help it. I just couldn’t resist studying the sideline photographers to see how they captured the game with their cameras. The first thing I noticed is that they all were wearing red vests. Not photographer’s vests either. These vests must have served either as a red badge of courage that these men and women totally deserved to be where they were or to help make them more obvious so they couldn’t hide from their environment. No camouflage here!

I also noticed that the photographers stayed pretty much in the same location. If they were on the visitor’s side of the field at the beginning of the game, that is where they stayed. If they were to the right of the player’s bench, that seemed to be their assigned location.

I did notice that they all some big glass and I mean big. This was no place to carry a point and shoot camera. Many of them also carried one or two additional cameras on their shoulders in addition to the camera mounted on their monopod. I am sure this was so they could capture the sports action in a moment’s notice.

Some photographers stood behind their camera while others kneeled behind theirs. But each and every one of them had a much better location from which to photograph the action on the field! I was jealous, too. I know I am now too old to dream of making it into the NFL. Besides, my time in the 40-yard dash is not up to what it used to be just a few short years ago. However, I do dream of making it to the big leagues with my camera.

Does anyone know where to get one of those nifty red vests and press passes so I can have the opportunity to join my heroes on the sidelines?