So how do you organise your negatives/pics?

[atlcruiser]

I am butting my head against the wall :bang:

I average 3-5 rolls a week, develope at home then scan what I like and stick them in folders on the 'puter based on subject. The negatives go into sleeves in notebooks labled to match the 'puter files.

This works great until I get rolls with all sorts of subjects...my negatives get lost into the pile of very carefully labled notebooks....there must be a better system to keep it all in order...... there MUST be 🙂

How do you do it?

PS: no dea where to post this so i stuck it here. Sorry if in the wrong spot!

 

[jarski]

here is option am using.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

you don't really want to know...

 

[mathomas]

I've just started shooting film again, and have been pondering this very question. Here's how I've started (currently, I'm just having the lab do dev/scan, but that doesn't really affect the process):

First, I started a numbering system. My first roll is R00001 (as if I'll ever shoot 99 thousand rolls of film 🙂). Obviously, each roll thereafter is in sequence.

When I get the negs and CD back from the lab, I use a sharpie to mark the neg sleeve with the roll number and date I picked up the negs. I mark the CD with the same number and date.

Here is the key for me - use software and a tagging system:

I then import the CDs images into Aperture (my preferred digital workflow tool). I generally just import them into an Aperture project with a name corresponding to the import date. If the set of photos is very thematic, I'll include that after the date. I immediately "tag" the photos with the roll number. Now, my negs/CD/scans all have something in common -- so they are tied together forever.

I then go on to tag the photos with all the other important stuff (film, ISO, location, subject, style, camera, lens, etc.). If I really care about the exact date the photo was taken, I'll update the metadata for that, too (generally I don't care that much).

Now, if I want to find an old photo, I'll search for it in the software by tag or tags. Example: "downtown littleton store window". That will vastly narrow down the images in my database. When I find the actual image I'm looking for, I'll also be able to see its roll number. I can then go to the bookshelf and find the CD/negs. Bob's my uncle 🙂.

Here's an example of finding a photo on flickr using "downtown littleton gate" as my tag search:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=76198982@N00&q=downtown+littleton+gate&m=text

Click on the displayed image. Note how the image has a tag of R00001 (over to the right). That would lead me to the correct neg page or CD, should I ever want to have a large print made.

Obviously, this is computer-centric. I use a Mac, so I'm pretty religious about backing up (use Time Machine), plus I use Aperture's back-up facility onto a separate disk. Most of the photos I like get uploaded to flickr (which keeps the tags) as well, so even if all my backup disks die, I can still get to my negs by roll number.

 

[Tompas]

(...) How do you do it? (...)

I save files following this scheme:
20090401-26__Tell_im_Sprung.jpg
(year,month,number of film shot/developed in month-number of picture__title/short description)

Negative sheets get the same number, and any print gets the film and negative number on its back.

It takes a little discipline, but not more than I can spend. All files lie on a RAID-1 server and get backup'd every night -- even though I could re-scan the negatives in case...

 

[funkpilz]

year-month-filmnumber-lens-film-framenumber.tiff
Month means month developed, Film number means out of all the films I've shot this year, and framenumber doesn't correspond to the edge markings of the film, but rather serves to distinguish the individual scans and put them in order.

 

[elmer3.5]

Order

Order

Hi,

Negs

In a shelf with: camera-film-sometimes place (if there are many rolls shot in one place even with 1/3, 2/3, 3/3 etc.)-lens (only if i use just one)

Scans

By camera, film, place, if place is not significative or many ones, then "vario" tag is applied. Not many times i put the lens cos in a film and with a camera i will use diff lenses. For instance if i´m testing the canon rf 1.2 then it will show it clearly.

I try not to be too specific. I use my memory a lot, always know where are things (just luck)

Bye.

 

[johannielscom]

I wrote an article on my website on this issue, LINK.

Of course, YMMV...

Hope it helps someone out.

 

[Richard G]

Johan, that's a very logical system - one question: is there supporting information on the safety of film contact with standard A4 paper?

Do you cut transparencies the same? I have been cutting these to 6 neg strips, not wanting to store mounted slides which these days I am unlikely ever to project.

 

[zerobuttons]

Have you seen this?:
http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/truecore-box-filmbin-kit-35mm/film-bins-truecore-boxes/
They have a similar film bin for 120 film as well.

For the negatives, I use the Hama 2298 binder:
http://www.hama.de/portal/articleId*1305/action*2563/searchMode*1/bySearch*2298
and Kenro KNF15 ringbinder pages made of the same translucent paper that is for stamp archival, for instance. I don´t know the proper English word for it:
http://www.kenro.co.uk/product/KNF0...5mm+Paper+Negative+Pages+for+Ringbinders.html

I simply write on the edge of the ringbinder pages, with fountain pen and archival ink, which scenes are on the negatives, and also month and year they were exposed.
Since I am also beginning to feel the need to be able to search for specific negatives, I have plans about numbering the ringbinder pages, selecting tag words for the individual exposures and creating a database that enables me to search for dates, tag words, film types and month/year.

So far, I have no plans for any kind of system for the scanned files, since I don´t keep them for long on the computer.