I imagine that there are as many ways of storing photographs as there are photographers.Some create a system that works for them from day one perhaps using only one piece of software to do it. Others constantly change structures, formats or software always looking for the perfect way, but never finding it.
When I first started storing photographs on the computer I just created folders with names that seemed appropriate to the group - "holiday", "day out", "portrait" etc. For a viewer/editor I believe I had something called Photoshop Lite, a very early cut down version of Photoshop Elements.
With the purchase of a more serious digital camera (albeit a 5MP Nikon compact), the folder structure became a bit more logical. For instance, "holidays" was now populated with subfolders like "2005-Woolacombe". These subfolders then became the easiest way I had of finding the shots I wanted - mainly for printing.
In 2008 came my first DSLR and along with it, I purchased Photoshop Elements 6. With the Organiser and ideas from the Internet, I changed the way I stored photos again. The folders became years, the subfolders months and the application of tags & albums helped me to sort and find what I wanted.
The collection grew and grew reaching over 10000 photos in late 2009. This is when I decided to create a couple of "Catalogs". Anyone who has used Photoshop Elements will be aware that these are just ways of isolating shots. What did I separate? Well, one catalog was for JPEGs and the other for my RAW files.
It was a number of months after this separation that I began to think I was being too reliant on PSE6 to do my organisation. What if I wanted to change in the future? I had all these folders that were just year and then month. They didn't help me find events and the like that I was looking for. So, all change again; I updated the folders back to an event driven structure - Holidays\2005-Woolacombe.
Along comes Photoshop Elements 9. I don't know if PSE6 had the functionality (I never checked), but I found the ability to view the Windows Folders I had created in the PSE9 Organiser my favourite in terms of organising the photos (use Ctrl+Alt+3 to get this view).
Well, a month or two in to owning, I decided to create another few catalogs. I had one for JPEG, one for RAW and to this I added:
- Archive - to holds stuff I don't really want/need anymore
- Import - to hold my immediate downloads from the camera
- Projects - to hold some separate projects such as slideshows.
I even separated all the photos I had in to their own separate structures. The sub structures were the same so I could tie things together, but I had a lot of folders such as JPEG\Holidays\2005-Woolacombe and RAW\Holidays\2005-Woolacombe.
Guess what, a couple of weeks ago, I thought all this was getting too messy. Having so many catalogs means I cannot find some shots as quickly. In view of the fact that the PSE9 Organiser can show folders, I have now moved all photos back in to one structure and deleted all catalogs other than a general one called "Photos" and the "Archive". This seems to be working the way I always wanted it to, but then you never know. Who knows what I will think in another few months or year!
Friday, 28 October 2011
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Bad News, Good News
I no longer watch any national news programmes, and I do not go out of my way to listen or read general news articles. The reason being the attention paid to "bad" news. That is news that involves human misery in some way.
This is a personal choice not because I want to ignore suffering of others, but because I find bad news deflating and a killer to good mood and happiness. I am not advocating a ban on news or a suppression on reports, quite the contrary. The growth in communications and communication channels has meant that there is more awareness of suffering etc generally such that individuals feel that they can do something about it.
Who knows how much events such as the overthrow of Col. Gaddafi's government has been possible because the ordinary person now has access to communications/information that enables them to take individual action and make a difference. Throughout history, there has been communication, but never on a global scale and things like dictatorships have been possible as the ordinary person does not know what is going on. This would make them feel isolated and unsure of the popular consensus to make changes.
My only wish with the reporting of news items is that the reporting organisation should balance every report of bad news with equal coverage of good news. Something that promotes the human spirit, achievement or altruism. Something that can lift your mood and let you know that there IS good news out there.
This is a personal choice not because I want to ignore suffering of others, but because I find bad news deflating and a killer to good mood and happiness. I am not advocating a ban on news or a suppression on reports, quite the contrary. The growth in communications and communication channels has meant that there is more awareness of suffering etc generally such that individuals feel that they can do something about it.
Who knows how much events such as the overthrow of Col. Gaddafi's government has been possible because the ordinary person now has access to communications/information that enables them to take individual action and make a difference. Throughout history, there has been communication, but never on a global scale and things like dictatorships have been possible as the ordinary person does not know what is going on. This would make them feel isolated and unsure of the popular consensus to make changes.
My only wish with the reporting of news items is that the reporting organisation should balance every report of bad news with equal coverage of good news. Something that promotes the human spirit, achievement or altruism. Something that can lift your mood and let you know that there IS good news out there.
Monday, 17 October 2011
Advice
Are you ever asked for advice, but are not sure if you should give it; or not asked, but feel obliged to give it? It can be a dilemna to decide what to do.
I like to think of a quote from Brian Tracey a Personal Development Consultant who said:
"Never worry about the universal propensity to give advice, as the propensity to ignore it is equally universal"
Advice can help the person who asked or who needs some direction, but it should always be followed by indicating that whatever you suggest, it is still the up to the advised that it will be their decision whether or not to follow that advice.
I like to think of a quote from Brian Tracey a Personal Development Consultant who said:
"Never worry about the universal propensity to give advice, as the propensity to ignore it is equally universal"
Advice can help the person who asked or who needs some direction, but it should always be followed by indicating that whatever you suggest, it is still the up to the advised that it will be their decision whether or not to follow that advice.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
How Long Have You Got?
Time is a tricky beast. When you are waiting for something it seems to drag by, every second a minute, every minute an hour. When you are doing something you enjoy it seems to go as fast as a Formula One car. We are all on a ticking clock, a countdown to the Big D - "The only certainties in life are death and taxes" as they say.
For me, I try to think of the moment; to live in the moment and to try to enjoy that moment followed by the next. Don't worry what the next moment brings, just deal with it whatever happens. I don't mean that I live in the moment and exclude thinking about what could happen in the future or what has happened in the past, just that I reflect on the past and try not to worry about the future such that it spoils my enjoyment of the moment.
I don't always succeed; the big worry for me is a water leak. This may sound a little strange, but if something breaks it usually means it just stops working. With water leaks you can't stop it causing more damage. I worry that I can do nothing about it while things just keep getting worse and the worry grows to an obsession stifling enjoyment in everything else you do.
It is unlikely that I will ever be able to stop worrying about all sorts of things, but I will try to reduce its affect on my mood and happiness. I once did a Personal Development course that included material from Brian Tracey (can't remember if he is Canadian or USA) where he stated that research had been done that 96% of the things we worry about NEVER HAPPENED. Of the remaining 4%, they were mostly trivial or things we could do nothing about anyway.
I would love to spend more time taking photographs, editing them and looking at photos taken by other people, but I don't think there will ever be enough time for this. All I can do is make sure that I don't spend too long doing the things I don't like or don't provide fulfilment or happiness (e.g. work). I don't want to reach the point of the Big D and say "I wish I had spent less time at the office and more doing the things I liked to do"
For me, I try to think of the moment; to live in the moment and to try to enjoy that moment followed by the next. Don't worry what the next moment brings, just deal with it whatever happens. I don't mean that I live in the moment and exclude thinking about what could happen in the future or what has happened in the past, just that I reflect on the past and try not to worry about the future such that it spoils my enjoyment of the moment.
I don't always succeed; the big worry for me is a water leak. This may sound a little strange, but if something breaks it usually means it just stops working. With water leaks you can't stop it causing more damage. I worry that I can do nothing about it while things just keep getting worse and the worry grows to an obsession stifling enjoyment in everything else you do.
It is unlikely that I will ever be able to stop worrying about all sorts of things, but I will try to reduce its affect on my mood and happiness. I once did a Personal Development course that included material from Brian Tracey (can't remember if he is Canadian or USA) where he stated that research had been done that 96% of the things we worry about NEVER HAPPENED. Of the remaining 4%, they were mostly trivial or things we could do nothing about anyway.
I would love to spend more time taking photographs, editing them and looking at photos taken by other people, but I don't think there will ever be enough time for this. All I can do is make sure that I don't spend too long doing the things I don't like or don't provide fulfilment or happiness (e.g. work). I don't want to reach the point of the Big D and say "I wish I had spent less time at the office and more doing the things I liked to do"
Friday, 14 October 2011
Praise and Criticism
Off and on, I have been an amateur photographer since my late teens, some twenty or more years ago. I have owned all sorts of cameras from Kodak Instamatics to my current Olympus DSLRs, but I still consider myself a beginner at taking photographs.
In school, I always remember that there were certain individuals who seemed to excel academically. They were top of the class and gave no indication that they struggled getting there. I conversely strained to achieve good marks, which when compared to these prime individuals deflated any sense of achievement in the marks I did get. Nevertheless, my parents praised my achievements and provided much encouragement in perservering.
I think most people seek praise for their achievements, and if the effort has been great, then the craving for praise is increased. This can lead to the dangerous obsession of "perfectionism". By this, I don't mean that lifelong journey to improve yourself and the things that you do, but the compulsion to try to improve something so much that you must get praise from others -
"That's Brilliant!",
"Fantastic!",
"Absolutely Incredible!"
- for the achievement to mean anything at all. The danger is that in achieving the praise, then the same words used the next time don't mean as much, and fear sets in -
"Am I slipping?",
"What's going wrong?"
- an obsession grows that takes over any enjoyment you had in the activity.
Contrary to seeking praise, I believe people try to avoid criticism. If you check the "questions and answers" websites you will see what I mean. For many questions answered, the questioner will mostly choose a "best answer" which provides praise or encouragement rather than criticising them for the question or action.
Photography is a strange hobby. Strange in the sense that when you look at Photo sharing sites or forums, the posters seem to be requesting critique on their photographs, but what they really want to hear (or read) are -
"Nice Shot!"
"Brilliant Capture!"
- rather than any actual comments on how they could have taken a better shot or used a different technique.
I post my own photos on Flickr and at the time of writing I haven't had any comments on any of them, good or bad. I am not however discouraged by this as I know a number of them have been viewed by others from possible the four corners of the globe.
I like to look at other's photographs from which I gain inspiration and ideas for my own photo projects. On occasion, I will make a comment or set an item as a favourite if I find something particularly appealing.
For my fellow amateur photographers I would therefore suggest the following:
- If you want to improve your photographs, rather than post to forums or sites like Flickr and asking for "critique", buy photo magazines/books, go on a photograhic course or join an actual photographic club where you are in "real" contact with other photographers
- Don't stop posting photographs on line. I and many other photographers really enjoy looking through them
- Learn to accept and be happy with the photographs you take. Each one should be the best you can do at the time, but remember it is YOUR photograph. It has a meaning to you & what other people think doesn't matter as long as you are happy with it.
Happy snapping
Flickr Photos
In school, I always remember that there were certain individuals who seemed to excel academically. They were top of the class and gave no indication that they struggled getting there. I conversely strained to achieve good marks, which when compared to these prime individuals deflated any sense of achievement in the marks I did get. Nevertheless, my parents praised my achievements and provided much encouragement in perservering.
I think most people seek praise for their achievements, and if the effort has been great, then the craving for praise is increased. This can lead to the dangerous obsession of "perfectionism". By this, I don't mean that lifelong journey to improve yourself and the things that you do, but the compulsion to try to improve something so much that you must get praise from others -
"That's Brilliant!",
"Fantastic!",
"Absolutely Incredible!"
- for the achievement to mean anything at all. The danger is that in achieving the praise, then the same words used the next time don't mean as much, and fear sets in -
"Am I slipping?",
"What's going wrong?"
- an obsession grows that takes over any enjoyment you had in the activity.
Contrary to seeking praise, I believe people try to avoid criticism. If you check the "questions and answers" websites you will see what I mean. For many questions answered, the questioner will mostly choose a "best answer" which provides praise or encouragement rather than criticising them for the question or action.
Photography is a strange hobby. Strange in the sense that when you look at Photo sharing sites or forums, the posters seem to be requesting critique on their photographs, but what they really want to hear (or read) are -
"Nice Shot!"
"Brilliant Capture!"
- rather than any actual comments on how they could have taken a better shot or used a different technique.
I post my own photos on Flickr and at the time of writing I haven't had any comments on any of them, good or bad. I am not however discouraged by this as I know a number of them have been viewed by others from possible the four corners of the globe.
I like to look at other's photographs from which I gain inspiration and ideas for my own photo projects. On occasion, I will make a comment or set an item as a favourite if I find something particularly appealing.
For my fellow amateur photographers I would therefore suggest the following:
- If you want to improve your photographs, rather than post to forums or sites like Flickr and asking for "critique", buy photo magazines/books, go on a photograhic course or join an actual photographic club where you are in "real" contact with other photographers
- Don't stop posting photographs on line. I and many other photographers really enjoy looking through them
- Learn to accept and be happy with the photographs you take. Each one should be the best you can do at the time, but remember it is YOUR photograph. It has a meaning to you & what other people think doesn't matter as long as you are happy with it.
Happy snapping
Flickr Photos
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