Why My Blog Is Saving Me

You hear it happens to people now and then, but it is never going to happen to you. I'm talking about losing all of the photos on your computer. It happened to me.

Dave bought our first external hard drive so we could free up some memory on our very finicky and stubborn computer. He transferred ALL of my photos to it. It died a few days later. The computer repair guy said there is no data on it to recover. (I mention Dave only because he is the one who sort of knows what he is doing in these matters. I do not blame him entirely for the mishap. Not entirely... :) )

When I first suspected foul play, I called Dave at work and asked him to come home. He didn't. I was crying. Sick. Poor little Seth asked me if I needed to go to the doctor. I tried to tell myself not to worry too much until I had an official diagnosis from an expert. Well, I got that diagnosis a few hours later and as you know, it was not good.

I went into survival mode. I put grief behind me. Dave's guilt was pretty bad so that left me to be the strong one. I started looking at the good and coming up with a plan for the future.

A lot of solace came when I realized that I still have access (limited, but access nonetheless) to all the photos I have ever blogged! I am patting myself on the back for being a good blogger. (Not trying to be arrogant or anything, but after feeling like a very stupid idiot for not having my photos backed up, I think it will be okay to find a little self pride in something.) It's been 2 or 3 years since I attempted to compile my blog via Blurb to have it printed. The plan was to get a book printed annually. Well, I didn't get far. I got confused and overwhelmed with the formatting of it all. BUT you bet I'm going to be revisiting and completing that project ASAP. So, while I won't have digital files to print or enlarge, I will at least have the photos in one format to look back on and relive the memories.

I am so grateful for the photos that remained on my memory card at that moment. I had just done mini-shoots with Faith and Seth. I am also very glad that my most recent client session was rained out so I did not have another family's photos to count among my losses. More good news is that I was good about making back up discs of each of the sessions that I did professionally. I am not going to have to start my website from scratch or anything like that.

And the best good news comes from my best friend who said, "Clair, just think, all the pressure to do something with all those photos is now gone!" LOL! She is the best. So funny and knows just what to say at the right time! And it is kind of weird, but I am actually enjoying a fresh start.

I finally downloaded my new version of Photoshop Elements. I had been waiting for the stars to align just right before making the switch. And low and behold, it automatically backs up my photos online! I am now going to be able to go forth with a plan I had several months ago. Unfortunately, I became quickly overwhelmed at the task of tackling multiple years of photos.

Following is my plan and it is of no particular brilliance-- it is common sense, really. But I am sharing my plan as a way to put my commitment in writing and with the chance that maybe some would like to join me. So erase your hard drives and jump in! NO!!! I would suggest starting one month at a time either working forwards or backwards. Of course you will do this right after you secure an online backup service or back up all your stuff on an external hard drive by copying your files, not transferring them.

At the end of the month I delete all photos that I will never want to use-- the blurry, the unflattering, the superfluous multiples. What remains will stay on my computer and also be copied to a disc. I keep my family photo folders by month and label them "yyyy, mm, name of month" so they all show up in chronological order. Might 12 discs per year be a little much? Perhaps. Originally I thought I'd do it quarterly and I may go back to that idea eventually, but as the trauma of losing my photos is still fairly fresh I think I will be able to justify the extra discs and I think that the short time increments will help keep the task manageable.

That's my story.
No photos this time.
LOL.