Forever Blowing Bubbles…

You all know the way that old tune goes.  My song, if ever I have one, goes…I’m forever sorting photos, tra la la la.

In late 2019, I decided that my current photo sorting system (if indeed, it was a system) was not working.  My plan to stick to location as the guiding principle did not work as well as I had hoped and I began to lose track of exactly where I was in this maze of a collection.  So, the realisation that it would be far gentler on the brain cells if it was sorted by year, slowly began to take shape. 

First of course, were many, many sessions at the altar of YouTubers, many of whom had excellent ideas and helped me to picture what my work-around would mean and how it would look.  I did have a few setbacks though, one of which was to try renaming photos (not a good idea for me, it turned out!) and another was to eliminate all those dreadful photos.  Fine if you’re a professional, not so good for me making travel memories.  To know yourself and have goals is important.

Northern New South Wales coast to deliver a birthday quilt

I began sorting with the earliest backups I had (something else I wasn’t good at) from photos taken in 2004 when I went digital (sort of).  I had managed to lose some from trips away that could now sadly, never be recovered.  There were also successes.  This deep dive into old collections allowed me to find photos missing from a London visit with my cousin and his family.  The biggest problem I had was not fully understanding how Picasa stored original files when edits were made.  So, losses of these originals were many and I’m not sure that all have been found, but at least I’ve tried.  What did really help me sort my photos was to keep original file numbers, if I could.  Order (numerical) in chaos, thankfully.

After the demise of Picasa, I moved on to Lightroom – that’s a whole new level of learning experience for you!  I actually do like its capabilities, enabling me to sort by date and time at a minimum.  And of course, another round of YouTubers to help me become familiar with it.  A special mention should go to the whole Covid experience that ensured, during lockdowns, that I moved forward with this project of 48,000 photos.  Last year, I managed easily to assemble all Year 2022 photos and back them up on multiple hard drives that are set aside just for my photo inventory. 

Adelaide's Art Gallery showcased Textiles
including those by Sera Waters

Of course, I’m still not done yet.  There are many files of photos that need double checking, just to be sure I’ve not missed any.  And one should not forget the boxes and albums of old-school photos and slides awaiting my attention. 

One question though, that I have yet to resolve for myself, is whether to shoot raw.  I’m perfectly happy with JPG for now, and my plan is to eventually make travel photo books for my family.  Another task that awaits is to start editing; selecting the very best from each year and to add family detail that will help future family learn how we lived in the 21^st century (if indeed they can access our digital archives!).  So, for now, I guess it’s back to YouTube then!

Loving a visit to Adelaide to break the photo sorting monotony