How To Save Photos And Videos For The Future

After you get your great photos and videos how do you save them so you can easily find and use them in 1 year, 10 years, 30 years?  Almost everyone takes lots of pictures and videos these days because there are cameras everywhere.  Most people want to save some of the best ones to enjoy later.  I still have family photos from the 1800's and treasure them.  So what should be done to make sure you can find the files you want and also use them in the future?  

On a boat off Greek Island - taken with iPhone 7+

I like and use both the easy Apple, Google, Adobe, & Flickr systems.  But I also save a copy in my own file system that is not in any software and in a universal format jpeg.  And I also have prints made of my favorite shots which are in photo albums.  

So how does this all work.  

1.  I use Apple Photos with my iPhone.  But you could just as easily use Google Photos, Flickr, Lightroom Mobile, Microsoft Photos, or a number of on line or push systems.  I look at the pictures and videos on my phone and cull the ones that are no good and do a small amount of editing.  Then I let Apple automatically push photos to my iPad & Mac where I might do a little more editing using Apple's software.  If you are in an area with no wifi you can move photos using a wire and the same Mac Photos software.  When you are finished with the Apple editing you export the keepers to a folder on and external drive or flash drive.  Do not leave a bunch of photos on your computer hard drive or SSD.  It clogs it up and you don't have the freedom to move your files around like you do with the external drive.  

2.  With all regular cameras you move your files directly to the external drive or flash drive.  Save the original and the final edited version as a jpeg.  

3.  You need to add keywords to all your good files.  Keywords are embedded into the files and you can use them ten years from now of six months from now to look up and find this file easily.  Do not let software add keywords do it yourself.  Start doing it on all your new "keeper" files.  Worry about your past files when you get around to it.  

4.  I keep folders by year and month but you can use any system that works for you.  So I have a folder for the years, months, and then within months I number the folders.  Most of the time I can find the files easily by memory but it even easier to just enter into Apple search a keyword or two and they come up almost instantly.  A windows computer does the same thing, just enter a keyword into the file search and they come back in a flash.  

5.  I have been keeping my photos and videos on line as that seemed for a few years the best way to do it.  On line storage seemed like the best way to store files a few years ago, but now it is only good as a second copy.  The problems with on line storage are;  1.  It is too slow.  2.  Your files are at the mercy of the on line company as soon as you upload them.  Just don't use on line as your only storage.  You will regret it at some point.  I could go on for quite a while with problems I have had storing on line but just take my word for it.  They are your files and if you want to keep them then they should stay in your possession.  

6.  Backup your storage file.  Now that you are safely putting your photos and video on a storage drive you need to back it up with a second drive.  I currently use disk drives, but flash drives are getting cheaper very quickly.  I have had a number of disk storage drives fail so that is why you need two.  But flash drives seem to be much more rugged.  I have yet to have a flash drive fail.  If you have a smaller amount of storage just use flash drives.  Very likely 30 years from now they will still work.  

7.  Make your best into prints.  Very likely most of the on line systems and most of the storage drives will change over the years.  Some on line systems will go out of business or close.  Most storage drives will fail or their connectors will be obsoleted.  If you print things and then save them into attractive books they will stay around the longest unless you have a fire or other natural disaster.  I still have quite a few family photos from 100 years ago and more.  They are almost all black and white prints and they have not faded at all.  

Summary 

1.  Capture image or video with any device.

2.  Save file to your drive locally 

3.  Keyword your file

4.  Make a backup

5.  Backup your backup either on line or printing or both.  

6.  Phones are great but actual cameras without a phone attached are easier to use, last longer, and work better.  Save yourself some money and buy a camera from a camera company and you will not need to spend so much on your phone or replace it as often.  

Best Ways To Get Good & Easy Great Pictures & Videos When RVing

Cell phones - Smart phones - The most popular cameras in the World are the ones that come with phones.  Generally the newer the phone and the more expensive the phone the better the camera.  This fact is exploding the number of images and videos produced Worldwide.  My latest phone an iPhone X takes very good images.  However, the latest phones are also getting more complicated to use.  And both Apple and Google have begun to lock down their software so that it is becoming more difficult to organize your images and videos in ways that don't use their software.  Google eliminated Picasa that made it very easy to take photos off your phone and put them where you wanted to.  Apple discontinued iPhoto and Aperture which also made it easy to download photos from your phone to your filing system for safe keeping.  Now both IOS (Apple) and Android (all the rest) have cloud systems which automatically file your photos in their clouds.  What this means for the amateur photographer is that five years and 10,000 photos from now you may want to save a copy of your pictures to one of your back up drives.  To do that would be very difficult and very time consuming if they are on the Apple or Google cloud.  So here is my advice - use your phones to take stills and videos but save copies on your local drive that is not in a software program.  If you are not doing that now, start today with your new images and videos.  

Taken with Minolta 600si 50mm f2.8 macro lens and Kodak Ektar

The above splendid shot was taken with a 15 year old Minolta film camera and Kodak Portra.

I love the way the new phones have advanced the technical abilities of image and video capture.  But to really improve your work you will need a real camera that does not come attached to a phone.  I have a six month old Sony compact that cost 40% of what my latest smart phone cost.  It is far more capable than the camera in my iPhone X except the iPhone is better in low light.  The compact camera can go easily from wide angle to super telephoto optically.  Even at a 500mm equivalent the images are very good.  And at 35mm equivalent the photos are sharp and color rendition excellent.  It also takes very good video and the Zeiss zoom works without adding noise to the video.  You can transfer photos and video wirelessly to your phone or computer, but it also comes with a standard SD card that makes it very easy to download files and put them where you want them.  In your file system.  You can then upload the best ones to Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or anyone else without fighting with software.

Taken with a compact Sony super zoom camera

To get the best images and video you need a more advanced camera like a DSLR or mirrorless camera with removable lenses.  I personally like Nikon cameras, but there are a number of good brands like Canon, Sony, Olympus, Fuji, Pentax, and others.  Of course if you are rich get a Leica or a Hasselblad, I would if I had lots of money to spend on my hobby.  To me the best camera to get good and easy images and video in the more advanced category are a mid sized sensor based model.  This is the Nikon or Canon "crop" sensor based cameras.  Olympus uses micro 4/3rds which is also fine.  And Fuji is crop sensor for most of their bodies.  The cost for this type of camera with lens is between $600-1,700.  A Leica is more like $9,000.  And on the Hasselblad, if you have to ask you cannot afford it.

Shot with Nikon D5500 and 35mm f1.8 lens

 And then we have film cameras.  Analog film cameras have made a come back.  A lot more people have started shooting film today compared to 7-10 years ago when film almost died.  I shoot film all the time and can tell you my opinion is that if you want to get interesting and artistic images you should consider film.  Photo film does not produce the same product as digital.  Film uses a random pigment process and digital is a geometric pixel.  The result is not the same.  Outdoor full sun mid day images come out much better from film than digital.  However, inside shots with various lighting is much more difficult to get right with film compared to digital.  But if you keep it simple and get a reliable camera or two and stick with just a couple of films that you know work you should be fine.  Keep in mind that excellent to outstanding film cameras cost $20-200 with lens.  A Leica is more like $2,000.  If you don't have a film camera and want one just get a major brand SLR from a used camera store or ebay.  It will be much simpler to find a used camera store.  That way you can return it if it does not work.

Consider making prints if you shoot digital or film.  Apple makes it easy to do so along with a lot of other people.  And make photo albums.  Photo albums last pretty much forever and are very very easy to use.  Just open the book.  No computer or electronics needed.

Film Compared To Digital In The Midday Sun On Landscape

Last summer we went for a long trip in our RV out to the middle of the country.  When we were in the Black Hills area, which is a gem of a place to go, we went to Badlands National Park.  I took both my Minolta 600si film 35mm SLR with a 50mm f2.8 prime lens and my Nikon D5500 digital camera with the newest 18-55 f3.5 zoom lens.  The Nikon lens is the "P" version that has received high marks from a lot of people for sharpness and general high image quality.  I put both cameras in my Rick Steve's day pack.  The film camera had Kodak Ektar 100 film in it.  I had the film developed at "The Darkroom" in San Clemente.  I had the film scanned when it was developed to their medium quality scans.

With the Nikon I shot raw.  Here is the raw file with adobe standard adjustments.

The basic raw file made into a jpeg with Adobe standard adjustments

Here is the film shot right out of the camera.  

Film file right out of the camera.  

It is not as easy to see the differences when the photo is small.  If you can copy the pictures to your computer and blow them up a bit that would help.  The file sizes for both are about the same.  To me the film shot is very good right out of the camera.  The digital is only OK.  It is washed out even though Adobe had added a significant amount of color to it when I converted the raw file to a jpeg.  

If you had the Nikon camera do a jpeg file instead of a jpeg and used the Nikon Landscape setting this is the result.  

Nikon using landscape setting.

To me the Nikon landscape setting looks better than the Adobe standard.  This is an adequate photo only.  It is not nearly as good as the film shot.  

And here is the film shot after I made two very slight adjustments to it in Lightroom.  

Film shot with minor editing in Lightroom

Here is the digital shot with some significant editing.  It took me several years, many hours of training, and thousands of Lightroom edits to be able to get the picture this good.  

Nikon digital shot with a lot of editing.  

To me both of the end results are good.  Of course if they had been taken later in the day or early in the day the results would have been much better on either camera.

If you don't want to learn Lightroom and only use Apple's simple Photos app this is what you get.  

Film shot only using Apple Photos.  Very very simple edit.  

Nikon shot using Adobe standard jpeg and Apple Photos 

So what is the bottom line.  Both photos are very similar and very good considering they were taken in full sun at mid day.  To my eye on a high quality large monitor they are equal.  A few things to consider.  

• The Minolta camera is just as automatic as the Nikon.  The Minolta is from about the year 2000 and the Nikon from 2015.  But you can buy the Minolta for $30-50 dollars today on eBay.  The Nikon about $600.  The lenses on these cameras are both worth about $100.  So $130 for the Minolta and $700 for the Nikon.  
• The Minolta is about the same size as the Nikon and looks very similar.  I prefer the looks of the Nikon just a bit, and the Nikon is a few oz. less.  
• You can set both on auto and 85% of the time the pictures will turn out good.  
• If you want to make adjustments on the cameras the Minolta is far and away easier to use.  
• The Minolta viewfinder is far and away bigger and brighter.  The Nikon viewfinder is very hard to use with manual focus.  The Minolta is pretty easy, but no focus aids like my older Olympus.  Both camera makers thought most people would use auto focus almost all the time.  
• The Nikon has a complex menu system to learn.  It does have a touch screen though so this particular model of Nikon is easier than most to adjust.  
• The Nikon and the Minolta work very well to set on auto and just take pictures.  
• The Minolta has buttons and switches for adjustments that are very intuitive and simple to use and learn.  

When I originally took these shots a little over a year ago I much preferred the film ones.  They came out of the camera much better and I was still learning to get good with Lightroom.  So knowing what I know now which is better digital or film.  I have to give the nod to digital in this case.  I do enjoy using the Minolta camera more than the Nikon, but there is no doubt that not having to go through the hassle and expense of getting film developed and scanned made the digital shot easier.  If I did not already know how to use Lightroom I would go the other way and say film is better.  The camera is more fun and easier to use and you don't need to fiddle with Lightroom.  Then there is the cost of the camera and lens.  The film camera is much less costly.  You have to pay for film, but you also have to pay for Lightroom and spend lots of time learning to use it and working at your computer to get acceptable results.   

If you have any film cameras left over from the film days, use them.  Buy film.  Kodak, Fuji, and a few others still make very good film that is easy to use.  I mostly use mail order to develop and scan.