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Saving original digital images
For years I've preached saving and archiving original digital images. Edit copies so the originals remain untouched!
Generally I follow my own advice but recently discovered I have not been following it long enough.
A representative of a hospital asked to buy eight 8x10" and one 16x20" prints of photos I took a few years ago in a Florida Scrub. The individual found the images displayed in my online gallery. They will be used in an exhibit portraying the history and conservation efforts of the scrub habitat and of animals and plants in the scrub.
Ready or not to print
I excitedly sorted through a gazillion archived photos burned years ago onto CDs. To my horror, only half of the Scrub image files were saved. So I was forced to make prints from files that were resized and edited.
One photo was edited to the extent that it simply could not be printed in the requested 16x20" size. I lucked out for the 8x10s by using a program called QImage, which prints at optimal quality from almost any file size.
So,why hadn't I archived some of the photos? Because I originally intended only to post them online. Besides, they weren't anything special and I certainly never dreamed anyone would think otherwise.
Obviously I was wrong.
The lesson learned is quite simple. If you like a photo enough to display it publically in an online gallery, save the original.
Take a peek at the nine, err, eight scrub photos in the exhibit >
Above (Thumbnail image of the photo that never made the exhibit): A Florida Scrub by Gail Bjork ©2004 All Rights Reserved
Category: Random Thoughts (Archive)