RE: new alt process--gelatin silver

>Not even a computer problem - I lost ALL my digital files when I was
>burgled and the thieves took not only my P.C. (amongst almost ALL my
>electric appliances) but ALL my backup disks as well!!!!!! I'd like to
>have seen them take away the equivalent weight in prints, film etc......
>however I still work in film, which they didn't seem at all interested
>in.

Suppose your doctor called and said, "sorry but we were burgled and all
your medical records are gone. Fortunately, the thieves had no interest
in the 7-month old People Magazines in the waiting room so if you'd like
a copy, please drop by." You'd accuse them of poor stewardship of your
records, and you'd be right. Either they should have been more secure or
there should have been backups.

There is no argument that digital files can't be corrupted, stolen,
crushed or burned up in the atmosphere upon reentry. But honestly, aren't
we to the point at which we understand that off-site backups should be
part of our lives if we do anything important on a computer? Heck, we
even throw our latest Quicken files up on the iDisk server when we leave
town. It's a 20 second task that gives us piece of mind. After all, how
likely is it that both Dallas AND Cupertino, CA suffer a calamity
simultaneously?

It's not a film vs. digital thing; it's a common sense thing. In the past
we could beg-off with the "I didn't know disks could fail" or "they took
my backups that were right next to the computer" but that dog won't hunt
much longer.

There is no magic aura that protects film and prints. Years ago I was an
expert witness in an insurance case in which a photographer was claiming
major $$ loss after his van was stolen (during an interstate move) with
all his negs and prints inside. The van was recovered but the negs and
prints had probably become dumpster food along the way. Today's
photographers can avoid a similar fate with their digital files if they
are mildly diligent. As Martha Stewart would say, "and that's a good
thing."

Dan (who has indeed lost digital files but is getting smarter by the day.
Oh, he's fatally damaged negatives too dammit)

www.danburkholder.com
www.TinyTutorials.com
Received on Fri Apr 8 20:06:22 2005