Biggest Screw Up of My Professional Life (almost)

helloagain36 wrote in post #12752633
I have 3 of these...they are tanks.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …940_Memory_Card​_Case.html

But I am constantly worried about losing a whole case...because then I potentially lose 4 cards instead of just one...I've never really figured out a totally foolproof method...thankfully I've never had any close calls either (knocks on wood).

I need a camera that does an automatic online backup

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …d_Safe_Extreme_​Green.html

or

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ard_Safe_Extrem​e_Red.html

for me, same idea as your pelican but more brightly and obnoxiously colored, I had a pelican one, I plastidipped it road cone orange...


I also make sure that I am deliberate about how I put the cards back.

Brand labelling facing me is empty, used is facing away. Once I get below 80 shots remaining I change cards at the first opportunity as well...

i had the same thing kinda happen. turned out it was because i forgot the number resets after 10K and it went back to 0001

helloagain36 wrote in post #12752633
I have 3 of these...they are tanks.

Yep, I have the Pelican case as well. Love it. Holds 4 CF cards, or the SD case holds 8 cards.

It stays in my pants pocket while shooting, and goes in a special place in the camera bag when I'm done. It's really no bigger than a cell phone, so having it in my pocket isn't too much of a distraction.

If I'm wearing the tight leather pants then I keep it in my wife's purse. OK, I don't actually own any leather pants...

L5intoR5/Cr wrote in post #12755177
for me, same idea as your pelican but more brightly and obnoxiously colored, I had a pelican one, I plastidipped it road cone orange...

Interesting idea, I might borrow that idea. I also need to make sure all my info is on the inside and outside of the case. I've got my business card taped to a lot of my gear (tripod etc) but the card case is unlabeled. Hmmmm.

L5intoR5/Cr wrote in post #12755177
I also make sure that I am deliberate about how I put the cards back.
Brand labelling facing me is empty, used is facing away. Once I get below 80 shots remaining I change cards at the first opportunity as well...

Yeah, exactly. Face-up if they're empty, face-down if they're full.

That would make my pooter pucker for sure. I had a similiar experience with a wedding this past weekend.I thought I lost quite a few of them or they didn't upload or something but it turns out is was the file ordering through windows 7. I tried to filter by time it was taken but it only did it per card. Once I figured this out, it was a huge relief and all is well. glad things worked out!

^ that's nothing. Still recoverable. Try film!

Back in early 2000, I shot a wedding with corrupted FILMs. Still haunts me to this day.

2006/7 at a magazine photo op on the then new MB B-class. Err 99 on a CF card after a panning sequence. MB staff wasn't impressed for having to repeat the drive again.

Happened to me while in post process. I had 2 folders with all the raws. For some reason I couldn't find a batch where the bride and groom walking into the reception. Heart dropped for a good 30 minute. But then I realized it was in another folder I created while backing the card up at the wedding.

kouman wrote in post #12810834
Happened to me while in post process. I had 2 folders with all the raws. For some reason I couldn't find a batch where the bride and groom walking into the reception. Heart dropped for a good 30 minute. But then I realized it was in another folder I created while backing the card up at the wedding.

It's one of the biggest heart stoppers I've ever had. Sounds like it was for you too. I puchased card keeper/organizers and now all my cards are either in the camera or the card keeper. The one I bought was here: http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ard_Safe_Extrem​e_Red.html

I also followed some tips on this thread and put my name, phone number and "Reward" on each card.

helloagain36 wrote in post #12752633
I have 3 of these...they are tanks.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …940_Memory_Card​_Case.html

I use a case similar to this and when I have filled up a card I put it into this thing so that the back of the card is showing, unused cards are showing the mfg label. I never try to download the cards on the go, it is a recipe for potential disaster, imo. This means having enough card space to shoot all day which I do. Cards are cheap in the long run given how long they will last. I have yet to lose one or shoot over existing shots and count myself lucky. I always do all my downloading at the end of the day when I am with my laptop.

Good advice here! I've had too many horror stories, as well... will have to keep some of this tips in mind...

PhotosGuy wrote in post #12749399
I'm glad you found the images.
I keep empty cards in my right pocket & exposed ones in the left pocket. Also keep them in the plastic box so crud doesn't get into the tiny holes & eventually keep it from connecting.
I try to have enough cards so that I don't have to reuse one until it's backed up on two drives.
I prefer to use 2 GB cards to cut down the total disaster possibility if one card fails.

This is my method as well.... except unshot cards are in left pocket, shot ones in right. And cards with images on them DO NOT leave my pocket until I get them on at least two other hard drives or other media storage. I hear of shot cards getting stolen or lost because photogs simply put them back in their bag, or laying around. The images on those cards I consider more valuable than all my gear, and I treat it as such. (My gear can be replaced, the images can not).

Steve Wintrow wrote in post #12753458
i know it to be more expensive but using a 1D series camera offers a 2 card system, a CF and SD, and one can back up the other. with this you need double the cards but with today's cost of 8G cards that is not prohibitive.

i always have one card back up the other when shooting something important.

it was good to see that you did find your pictures.

I second this.

I shoot with 1D series cameras for this exact reason. Yes they are heavy. Yes they are expensive. But in my opinion the peace of mind knowing that the images are being backed up in camera as I am shooting is worth a lot! So far I have never had to go to that back up card but I'm so glad it is there. Not to mention the autofocus is fantastic and I love the 1.3 crop vs 1.6.

Has anyone tried this Hyperdrive device? Is there something better that can do this out in the field?

stillen wrote in post #12832724
Has anyone tried this Hyperdrive device? Is there something better that can do this out in the field?

Which device?

When I used to shoot, the most reliable thing for me was to use a camera with two 16GB cards in RAID mode. I never took a card out, that is asking for trouble.

I am currently undergoing the first and hopefully only screw up of my Professional life as well...

My company was just founded this year so I am learning the process of implementing a backup system. Here is what happened:

I had the opportunity to photograph a large family gathering in June. As usual the client told me "This is the first time we have had a family picture in YEARS...it may be grandmas last time to get a picture with all of us." The shoot went well. I got shots of the entire family together, as well as each of the 4 "family units" and even managed to capture a close up of great grandma holding the hand of her first born great grandson. (One of my favorites from the shoot. You can see it on my FB page). I came home and backed up the pictures on to my primary system and began some PP work on them. A few days later when I was about half done editing the pictures I copied what I had to a USB jump drive so I could work on them on a laptop at night while my kid was asleep. No luck, my daughter woke up screaming and I didn't get anything done that night. The next day I finished up editing the session on my main system, created the final disc for the client and got it in the mail. Heres where I screwed up...in a rush to get to my full time job I didn't backup the finalized disk for myself. (I figured I could do it the next morning). I always create a backup with all the original files, the retouched full res files, and a copy of all images the client received so I can make another disk in the future if needed. Got home from work that night and went straight to bed.

The next morning I wake up, start up my primary computer (which is now the only machine that has the final revisions of all the client images) and I then I get: Book disk failure. Insert system disk and press enter to continue... I don't let this worry me too much as I have already completed the session for the client and sent them their disk. (Part of my contract states that once the client recieves their images it is THEIR responsibility to archive the images and that I do not keep permanent files. Although I do.) But then it gets worse...a few days later I receive a call from the client. Apparently in my rush to finalize their disk and leave for work I exported the files under low resolution only (for internet use). Their print lab says the files wont be good to print anything much bigger than a 4x6 and even that may be over pixelated. The client wants the full resolution files. CRAP. Luckily I remembered that I had backed up the files part way through the editing process. I scrambled to find the USB jump drive and breathed a sigh of releif when I saw that I had all the original images as well as about half of the edited files in full resolution. I called the client and explained the situation. Thankfully they were very understanding as I told them I will re-edit the files needed to complete their disk and send them the new copy. Had I not tried to work on the files on my laptop, I would not have had a backup copy at that time.

This has all changed. Now I have multiple redundant backups which will happen throughout the whole process. I will never again go without at least 2 copies of a clients images, preferably stored in seperate areas. My new setup for the main system is: the 1st "master" copy will be stored on the primary computer hard drive. A second and external hard drive will perform real time updates whenever the "master" files are modified. A THIRD hard drive (also external) I will use to manually backup the completed files after each session is finalized. This drive will be stored in a fireproof/floodproof safe, away from the main system so hopefully it will survive in the event of a disaster. I also have multiple backups for all of my business documents such as spreadsheets, contracts etc. After each contract is signed I scan a digital copy which is saved on the backup harddrives as described above. I also print a backup paper copy which will be kept in the safe. Hopefully I will never have this happen again.

Lesson learned.