Do you have everything? Is it protected with backups? The answer should be yes.
The digital camera is a great invention because it allows us to reminisce. Instantly. — Demetri Martin
Loss as inspiration- Everything you create has value
In 2005, I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in Los Angeles. It was my first time.
Taking copious amounts of pictures, I even took an entire day photographing many of their very unique subway platforms. Artists were hired to do each platform separately making them very charming and novel.
Upon returning home my computer broke down. The images were stored on the same drive as the software. The hard drive failed, I had lost those and many other pictures forever. I literally had a wave of anxiety, anger and sadness wash over me.
A new commitment was made then and there to protect my data, pictures, writing, diplomas, birth certificates, audiobooks, music, whatever.
The data needed its own dedicated drive, and a backup copy. A separate dedicated drive is not effected if the C:/ drive fails. And they all will, it’s not if but when.
The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing. — Douglas Engelbart
I’d like to share the system I have built to protect my data
I did know something about archiving negatives, which I have done meticulously for four decades. This was a new problem, and anyone who says taking pictures is now free, with the advent of digital technology is dead wrong.
I bought two hard drives, the biggest I could afford, and also two external housings. knowing the files needed to be organized and easy to find I devised a system that consisted of only four folders.
Only four file folders would accommodate everything.
AUDIO — DATA — IMAGES — VIDEO
Mp3 files for my Archos Player, the iPod or Phone had not been invented yet, go into the audio folder.
Anything paper related, scanned or with text like writing goes into the data folder.
All pictures or illustration related items go into the images folder.
And you guessed it, Movies or Footage goes into the video folder.
Below that, we have the sub-folder categories.
As time has passed, this system has grown and become even more important to me.
As a filmmaker whose first film was made with the DIY tools of digital cinema, I love how the democratization of the film-making process and platforms like YouTube enables people to tell stories that in previous generations simply could not be told. — Barry Jenkins
My only sibling, a sister, Carrie Ann passed away suddenly a few years ago. It was very painful and we wanted to do a celebration of life for her with pictures from our lives set to music for anyone who wished to watch.
The call went out for anyone and everyone to provide pictures. It was during this time that I realized how many more pictures I had lost, never to be recovered.
The pictures I did have of her were easy to find and share because of the technology, work, and investment I have made. however, I needed to do more.
I Doubled Down on my archiving.
Today, I see more value in my data than ever before. adding the writing activity into the mix has made it even more important.
I plan on handing my data down to someone, maybe a school or museum. It must be protected.
As I began to travel more, worry seeped in about something happening at home. A break in, or a fire. I had copies, but I was leaving them in the same one place.
I had to evolve again and began carrying copy hard drives with me.
This improved my chances, how could something happen creating the loss of two objects at once?
But then I remembered a wedding shoot I was on. One camera malfunctioned, becoming unusable. The backup broke down as well. Luckily, I had a third camera allowing me to hobble along, finishing the shoot.
Again, my system had to expand, I decided to add a third drive for the growing library, yet another backup copy. These would live at the bank in a safety deposit box. I’m upgrading and copying drives as I write this.
When I finish this article it goes in the latest drive cataloged under Data/Writing/Medium/Protecting Your Digital Creative Life.
A word document is created with the text, and whatever images I used to go in. Then that is immediately copied to the second drive. In a month or so, I go to the bank, swapping out the third drive for the second building the new data into three copies, and it goes on.
As far as the free part, I just ordered the three 6 TB drives pictured above at a cost of around $525.00. The desk that I am working on now holds 6 dual drive bays with 12 drives full of data. I use a separate drive duplicator that makes much of this work easier.
I also have dual sets of drives for my Dell Laptop and Mac Book Pro.
I’ve given drives to friends over the years hoping they will clean up their own filing system, including my Mom who loves to look at pictures.
I’m feeling like this story is nearing the close, so I’ll just sign off, for now.
My hope is that you will start your own system like this if you have not already. Especially if you are a writer or creator. The stuff we make can be reused down the road if we still have it!
Treat your work like it’s part of the National Archive!
That’s enough out of me, sweet dreams!
Cheers! Christopher
