Recording Photo Data

Recording Photo Data

  • Yes I do !!

    Votes: 33 35.1%

  • Nah... why bother...

    Votes: 57 60.6%

  • Hey.. I never thought of that !! What a great idea !!

    Votes: 4 4.3%
  • Total voters
    94
I keep a photo diary, where I have been and what I have seen and what I took photos of - but I never record technical details. I've never seen any reason why I might ever go back and look at the details.
 
I do make notes, but only when doing an initial test of a new lens. From then on each roll gets given a number as it comes out of the camera, with ISO, body, lens, filter (if any), development intended and where it was shot.
 
I make notes of year, month, film-roll, body and lens(es) used, on the tip of the film leader. Later when scanning, these notes are going to be part of the filename. On every film sleeve, I also write the developer, dev time and temperature. I found this the easiest way to keep track of things and it is quite helpful when searching for possible technical defects (RF out of alignment, shutter problems, light meter etc.)
 
Gabor - thanks for the tip on making notations on the film leader - useful idea. As it is, just now I keep data on body, lens, film and dates in my Moleskine.
 
A question for those who do log their information:

How often do you consult that information afterwards?

And what do you learn from it?

I've always wondered...

Darkroom notebooks are another matter: dev, time, temperature, agitation, paper grade, exposure...

Cheers,

R.
 
When I am shooting with meterless FSU RFs as well as our Nikon D50 with non-CPU lenses I try to keep notes in a text file of when, where, aperture, speed. I mostly shoot colour negatives, so it is quite forgiving.
 
Roger Hicks said:
A question for those who do log their information:

How often do you consult that information afterwards?

And what do you learn from it?

I've always wondered...

Darkroom notebooks are another matter: dev, time, temperature, agitation, paper grade, exposure...

Cheers,

R.
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Dear Roger,

I only consult that information either when I am asked by somebody else about it (usually the question: which lens / film did you use ?) or when I think that something is wrong with my camera. The shutter problem with my MP was easy to detect this way, since it was only visible on the negs at speeds of 1/1000s and 1/500s (shutter speeds I only had to use at daytime and with 400 ISO film in summer). After I had sent my camera to Leica they asked me to provide a photo with technical details to figure out out what exactly was wrong and since I had the technical data together with a photo it was easy to provide them the data.

Cheers,

Gabor
 
maddoc said:
Dear Roger,

I only consult that information either when I am asked by somebody else about it (usually the question: which lens / film did you use ?) or when I think that something is wrong with my camera. The shutter problem with my MP was easy to detect this way, since it was only visible on the negs at speeds of 1/1000s and 1/500s (shutter speeds I only had to use at daytime and with 400 ISO film in summer). After I had sent my camera to Leica they asked me to provide a photo with technical details to figure out out what exactly was wrong and since I had the technical data together with a photo it was easy to provide them the data.

Cheers,

Gabor
Click to expand...

Dear Gabor,

For the latter, it seems like quite a lot of work to go to for the occasional fault, and for the former, well, I just tell 'em I don't know, though I can usually say "It was probably..."

This is not to denigrate your approach for a minute, because it works for you, but equally, I don't think you've persuaded me to change my ways.

Thanks very much for a useful insight, though. I hope others will post their reasons too.

Cheers,

Roger
 
I only keep note of the camera, lens, and film used. I "try" to stick to one lens per roll. I also keep track of the date (either date exposed if all done in one day, or date developed if I can't remember).
 
That's my approach as well. I'll note camera, lens, film and date. That's it. I'm not going to consistently keep more detailed records, so keep it simple.
 
I will make careful notes if testing something new, else just the film-speed and date/roll-number on the leader. Later on I'd write the camera, film, rating and development-details on the neg sleeve.

An exception would be for something special about the subject, so that I can find that thing more easily after a trip etc.
 
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I have tried. Really. But when I do, invariably I get something wrong,then I cannot decipher what I thought I was recording. It has always left me with more questions than answers (did I miss one; record one twice; hallucinate that aperture?) so I have just given up on trying to record anything useful external to the film itself. Digital records an EXIF which keeps all that information. So does my F5, if I can figure out how to get at it - but then, I'd associate it with the wrong roll, I'm sure!

I find the best solution to the problem, when I relly need to record data, is to put it right in the image:

18.jpg


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ps, why does this show up as a link, instead of an embedded image?
 
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I've tried, several times. Sometimes I skip frames, or list them twice. Or I forget to bring the notebook... It happens! So the only time I bother is when I'm testing a new film, and then only ISO.

For testing lenses, I don't bother. I use one of my favorite films, and work from wide open to stopped down. I also tend to do my testing outside and handheld, the way I shoot normaly, I don't even own a tripod.

The best way I found to learn, and quickly, is: one lens, one camera, and lots of one film. I did this when I got my first M lens for my M3. I shot several rolls a week for 4 months... At the end of that I didn't even need a meter anymore.

Nowadays I don't have as much time, or film, and I need a meter for the several different films I use. It was fun while it lasted, but I still have a good understanding of what DoF I can expect for a given aperture.
 
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I always carry a little notebook and pen. 98% of the time I record the subjects name / location / date and very frequently some information about them. This is all important to me and becomes info for photo captions if I use the photo in an exhibit.

I have never written down any information about aperture, shutter speed, lens used or any of that. Basically I have never cared.
 
well.. to be honest..

well.. to be honest..

not me... I don't record photo data... my F6 does that ! :rolleyes:
However I use them when I stick worthy pictures on my private album, so I ask my trustworthy secretary (F6 memory) about that shot.
 
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