…a plea from the organizationally impaired.
I grew up with a computer in my house. Files could only be kept in two places, the hard drive or floppy disks which became hard disks eventually evolving into CDs. In my household we never went without a computer. I tinkered with the functionality of various operating systems. I never really explored the file system. I had no organizational process. I never needed one. That is, until I purchased my first digital SLR camera.
I instantly began shooting. school assignments, personal use, experimentation, and discovery. I blew through hard drives so fast. The largest external hard drive I could afford at the time was 500gb. I kept everything on there. The thought of losing a catalog of content that was deeply valued as a nostalgic celebration of my youth makes my stomach drop. I regret to inform you; I did not back up my back up. And it is gone.
Experts Predict A Global Technological Climate Crisis with Floods of Files No Real Human Can Manage
Fast forward to today, my files are saved anywhere that has storage. I keep two (now half full) external hard drives, Google Drive, my laptop hard drive, my iPhone, and Google Photos with auto sync backup so I don’t ever have to worry, that is until the entire internet server infrastructure collapses, but for now it’s the most reliable. I had not realized file management had become an issue for so many people. Even students of prestigious schools lack the skill. Monica Chin, author of the article File Not Found” explores the lack of file management in schools. Joshua Drossman, a senior at Princeton says, “I try to be organized, but there’s a certain point where there are so many files that it kind of just became a hot mess.” You’re preaching to the choir, Drossman.
File saving is the most important part of photography. A professional photographer describes the process they use in this article Photography Workflow, which is also adopted by other dedicated photographers. Experts in the field refer to it as a workflow. The process begins with the memory card containing photos that were taken. The moment the card is inserted, and the images loaded they should immediately be transferred to a storage device, preferably an external hard drive. In a perfect world there would be a file for every situation, but it’s not, so one is created. The final part of the transfer process is to wipe the card.
I took note of one professor’s workflow process. He took it very seriously and chastised any student that did not have a file saving method. Myself included. I have been asked to send my images to other people and submit assignments a few times now. Sometimes urgently.
Standing at his desk bent hovering over my laptop erratically searching for a photo a professor requested. Embarrassed from my mess of files, I regretfully did not heed his warning and felt his scolding in the warm blush of cheeks and sweat at my temples. The next time I went to him I made sure I had things in proper folders.
Accountability and Acceptance Are The First Steps Towards Recovering From File Fatigue
I will admit my online backup storage has spoiled me. I don’t have to think about what happens after the picture is taken, with Google photos. I am now organizationally disabled because of it. occasionally I get a “storage almost full” alert from Google and am forced to make a decision, delete files to free up space or upgrade to larger storage, and storage always costs money. I rely only on googles suggested deletes because the idea of organizing and purging my files feels like an enormous undertaking, practically a whole day affair. One day my laziness will catch up to me and bite me in the ass. But for now…WEEEE!