Ghost of Past Pictures

[r3g]

Some of you might remember me going ghost maybe a year or so ago out of nowhere. Some of that was due to being more busy but a lot of it was to do with multiple hard drive failures that resulted in the loss of ALL my photography. I was so sad about it I couldnt bring myself to start fresh for almost a year.

Well while tinkering around with one of my old drives I worked some magic and somehow was lucky enough to recover everything. Awesome right? Not so much... Ironically while going through it all I realized how bad most of it was and ended up deleting 99% of it because it just wasnt worth keeping. Go figure lol :rolleyes:. It was interesting to see all of my earliest work though, that really put into perspective how much progress I've made in the last year.

Just thought I'd share the story.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Proud of them or not I'm really glad you managed to recover them.

It's a great warning to us all. I might just back up again today.

[Turo]

I was just thinking about backups today because the D50 -> D700 jump has resulted in some MUCH larger files, and my HDs (main, and backup) are quickly filling up. I may need to invest in some new HDs soon. Maybe even one of those online backup services.

[dr4gon]

Wow, congrats on your tinkering lol ... I lost a couple months worth of stuff around December (some from Christmas) and now back everything up daily.

At least you could prove to yourself it was recoverable. I'd love to know what you used to do it!

[TheWengler]

I realized how bad most of it was and ended up deleting 99% of it because it just wasnt worth keeping.

Yeah, you used to suck :p

[r3g]

HEY HEY DONT MAKE FUN LUKAS!! :P


But ya once I did get started back I decided to take an extra step so not only do I backup to my external raid box but a second backup goes to an independent drive that only gets turned on to be updated with new files so I wont be losing anything again. Wish I knew about Sync Toy back then, makes backing up easy as a single click.

[TheWengler]

HEY HEY DONT MAKE FUN LUKAS!! :P

Oh ok, sorry. :o

[Rooz]

if you didnt think that there'd be something wrong buddy. the worst thing that could happen would be that you open em up and think you haven't improved.

[AlexMonro]

Next stage in backup strategy, two external drives, one of which is kept at a different location (friend's or relative's house, etc.) Periodically copy your latest stuff to the drive you have, then swap them.

That way, even if you have a house fire or burglary, you haven't lost all your images.

If you live in an area with a risk of natural disasters (earthquake, floods, tornado etc.) you might want to make the remote location very remote, so that it's unlikely to be engulfed in the same disaster.

[craigyc]

This is making me realise I need to update my back-up strategy! I only backup to 1 external HD on import to Lightroom!

[r3g]

Oh ok, sorry. :o

I kid I kid :D



if you didnt think that there'd be something wrong buddy. the worst thing that could happen would be that you open em up and think you haven't improved.

No kidding.. Id sell my gear if after seeing those old photos I realized that not much as changed in 2 years.

I also noticed another thing.. Its not that photography has lost its "innocence" to me but back then it was all fun and experimentation which is true for all new users. But once u get past that stage and people start noticing your photos theres that slight bit of pressure to keep maintaining the quality of work people have come to expect from you AND to continue upping the level. I love the challenge though :)


This is making me realise I need to update my back-up strategy! I only backup to 1 external HD on import to Lightroom!

Updating was always a pain until I found the right software.. Especially when your backing up from multiple locations. Not too worried about my backups being stolen or anything so a backup and a backup of that backup is enough backup for me. Specially seeing as the likelihood if the first backup failing is minimal. As I mentioned before... For anyone on a Windows platform, SyncToy 2.0 is awesome and free. You can sync folders, mirror them, or horde them. Set a folder pair one time and from then on just click sync when u wana back stuff up.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Ky-G6QlUMBM/SAODeJA_DhI/AAAAAAAAANI/eVnc9gUT6GQ/s400/synctoy.jpg

[dr4gon]

No kidding.. Id sell my gear if after seeing those old photos I realized that not much as changed in 2 years.

I also noticed another thing.. Its not that photography has lost its "innocence" to me but back then it was all fun and experimentation which is true for all new users. But once u get past that stage and people start noticing your photos theres that slight bit of pressure to keep maintaining the quality of work people have come to expect from you AND to continue upping the level. I love the challenge though :)



That is so true! Gotta keep upping the bar!

I use synctoy also to backup to my remote (next rom over :D) server (NAS). That's about it for me. Eventually, I'll get a large HD to keep in a safety deposit box, but no money to fund that for now (or a while).

So reg, I'm curious, what software did you use to recover the drive?

[r3g]

none. i was just tinkering with the drive in windows when files started to appear

[r3g]

none i was just tinkering with the drive in windows when files started to appear

[dr4gon]

none i was just tinkering with the drive in windows when files started to appear

Ah, nice! Persistence pays off!

[r3g]

More like boredom pays off :D