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You took that picture with a cellphone?!?!

Jul 30
Posted by admin in For Beginners

The death of point-n-shoot cameras is near. Not this year, or next, or even the year after but it is coming. It is inevitable and you can thank Apple for this. One of the most innovative, ground-breaking, ingenious, revolutionary, state-of-the-art, pioneering, cutting-edge, brilliant,… okay okay, enough adjectives but I am talking about the iPhone.  It has altered the photography world. It may not seem like it has now to some people but just wait. Give it 5 years, maybe less. The iPhone can take photos better than some point-n-shoot cameras. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as most of the little cameras but it is steadily getting there and when it does, that will be the untimely death of the beloved point-n-shoot camera.

 

Yes, there were cameras on cell phones before there was an iPhone but the iPhone has changed the easy side of photography dramatically. Right now, all you can do is turn flash on and off, use digital zoom if you want, and tap on the screen where you want the camera to focus. But soon, white balance control, metering control, TTL flash control, M A S P control zzzzzzZOMG! This is the future, and point-n-shoot cameras are the Dodo bird.

Now, at the moment I own a Droid X. I love the phone. I love everything about it but one thing: the camera. It is unresponsive at times when hitting the shutter button, and then it is sometimes too responsive when hitting the shutter button. The photos look flat in color and contrast. It is horrible in low light. It switches between scene modes too slowly. What else do I have to complain about? Hmmm… “but Mr. Blog Writer, you are going against the whole point of this blog post.”
Keep reading my readers.
On the bright side (and very bright side I must say) the native camera app has more options to change than the iPhone such as changing ISO, effects, scene modes, exposure compensation and……… see my point I am trying to get at. Camera phones are getting there and once they do there will be no need for people to carry around a point-n-shoot camera as well as a camera phone.  These camera phones already can shoot Full HD video (and that was the death of Flip video cameras), has face detection, can do HDR photography and it is just going to get better. Even some additional camera apps have become very popular such as Hipstamatic for the iPhone and RetroCamera for the Android. Even Adobe made a Photoshop app for phones now! But when September rolls around and the iPhone 5 is released, I am switching and I am getting it not because I am an Apple fanatic but because of its camera. That sole reason.

I am going on a big trip in September to mid-October. Of course, I am taking my Nikon SLR and a bunch of Lomography cameras but I was also in the market for a small point-n-shoot camera that I can carry with me when I do not want to lug around all my camera gear. But then I got to thinking, I am getting an iPhone soon. The camera on the iPhone 5 will be better than the camera on the 4th generation. And plus it is a PHONE! Done, decision is made! And see what just happened there. The point-n-shoot line just lost a sale.

And here is reassurance on how well the iPhone takes photos… Ahem (clears throat…). Once upon a time in a far away land called Afghanistan, a New York times photojournalist named Damon Winter was documenting the First Battalion, 87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division. To best convey those soldier’s story he decided to shoot pictures with his iPhone using an app called Hipstamatic. There was a lot of controversy about his photos being taken with a camera phone but that is a whole other blog post. Back to Damon’s story, with his photos from his iPhone he won third place in POYI international photo contest. iPhone photos… winning in a accredited international photo contest… that is pretty good for a camera phone. Below are some of those winning photographs that he took.

Damon Winter / The New York Times

Damon Winter / The New York Times

Damon Winter / The New York Times

Here are some camera phone pictures from myself using RetroCamera.

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

© Brandon Pendred. www.nodnarbphotography.com

Also, here are some other cool things that have been done with an iPhone

Watch this: iPhone Wedding Video

Nikon and Canon SLR lens mount for the iPhone

Photojojo.com

Photojojo.com

 

Now do you see how great camera phones are becoming?

 

-Brandon-

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Meet the SPC employee: Alan

Jul 30
Posted by admin in Meet the Staff

 

“My favorite part about working here is learning,” says Alan. “I really do learn something new everyday, whether it’s from a customer, a coworker, or whatever. I really love this job.” And he’s not kidding. Watching Alan work every day is inspiring. It’s easy to tell how much he loves his job when you see him interact with customers especially. While treating each customer with an equal level of respect and interest, Alan really listens to what the customers need and want, and he finds the unique product or service to meet those needs. He’s serious and passionate about his job and photography, but there’s definitely a light-hearted side to him that can’t be overlooked. When I ask him how long he’s been interested in photography, he says, “Since 8th grade when I took black & white film course. I absolutely fell in love with photography. Star-crossed lovers, you could say. Not really, we started a relationship, but I cheated with World of Warcraft,” he laughs. “We’re back together now but it’s still a shaky relationship.” He looks at me, eyes gleaming as he tries to determine if I’ve followed his joke. “In all seriousness though, I really fell in love with photography in 8th grade, and I’ve had a passion for it ever since. That’s why this job is so much fun for me. I get to talk about what I love with other people who love it as well. It’s great!”

Any employee who has been working in the industry longer than 6 months knows the challenge of keeping up-to-date with the constant changes and advances in photography. “Three years ago,” he says “when I first started working here, I didn’t know much about photography and cameras at all. I didn’t feel confident ‘talking shop’ with the customers. Photography changes so frequently with new cameras and other products, advances in photo and video, it was hard to keep up. I’m a lot more knowledgeable now than I was three years ago. I can talk shop with the best of them. And I teach classes a lot, too.”

When I ask him what he likes to shoot, he thinks for a while. It’s a hard question to answer for some people. “I love shooting sports; that’s a huge passion of mine. Umm… scenery, landscapes, people… anything, really. I love shooting film, as well” says Alan. That’s a typical answer you’d get from a lot of photographers. Most photographers know they love to shoot; they love to capture what they see and how they see it. But trying to figure out why you love what you love can be slightly more difficult.

“So what do you like to do other than photography?” I ask. “Well,” he says, “I like going to movies with friends. I like listening to music.” When I ask him what kind of music he enjoys, he responds with a tongue-in-cheek, “Katy Perry.” I laugh. “Seriously!” he implores, “Have you heard ‘Last Friday Night’? It really gets stuck in my head!” He dances around awkwardly and sings “laaaast Friday niiiight!” After he composes himself some, he responds with a more serious “I like the Beatles. Sometimes I just leave Pandora on the ‘Let it Be’ station and let it play the best music ever written.”

“If I could have anything right now, it’d be a GoPro. I’ve been doing a lot of research on them. That thing can go anywhere. And it’s a fisheye!” Then he enthusiastically shows me some of the videos he’s made with a GoPro.

“This is not just a camera store; it’s so much more than that. Here you can learn about computer programs, how to make a commercial, along with cameras and photography. I love this place.” Just after saying so, a customer walks in. Alan walks over with a smile and asks, “How can I help you today, ma’am?”

Promotional video with Alan and Brandon (featuring the Olympus Tough waterproof camera)

 

-Meredith-

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The Canon 60D: What’s not to love?

Jul 09
Posted by admin in New Products

I am a Nikon shooter, and I absolutely LOVE the Canon 60D. There. I said it.

With its new in-camera processing, vari-angle LCD screen, Full HD 1920×1080 video at 30, 25 or 24 fps, you can’t go wrong. And don’t forget its electronic level, which is really helpful when shooting landscapes and large groups.

Using in-camera processing, you can edit the exposure, saturation, contrast, and more on your images without even taking the card out of the camera! This works for both jpeg and RAW. Furthermore, using its star-rating system, you can rate your images so when you import them into your photo-editing software, such as Lightroom, you can already have your favorites sorted out.

Now, you can’t talk about the 60D without talking about its video capabilities. It is the first in its class to have video capture. It can shoot up to 60 fps. If you’re shooting in Full HD, it will shoot 30 fps. 

It does NOT have autofocus when shooting video. However, if it did have autofocus for video, I’m not convinced it’d make for better video. When the camera is switched to LiveView (it has to be on LiveView in order to shoot video), the autofocus is sluggish. When you manually focus, you can be faster and more precise. Furthermore, at this point in time, the focus motors in these cameras are loud enough for the mic to pick up. So manual focus is quieter, faster, and more precise than autofocus would be.

The autofocus for still photography on this camera, however, is better than the Rebel T3i’s. This is due to its 9-point crosstype autofocus system. The crosstype points detect horizontal and vertical lines, allowing for better, more precise focus.

Another new, useful feature on the 60D is the manual audio control. This gives you better control over the audio than the 7D, for instance, which only has automatic audio capture. The 60D also has wind filters which useful for shooting outside.

A more fun feature on the camera is the use of “creative filters.” My favorite is the “miniature effect” which is fun to use when shooting objects or buildings from far up. It gives the effect of a tilt shift lens. Some of the other filters are grainy b&w, toy camera, and soft focus. (Below are some

This is an example of the miniature effect. Better when used on objects or buildings from high up. (This is straight from the camera, no post-processing)

One of the toy camera filters. (again, straight out of camera, no post-processing)

“Grainy B&W” (once again, this is straight out of the camera without any post-processing)

 

The body of the camera is a little different than its predecessors. To me, it’s easier to use. The placement of the buttons on the Canon cameras have never made much sense to me. The 60D has been completely rearranged to where you can use your right hand to press the majority of the buttons. Also, the back dial and the D-pad are now integrated, which again, makes a lot more sense than having two controllers in different places. The body of the camera is a little lighter than the rest in its series due to its polycarbonate shell (it does have an aluminum frame, however).

One of my favorite updates on the body of the camera (as can be seen in the below picture) is the four buttons along the top of the LCD screen. They match up to  corresponding settings. (The ISO button is directly above the ISO setting on the top panel screen).

Another cool feature is its aspect ratio simulation. Let’s say you’re shooting an image that you know will be used for a 5×5 print. When in live view, you can set your aspect ratio for whatever size you need, in this case we would use a 1:1 aspect ratio. Red crop lines will appear on the live view screen. You can also set the aspect ratio to 16:9 and 4:3; the camera will automatically shoot with a 3:2 aspect ratio. When shooting in jpeg, your images will be saved with the crop. When shooting in RAW, the files will be saved as 3:2 but will be tagged with crop lines and can be viewed with Canon’s digital photo professional software. This is really a nice feature, especially when shooting with a particular print size in mind.

So, to answer my first question: What’s not to love? Well, not much. This camera is super fast, super smart, and really fun to use. I do have one complaint, however. Canon has removed the option to make lens AF microadjustments to compensate for lenses that aren’t tuned just right. This doesn’t seem to turn too many people away from the 60D, however. I mean, really, how many photographers do you know that sync their lenses? I think this is also Canon’s way of making the camera more user-friendly for entry-level users.  Canon has made the 60D more appealing for professionals as well since they’ve added the capability of the pop-up to control external flashes wirelessly. One other complaint is its polycarbonate shell. When I get this level of camera, or anything beyond entry-level really, I’d like a heavy-duty body. They’ve made the 60D fairly light. Even though it still has the aluminum frame, it still feels light, plastic, and almost like a toy. Other than those two complaints, I really REALLY love this camera. Too bad all my lenses are Nikkor…

-Meredith-

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The care and cleaning of underwater cameras

Jul 07
Posted by admin in For Beginners

I have a Panasonic T2 which I can take EVERYWHERE!  It goes to the pool, the beach, and mostly is in my pocket.  Same for the TOUGH cameras by Olympus.  I am now such a big fan of their TOUGH series, they would be my second choice as a walking around camera.

So over the 4th of July weekend, my family and I went to the beach, into the surf and sand.  The camera was very dirty after our fun day. After a day like that, how do you safely remove the battery to charge it?

First, don’t skimp when it comes to reading the instructions on maintaining the water seals.  There is nothing more important to the integrity of a waterproof camera than its seals.  One hair or speck of sand is enough to compromise the seal. With a bit of pressure from the water, the seal can fail and ruin your camera.  No, the manufacturers warranty does not cover water damage on water-resistant cameras, mostly because if the seal was maintained it wouldn’t have failed.

So, I rinsed the camera and washed off the salt and sand off the outside of the camera.  I dried the camera thoroughly and removed lint and dust that was clinging to the outside, then I removed the battery and charged it.  At the same time I inspected the battery door and the seals VERY carefully.  There was sand long the edges which I carefully removed and dusted and blew out and dusted until I couldn’t see any more.  I let the camera air out and when the charger was finished, replaced the battery and resealed the camera, again checking for hairs and eyelashes and ANYTHING that could get on the seal.  Of course, there were a few bits of sand form where I had already cleaned.  Once I was sure that everything was clean,  I closed and locked the covers, and off I went again!

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What is the hardest part of taking vacation pictures?

Jul 04
Posted by admin in For Beginners

We all take our camera with us to the beach, or the mountains or wherever we take our vacations.  But the hardest part of taking good shots is always thinking ahead and being prepared.  I carry my camera bag, but arthritis prevents me from carrying it like i did when I was younger (read as: 3 years ago when I didn’t have the flareups) .  So I take the bag, but leave it and try to go light, taking only the things I think I need.

I always carry the lens I know I will need.  Last night I started with a 50mm f1.4 for low light, walking around.  When the fireworks started, I was unprepared since the field of view was so limited. Luckily I could change the lens to a 17-55mm f2.8 for the fireworks. The wide area allowed me to shoot the fireworks that the neighbor was shooting off.

When we are walking on the beach, I tend to carry the 70-200 f2.8 lens for the ability to shoot distance shots, and reasonable macro.  Portraits are nice, since I can use the depth of field and compression to get a better shot.

Now, do I take the flash as well?  I have to say that overall, I would rather take the equipment and have it if I need it (that includes the cable release, flash cords, filters etc).  After all, if the shot is Ok, but not worth hanging on the wall, was it really worth taking the shot in the first place?  I will always go for quality over quantity.

Maybe I need to get a backpack…

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Street School With Jarrad Lister

Jul 01
Posted by admin in Current and special events, How to get out of your rut

It is time to start talking about the new Jarrad Lister Street School to be Held in Asheville N.C.  Saturday August 6th, 2011.  You can find more info at www.PhotographyStreetSchool.com  Jarrad will be taking you behind the scenes to learn about what equipment to use, camera settings, shooting in RAW and manual mode, scouting locations, available light and flash, posing, Photoshop, workflow and a live model will be present to photograph with Jarrad’s assistance.   Seating is limited so early registration is required.  We have a limited supply of tickets onhand at the store.  Call us at 864-583-6835 to get yours now.

I when to the one in Charleston SC, and it rocked my world.  Having been in a photo rut, shooting more for work than pleasure, using the camera more in auto than manual and just not having fun.  Jarrad challenged each person individually.  He worked to make sure we we all understanding his techniques.  As a bit of a “technocrat” I was a little concerned at first with one of his explanations of depth of field, but the way he explained his practical application, it totally made sense.  He has an easy going pace, and is very helpful and forth coming with his teaching and sharing techniques.  I have been a big fan ever since.  Call for more info or tickets: 864-583-6835  Secret location will be disclosed before the event takes place.

Editor Note: The following is from after the Charleston Street School

I attended the final “street School” taught by Jarad,  held in Charleston, SC a week or so ago (held in February 2011).  Jared has a passion about his craft, about teaching what he likes and he doesn’t mind giving everything away.  Because he gave so much away,  it was hard to take it all up!  Any photographer would have learned or remembered much that has been lost or forgotten to digital photography.

Jarrad shoots everything in RAW and manual exposure.  ( I like .JPG and Program.)   He required all of us to shoot in RAW and manual.  This was great.  It took me so far out of my comfort zone shooting that I was on the top of my game!  I was checking and making exposure judgments on the fly.  Many at first were wrong,  but with practice it all came back, like I used to shoot with film.  But every time I got comfortable, Jarrad would move us to a new situation, back light, deep shadow, narrow alleyway, dappled sunlight filtering through the trees.

Wake up!  I did!  I followed Jarrad’s instructions on how to work the model and afterwords how to use actions to get the results that I was looking for in my photos.

It has been years since I was felt the accomplishment of a finely crafted photo.  Jarrad Lister “Street School” was well worth the trip and a great shake to the senses.

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The Lytro Camera

Jun 28
Posted by admin in New Products

Technology advances everyday and it has become a way of life it seems. You buy a computer only to find out when you get home that you are already outdated. Cellphones, TV’s and of course, our favorite little gadgets: digital cameras, are all victims. Cameras are updated about every 12-18 months. They perform better in low light, the megapixels keep climbing to a point that it is pointless, they add 72 focus points on top of the 52 that was on the previous model… I get it. Upgrade. Upgrade. Upgrade. But it has reached a point where I think it is too much of an upgrade. Let me explain.

There is a little known company (right now) called Lytro based out of Mountain View, California and yes, this is where a once little known company and now ‘king of the internet’ called Google is from so this little town is packed full of innovative thinkers, designers and inventors. Lytro has an idea that will change photography and it is both very exciting and very scary. They are developing a camera that will allow you to change your point of focus after you have taken the photo. Yes, you read that correctly, I said AFTER.

Why is this so exciting? Well, think about this scenario. You and your family take a road trip to the Grand Canyon. When you finally get there and pick your jaws up off the floor from awe of how beautiful the canyon is, you ask another tourist to take a photo of you and your family with the canyon behind you. That kind tourist snaps the photo for you and hands you back the camera, then something amazing happens. A massive eagle flies by and you run off to take some photos of the eagle and completely forget to glance at the photo of you and your family with the canyon. Days pass, vacation is over, and you are now back home uploading all of your images to view them. You scroll through and then devastation ensues. That one photo of you and your family with the canyon is out of focus. You scream, break stuff and yell four letter words.

That scenario doesn’t sound too pleasing does it? Well, if that family photo was taken with a Lytro camera then you wouldn’t have a broken computer screen and apologizing to your children for those four letter words that you belted out.  You would be able to simply click on you and your family in the photo and magically you all come into focus. Ta-Da! Awesome, right? Well of course but this is where it gets scary.

Photography has now become one step LESS of an art form in my eyes. What will define a professional photographer from a novice? What will define knowledge of photography over automated photography? Yes, we have auto white balance, auto ISO and auto focus which help a lot of people but now with the control of your depth of field AFTER you make the mistake; that is too much ‘mistake correction’ in my eyes. I say learn your camera and lenses, learn how photography works and practice it. Do not relay on machines to correct your mistakes because you will never learn. That is what the scary part about the Lytro camera is. If this becomes mainstream, all the ‘old school’ photographers will be the only ones left in the world that know what depth of field is and how to control it.

So how does it work? Without getting too technical, basically this camera can capture a ‘light field’ which is the amount of light traveling in every possible direction. Traditional cameras can not capture all that light. The Lytro, however, can and thus, allows you to control your depth of field in post processing because all the light and information was captured from the beginning. Pretty cool, huh?
Do not get me wrong though, if I ever get my hands on the Lytro camera I will try it out and see what it can do. But when I am done, I am going back to my Nikon.  As a good analogy: You are not a chef if you cook everything in the microwave and the same goes to photography, you are not a photographer if you make zero decisions in your shot. Learn your camera people.

 

-Brandon

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Nikkor AF 50mm vs AF-S 50mm

Jun 10
Posted by admin in Current and special events, New Products

Finally, Nikon came to their senses and released an AF-S 50mm f1.8 prime lens. Why is this important? Well, for starters: it is an AF-S lens so for anybody that has an ‘entry level’ camera such as the D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100, D40, etc. then auto focus will finally be your friend on this one. The 50mm f1.8 prime lens is a very popular lens, especially for portraits. It is also one of their more inexpensive lenses which helped it become on of the ‘cool kids’ on the block.

Now the comparison of the two lenses: AF 50mm f1.8 vs the AF-S 50mm f1.8. Let the battle begin (insert loud stadium announcing voice with crowd cheers here)

Performance
Below you will see several test shots of each lens shot at different f-stops.

AF-S 50mm f1.8

AF 50mm f1.8

You will notice the color hue casted over the images, especially the AF-S 50mm. No Photoshopping was done to the image but as you can see, the AF-S 50mm has more of a pinkish color cast on the image. My white balance was set on Auto and the two images were taken within 60 seconds of each other so there was no light change. The clarity on both lenses are supurb on all f stops. With the wide aperture of 1.8 both lenses will perform exceptionally well in low light situations and creates a beautiful ‘bokah’ effect. For the ones that do not know what bokah is, it is an effect where light sources appear as large soft balls of light in the backgrounds of your images. It can only be achieved by using a very wide aperture.

Below are two more examples of the two lenses shot at different f stops.

AF-S 50mm f9

AF 50mm f9

AF-S 50mm f16

AF 50mm f22

One big difference I found between the two lenses is the minimum aperture. On the AF 50mm version it will only go from f1.8 to f22. On the AF-S version it can only go from f1.8 to f16. So, the AF 50mm has a hand up since it allows you to have a greater depth of field. I have found myself using a higher f stop numbers lately and in this case I would go with the AF since it allows me to have that extra depth of field but shooting at f1.8 on both lenses is why you are buying this lens. It is what it was designed for.

Build

Both lenses are very small, compact and light and are some of the smallest in Nikon’s lineup. The AF 50mm is slightly smaller than that AF-S 50mm but not by much. But overall, the size and weight should not be an issue on either lens.

A nice feature and a ‘common’ feature on Nikon lenses nowadays is the switch on the side that allows you to change from Autofocus to Manual which is on the body of the AF-S 50mm. So you do not have to switch to Manual focus through the camera like you have to on the AF 50mm since that lens does not have that convenient switch. Also, do you like Nikon’s SWM (Silent Wave Motor)? If you do then go with the AF-S 50mm because it’s got it. It will be silent as a whisper when autofocusing and not sound as what I like to call ‘a remote control car’ in the old AF 50mm.

Conclusion

Overall, you can not go wrong with either lens. Both performed the exact same, no less than Nikon’s high standards. But they do have advantages over the other. The AF-S 50mm will allow autofocus to work on basically all of Nikon’s digital cameras, even the entry levels. The AF 50mm however will only autofocus on Nikon models D90, D7000 and up. The AF 50mm also has that broader depth of field to play with. The AF-S 50mm has the convenient A/M switch. So you may take your pick. So who won the battle? (Drumroll please!) I am going to say it is a tie. The timer ran out and they both were unable to knock the other out.

Spartan Photo Center has both lenses in stock so you can come in and test both of them out yourself.

-Brandon

 

 

 

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Lomography

Apr 22
Posted by admin in "Old School"

Using a Holga or a Diana camera from the Lomographic Society has been a fun and brilliant experience.  First it brought me back to waiting for the shot I wanted.  Second it has brought me back to looking for the light I want for the shot I want.  Third it has brought me back to manual exposure and looking for the right shot slowly and more methodically.  The first roll was a wash since I was untrained in the Diana, but as you learn you particular camera it gets better.  The Holga and Diana cameras are not as finely calibrated as your Leica, Nikon or Canon camera, so don’t expect a lot from your first roll.  Be methodical.  The second roll should help you learn to remember to  focus, set exposure and get the shot, each time.

I’ll admit, I kept forgetting to focus.  You know, 17 years with my Nikon and Canon auto-focus cameras spoiled me somewhat.  Actually, I forgot about it for the most part.  Not having an SLR left me forgetting about the focus more often than I care to admit.  I was too focused on the composition or the exposure.  Although the exposure was simple, You still need to remember to keep up with whether you are back light or front lit and what you subject really is in the situation.  The exposure is simple, but the images do better when overexposed.  Because I use negative film, the overexposure makes the negative darker, yielding richer colors and deeper blacks when printed.   Unlike digital; more light makes the image lighter, negative films need to be shot in the opposite frame of mind.

Several customers that use the Lomo cameras frequently say they like the excitement of the wait for the film to be processed.  This seems counter to where our industry has been going for the last 25 years, faster or instant development and gratification.  But taking the time to set up (yes, even using the Lomo’s on a tripod) taking the time to carefully compose and waiting for the right shot are still the primary steps in getting that perfect picture.

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Memory Preservation – What its all about

Mar 27
Posted by admin in Memory Preservation

People usually give me that blank stare on non-recognition when I speak of memory preservation.  Not like forgetfulness or dementia (I have some knowledge of both) memory preservation is one of those things that is often overlooked, or looked at when just a little too late.  Memory preservation is how to make sure you keep up with your photos, videos and those memories committed to graphic media.

One of the first things to consider in memory preservation is starting with your new digital camera.  No matter how new it is, you need to consider the consequences of storing all your digital pictures on one hard drive.  Heaven help you it is not your computers primary drive!  Hard drives fail.  Over the years we have lost many hard drives.  They wear our, they get blasted with lightning, they have defect and bad spots that stop holing data.  Obviously you are de-fragmenting and running the check disk utilities if you have them.  But that is not enough.  All digital files of any worth should be backed up on a separated drive or disk.  I like the portable hard drives like the MyBook drives.  You can get a gigabyte or two rather cheaply, and they are easy to use.  Portable hard drives also take up less space than CD or DVD’s.  Especially if you are storing them off site in say a bank safe-deposit box.  Don’t forget that you final, retouched, ready to print and deliver to customers should be backed up as well.  Throw it into the customer project folder along with their contract and other customer info or notes.

Old photos, slides and negatives should be “backed up” as well.  Fires, floods and other events can happen that render them useless.  We and many other fine specialty camera stores and labs offer the “Shoebox” scans.  We still call ours shoebox scans even though we discourage people from storing fine originals in shoe boxes.  First shoe boxes are usually a very cheap grade of wood lignin paper that acidifies in a very short period of time and the acid and can burn your photos slides and negatives.  Usually this starts at the out sides and works is way into the center.  Those prints or negatives that were poorly processed will degrade much faster that those that were better processed and where the lab did not take short cuts to save water or chemicals.  It is still a matter of you get what you paid for.  Scanning slides, negative s and prints can be a great way of reintroducing those old memories into our electronic lives.

I still like the old school  method of making prints or books and albums.  Books and albums encourage you to pick them up and flip through a  few pages – short burst of “way back when.”  Printed photos should be displayed.  Those children that grow up seeing their and their families phtoos tend to have better self awareness and are more content with them selves.  I just like looking at our family history this way.  The computers are in other places in the house and our framed photos give me the boost every morning and night when I look at them as to what i am working for; my family.

Video tapes were never designed to be permanent.  Longer live was still measured in years and not decades on video tapes.  Magnetic storage like video tape and floppy discs seem to be an accident waiting to happen.  Over time and use the glue that bind the magnetic bits to the plastic tape loose the ability to hold and stuff falls off. We used to call this “drop outs” because the magnetic media dropped out of the take and that spot was data and is now static.  Even the newer digital tapes are prone to damage.  A dirty head that sucks in a tape and causes it to be wrinkled will have static or in digital tapes blocky “pixelate” squares that degrade the image.  That data, those portions of the movie are gone, just as if the material “dropped out” ad was lost that way.  Once lost it cannot be retrieved.  Any magnetic video tapes should be “backed up” to DVD’s for long term storage.

Videotapes are the new movie media, where old, old movie films are the worst for storage.  Some of the earliest can degrade into flammable stuff, or if you smell a hard vinegar odor, then the acetate plastic “film” is degrading, acidifying and soon will be gone.  The emulsion that holds the image is not permanent and can come off the film.  Fungus can eat away at the image and water and scratches will quickly and easily damage the film

Films, negatives, slides and prints should be stored in a cool, dry and dark place for intermediate to long term storage.  The attic and the basement are THE WORST places to store these items.  Newspaper should be avoided as the wood fibers in the paper will degrade and acidify, damaging anything they touch.  Plastics can be better for storage, by they will trap humidity, so make sure the air is purged and all items are dry before storage.  PVC plastics were removed from the USA market in the late 70′s and 80′s, but imports may not be safe.  Always select a brand like PrintFile for storage pages and known good plastics.

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