Cataloging Photographs

[sreed2006]

I have always admired meticulous note-takers, and highly organized people.

Unfortunately, neither of those traits have ever been my strong suit.

After 40 years of taking pictures, I now have about 1,000 rolls of film to catalog. Over half the rolls were processed by labs, with prints and negatives in envelopes. About 80 rolls were lab developed only with no prints (including 135, 120 and 220 slide film). The other rolls I developed myself and most of those are in PrintFile pages.

What is a good (or the best) way to go about cataloging 1,000 rolls of film so that a particular picture or person or subject can be located easily? What information should be kept in the catalog for each roll? I know date, subject, location, film type, whether or not there's negatives or CDs, and whether or not the film has been scanned or loaded on the computer. Is there any other helpful information to keep in the catalog? Can you suggest software that makes it easier?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

All of my films are stored in print file pages with a "Roll Number" written on the top of the page. They're stored in file cabinets.

In the past, I kept written notes for each roll in Moleskine notebooks. Each page had a roll number, the type of film, the date(s) the film was shot and a list of the subject matter. If it was B&W film, which I process myself, I also include processing info: developer, dilution, time, temperature.

A few years ago, I switched to using Evernote software for my cataloging because after suffering a stroke, I find writing to be difficult. My right hand does not have fine motor skills anymore. I have trouble writing, but I can type. Nice thing about Evernote and similar note-taking software is that it has a search function, so if I need to find the negative or slide for a certain photo, I can search by keywords and find all rolls that include that subject.

 

[Doug]

I do pretty much the same as Chris... I started the note-taking back in the '60s on 4x6 file cards. These were then transcribed in the '80s to a computer database file. It started with Microsoft File, then transitioned to Claris FileMaker. I made up the forms within the program, in several pages: First general data about the subject and circumstances; second page for technical info; third for recording printing and scanning data, and then one for disposition of prints - who got what, shows/exhibits, publication, etc.

At first it was easy to record each roll of film separately as it was shot or processed, then with digital files I continued the same procedure with each "batch" as if it were a roll of film. The film went into PrintFile pages in binders with my own way of cataloging the roll numbers; then with the digital files that continues as the files are put in folders on the computer numbered the same way for continuity.

As a consequence, I use a small program ("A Better Finder Rename") to renumber all the digital files consistent with the cataloging system when they're copied off the SD card. Prints are noted on the back with the negative/file number. I can locate any photo negative or digital file pretty quickly by searching the database description field. Or I may recall the camera and lens used and search the tech data then leaf along to the approx date.

I really dislike not being able to find stuff so as a favor to myself I go to some trouble to make it fast and easy!
Cataloging 1000 rolls of film gonna be a lot of work!

 

[sreed2006]

Hi Chris and Doug,

Thank you for explaining your cataloging methods.

There is no way around it. This is going to take a lot of work to get a usable catalog.

May I ask, for a subject that has a lot of photographs, how many notes or database rows come up when you do a search? Have you found a good way to narrow the searches?

 

[Pentode]

Sid,
I’m embarking on the same journey but with a’mere’ 25 years worth of negatives. I expect the entire process to take me more than a year to complete.

I started by moving all of my lab-processed film from years ago into Print-File pages so that all of my material is stored in the same way and I put all of it into Paterson binder boxes. Then I went through and numbered all the rolls based upon date and, if needed, number of roll from that date.

Now I’m slowly entering all the data into Excel by roll and by frame. It’s probably not the most user-friendly software for the task but it’s very searchable and I already have it. So far it seems to be working fine.

In addition to the fields you mentioned I also included camera and lens data (when I bothered to record it). For films I developed I include the date I developed it so I can cross-reference a notebook I keep for all my developing. It would probably be a good idea to digitize that, too, but I rather enjoy writing out developing notes by hand.

Regarding your question about frequently photographed subjects, I try to use as many key words for each frame as I can as well as notes that pertain to the entire roll. Between that, date and camera/lens combo I can usually narrow things down pretty well.

There’s still some room for refinement but, so far, this is what I came up with and it’s working.

 

[mconnealy]

Posting your photos on a blog automatically creates a searchable database. You can enhance search capabilities by tagging posts with terms like camera, film, processing, subject, etc. It is also easy to create alfabetic indexes based on any tag value.
My blogger site automatically includes a date-ordered index. I have added an index of all my cameras which allows me to select all posts featuring any camera with a single click. If I have a vague recollection of an image, the tags will help considerably in narrowing the search.
There is no cost to setting up a blog and you can even produce a little income from posting ads if you choose to do so. I only post a few pictures from each roll of film on the blog, but that is sufficient to help in finding other images from the same set in my negative file folders which are labeled with date, subject, camera, film and processing.
I used to maintain a web site of my photography, but found that blogging got me the same results with a lot less effort as the blogger system takes care of all the formatting issues. I enjoy the opportunity to share my work through the blog, but its real value is the possibility it gives me of connecting with my own pictures.