Flickr

I began implementing Flickr ito my workflow recently and I am amazed at the possibilities it presents. So much of the image work is made automatic by the simple act of uploading to your Flickr photostream. The best by product is the back up of full size images. This gives you another safety net when working with your images. I have not explored all the features yet, but so far I'm pleased and impressed. I upgraded to a Pro account as soon as I realized the utility of this dynamic service.

WAO Part 3: Numbering

With the coming of digital I needed a system that came me more that a simple roll number. In fact, digital all but eliminates rolls. I decided a some point to retain the metaphor of the "roll" but changed the name to "set". Today everytime I download a batch of pictures, I designate that as a set. Sometimes a set contains 12 images, sometimes 1200. I use the following number system now to get a handle on the image.

0501A.DM_0001

The first two digits "05" is the year. ie. 2005
The next two digits "01" is the annual serial number ie. "01" The first set of 2005
The fifth digit "A" is an extra number for future needs. A=Means that the roll number is correct. X=Means that I'm not sure if the roll number is correct. Given the inconsistent numbering of some of my original media, I must rely on a guess. The "X" means that I should check these images.
Period. (Divides the set number)
The seventh digit is an alpha chracter that indicated the medium of the original image. With scanning I need a way to know where the original image came from. I have a list of these designators. "D" means digital original. "T" means color slide.
The eight digit indicates the original capture device. "M" means Canon 300D. I have designator for each of the cameras I have used over the years.
The last 4 digits are arbitrary. The camera provides this number when I shoot digital. When I scan, the scanner serializes the images as they are scanned. When I'm scanning prints I add the number. I make no attempt to serialize this number to the actual slide or negative.

WAO Part 2 Old Skool New Skool

Many of us didn't begin taking photographs yesterday with the advent of digital cameras. We began with silver and film and chemicals in darkrooms. Many of us with 30+ years of files realize that having a system to find what we have taken in the past. Unfortunately, many of us do not have everything cataloged or in containers that preserve the materials. During a good deal of the time I have photographed regularly, color slides in there nice oblong boxes provided a place to put the rolls as they came back from the processors. (Kodachrome was always sent out and required 2 weeks or more to return) I began early, classiffying my rolls with a simple system. I numbered each roll 7501 with the first two digits designating the year and the seconf two digits indicating the number of that roll in that year chronologically. When I got my first "real" computer in 1985, I set up a database of "Roll Records" that recorded important information about the roll. At some point I moved all these slides into cardboard boxes that held about 4-6 rolls. I used empty slide mounts to keep them separated. I used a rubber stamp to put a roll number on each slide mount. Over the years, I experimented with adding two more digits to identify individual slides. These attempts were short lived. I felt that if I could maintain the roll and its general contents that would be all I really needed. I was shooting any where from 1 rolls to 60 rolls per year as my picture taking waned or was temporaryally replaced with a different form (video, polaroid).