The Octopus’ Garden

With the recent drop in prices of digital cameras, from point & shoots, to prosumer DLSRs to more professional ones, owning a digital camera is now more possible than ever. The instant gratification that a digital camera provides is only one of those things that attract people to it, compared to when it was all just film. The trip to the processing lab and the eternal wait for the negatives and prints to dry was simply excruciating. I can still clearly remember the workflow then and I’m not sure it’s something I want to get back on to on a regular basis. But this drop in prices has significantly allowed more people to enjoy this great hobby/therapy and seeing people really getting into it is very encouraging. And now that we’ve all saved up for that dream camera of ours, we thought this would be it. There are things that a lot of people didn’t tell us, and one of them is, things wouldn’t really be that simple. But it can be, really.

So now that you just got your camera, what’s next, you ask?

The Gear Bag.

Choosing a Gear Bag can be complicated, if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Basically, what you would want to have is something that can protect your camera and other stuff from drops, bangs, and at the least, slight rain. More advanced bags like LowePro’s and Tamrac offer All-Weather protection which keeps your camera safe from heavy rain or dust storms. These bags can be expensive but just think of the price of the camera it actually carries inside, and you’ll feel better. Just stay away from ones that shout “steal me” and go for the more inconspicuous ones. Some basic choices you may come across when shopping for bags are shoulder bags, backpacks, soft shell (your waist will love these), or hard-padded for better protection. As a basic, you’d want something that allows YOU (and not thieves) easy access to your camera when presented with a scene you’d want to take a photo of.

Memory Cards.

While most cameras do have USB cables you can use to connect to your computers with, I would still rather use a good card reader. This way, your camera’s limited battery power is conserved. Best thing is, while importing your photos, you can go ahead and shoot some more, provided, of course, that you have a spare memory card.

Memory cards (CompactFlash, SD, XD, etc) come in different configurations. The high-speed ones can be very pricey but can prove useful if you’re into fast-paced photography like sports and kiddie parties. While for most purposes, low-speed ones will actually give you good value. Just ensure that you stick to the more reliable brands. Memory cards can be cheap, but you don’t want to risk your photos in unreliable media. Our photos will always be priceless. Think about it, while the price cards are sliding, it’s really tempting to go for the higher-capacity ones. Now imagine if your 8Gb card full of photos suddenly screws up versus one that has only 2Gb in it. In effect, keeping four 2Gb cards is actually less risky than having that one big cajuna, right?

This may not be entirely related, but in the old days when film use was still prevalent, some field photographers would even ship all odd-numbered rolls through one courier going one route, while the even-numbered ones go through another courier/route. That way, in case something happens to either set, there will still be another set to process, and there will still be a story to be told. Talk about paranoia but it does make sense, doesn’t it?

Long-term Storage. Lots.

After browsing through the manual and seeing how user-friendly our camera’s controls are, we would normally take to the streets and start shooting. It’s undeniable that the fire of a first-time owner is contagious. It’s simply amazing what people could see that we old-timers couldn’t. We’d shoot anything on our desks, our family, stuff in the backyard, lamp posts, gutters, and whatever we fancy. Before we know it, we’ve amassed these so much images that we don’t know what to do with them anymore, and our harddrives are already crying for some slack.

Yes dear, if you think you’re gonna be a prolific shooter, this is one cost you should start considering saving for. As the number of megapixels go up, the size of the average image also grows. And it wouldn’t be hard to imagine how fast this can eat up your drive space if you’re always shooting at higher resolutions. At an average of 4-5mb per image, with 20 images, that can easily translate to about 100mb! Now wait till you try shooting RAW!

Good thing, a 2.5″ SATA drive with about 500gb of space is now just roughly PHP5k. You can either get a matching external enclosure for this extra drive or replace the drive in your laptop. I chose the latter so I can have everything in my Mac at all times. In fact, I do keep everything in my Mac: from work stuff to photos, to my iTunes library. Everything’s here! This “Live Drive” is my personal sandbox. This is where I tweak and manage my photos and do practically everything else, like my real work.

The “Backup Drive” is a different story. And I do keep another less-frequently accessed external drive to serve as such. The less stress that Backup Drive is subjected to, the better I get my peace of mind. At the minimum, though, I make around 3 daily backups to ensure that most changes are indeed backed up: one in the morning when I get to the office, one at noon, and one before I leave for home. Since my Mac is mostly used for work stuff (it’s company-issued after all), I choose to keep my backup drive in the office. If your photos are as important to you as mine are to me, the Backup Drive is a definite imperative.

Software.

Sifting through thousands of photos can be a daunting task. The confusion that ensues can sometimes get out of hand that sorting through the thousands of photos is starting to get tedious and boring. And If we’re not careful, it’s easy to lose track of photographs that we take through the years. That’s why it’s important to use a software (no, Ian, not Windows Explorer) that will allow you to catalog your photos in a very intuitive way. Keeping them is one thing. Finding them again after 5 years is another. Some of the basic features to look for in a digital/photographic asset management software is the ability to use tags/keywords, support for timelines, a folder/album system, and the ability to do some minor photographic tweaks. And the obvious choices for me are:

1. Windows: Google Picasa (free!), Adobe LightRoom
2. Linux: gThumb
3. Mac OS: Apple iPhoto (for most needs), Apple Aperture or LightRoom (for a more professional approach)

Personally, I use Aperture for its ease of use and overall useability, plugin support, and efficiency. The trick is, just like in buying a camera, you should try everything and see which fits better in your hands. You really don’t need to go for the one with the most features, just the one which suits your needs or your workflow. Workflows can sometimes be complicated but this is something that you need to figure out for yourself as you go along. Don’t rush it, but pay attention. The simpler you do things, the better, and the more efficient you’ll become.

Remember, taking photos is one thing (fun!), and managing them (fun yet tedious!) over time is another. But with a good and simple workflow and the tools that fit, both activities can be loads of fun when done intuitively and effortlessly. There are actually more stuff that I feel I need to include here, like tripods, flash, etc. But I would rather not scare you. I’d save that for another day. :)

Now, go out and shoot!