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Securing your images
Most photographers at some time or another suffer a loss of images. It can happen in many ways: equipment theft, lost luggage, hardware failure, software failure and often human error. Most will tell you that loosing equipment can be frustrating but regret the lost images much more. I personally lost several days shooting when my camera was swallowed by a swamp and an entire trip when a hard drive failed. Over years I have developed a specific workflow for selection, processing, and of course, backing up and archiving my images. The workflow, and specifics bellow are my ideal for travel. When I am at home, I still use the same system except I incorporate an additional external hard drive to archive libraries from completed projects and then clear my laptop drive. The drives with the archived libraries I then store in different location.
Secure travel workflow
Follow a system
Follow a system. Decide on a system that is right for you. In the past I used a RISK system of multiple drives and an automatic offsite backup. Today my system is heavily influenced by my extended time abroad, so weight and size and the potential of no internet access are all significant factors. Once you decide, follow it every time, mistakes and accidents seem to always occur when you deviate or forget to do it.
Memory cards
- if your camera has dual slot use one as a backup
- larger cards are more susceptible to failure - better off with 2 x 64Gb than 1 x 128gb
- always use class 10 for large raw images or video
- always have a spare(s) - cards can fail
- carry the filled cards in a protective case with you in case your laptop is stolen
- use a system of having the filled cards upside down in the case so you don't use them
Here are some quality SD and compactflas cards at Amazon. All are fast, reliable and are suitable for HD video or for raw, full sensor, images.
Online / Cloud storage
Dropbox-cloud backup
Free - 2 GB
Safe, reliable backup of any file type, allowing access and sharing from anywhere. Back up photos automatically from your phone or computer and retrieve them from any device. Pro plans are available from $9.99 per month for 1 TB.
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Microsoft OneDrive-cloud backup
Free - 15 Gb
Much like Dropbox, Microsoft Onedrive has apps available to Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone users. They offer product and personal referral incentives whereby users can increase their free storage to a maximum of 20GB. Office 365 users get 1TB of OneDrive storage as part of the subscription at $6.99 per month.
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Google Drive-cloud backup
Free - 15GB
Google Drive is at the center of the various online services that Google currently offers. Like OneDrive you get 15GB of free space when you create a Google account - If you are using Gmail, Google Calendar, or YouTube you already have an account. The storage space is shared across the Google services so data in your Gmail or YouTube accounts draw from the total.
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JustCloud-cloud backup
€8.69 per month - 75GB
Just Cloud features fast upload/download thanks to a specially built infrastructure which incorporates Google "Big Data" storage and Amazon s3 to maximize speed. Their software will automatically backup all your files and photos to the cloud allowing you to access them from any computer or phone as well as allowing you to share them.
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ZipCloud-cloud backup
€9.94 a month - 250 GB
ZipCloud is flexible and is full of features. The ZipCloud control panel and application is simple and functional. A256bit AES encryption encrypts the data to enhance the security of the data. ZipCloud has incorporated file versioning, file sharing, automatic backup and file syncing techniques. You can access the product from iPad, Blackberry, iPhone, Mac and PC.
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Mozy-cloud backup
Free - 2 Gb
Mozy can be used to store files of all shapes and sizes. They have developed applications to assist in viewing all of your files remotely on mobile devices and tablets. Software and apps are free as well as 2 GB. Upgrading to 50Gb starts at $4.99 per month.
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portable hard drives
As soon as you download to your laptop, this is the time to backup to your cloud and your external drive. Backup up to an external drive can be particularly important if you are unable to connect to your cloud. Also this may be the only way to backup large raw files or videos. Fortunately external drives have dropped significantly in price and size. I recommend using drives that can withstand the rigours of travel without the need of extra bulky cases. Some of the best travel drives are Silicon Power and LaCie; details are listed bellow.
Silicon Power - Best for budget
Silicon power rugged line combines low cost with performance and durability. The drives are water resistant or waterproof up to a meter bellow water (depending on model) and are military grade for impact and drop. The carry-cable design has sturdy grooves that lock the accompanying USB cable in place. They come pre-formatted to support Mac, Windows and Linux computers and are accompanied by three-year warranty.
LaCie - best overall
LaCie drives are powerful high performance drives built into a solid aluminum case outfitted with an orange rubberized bumper that handles both tough falls and shock (up to four feet). Technical operations well outperform most competitors and come bundled with a suite of utilities.. The drive come performed for both Mac and PC platforms.
additional travel photography resources
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