Organize your Stuff: Week 6 (round 3): Photos Part 2

Question of the Week: One photo per layout or lots? 4x6 or all different sizes? What's your scrapbooking photo style? As you can see from the layout further down, I use lots of photos and lots of sizes. I blame the invention of the digital camera, allowing us to take a million and three photos of a twenty minute event… more if it is longer or your kids get a hold of the camera. To further enable us photo junkies, Costco (my enabler of choice), Snapfish, Wal Mart, Target… just about any place that you go (even your corner chain pharmacy)… will convert these moments to print for as little as $.13 a photo usually in an hour or less (except when the machine breaks, and that only happens when you actually need the photos and cannot wait until the next day or next hour), and they can do enlargements and wallets too for just a small upcharge!

Let’s get to the Layout for this week first (as PA Me finds digital storage a very dry topic).

and here is my mini challenge card

This was my response to the Dixie Pieces Glee Club Challenge for Week 4: Southern Gospel (country version not AME version). I came to the decision that no matter what, I was never going to be a country music Southern Gospel Gal. I blame my Northern upbringing, and that my ears were conditioned to place twangy, traditional country music in the same category as waterboarding and Geneva Convention infractions against the humane treatment of prisoners. “Whip me, beat me, take away my charge card!--to paraphrase a favorite movie from my youth, “Space Camp” (it has a young Joaquin Phoenix, you should Netflix it!)—just don’t put on the country music!

Ok, I feel better now. Actually, it was not that bad.  We played BINGO in the forum. I focused more on the religious aspect of the genre. Like I said earlier, instead of losing the truck, girl, and the dog, in these songs you get saved. Since I fizzled out of the Organization Challenge in early May last round, I never got to my Easter vacation. This one layout is from the most important part of our trip, “witnessing” my Fabulous SIL receive her First Communion and Confirmation. (*sniff*-off to grab a hankey!)

As for my photo storage, this week I tackled some of my digital storage. For those of us who have made that great leap of technology from celluloid and Kodachrome (which is discontinued now BTW) to digital, backup and labeling is key. On my first digital vacation, I realized that I was left with IMG00001 through IMG99999 and was crushed by the fact that I just wanted that one picture from when we went to eat at that place on day 3…and it meant that I had to flip through thousands of frames… This was NOT acceptable to OCD Me. Now, I have a terabyte external drive (yes a terabyte), and OCD ME tries to upload to the internet (for me Costco) once a month, and she has individual folders on the computer. My desktop has folders that say Photos 2010, Photos 2009 etc. Inside that year folder, every day and event is separated into its own folder. I can have 01-04-2010 Girl Friday makes snow angels (the 01 is important, so the computer doesn’t try and reorganize and put October, November and December between January and February). If there is more than one event in a day, like on a vacation, OCD Me tackled this too. Now it is 07-04-2010a Fourth of July Parade, 07-04-2010b Neigborhood BBQ and 07-04-2010c Sparklers & Fireworks. This way I can always find what I want pretty quickly.

Eventually, I will get to tagging my photos, OCD ME thinks that’s great. However, I have heard that as you change systems, the tags can drop. Since I am still using a Microsoft operating system, and they seem to change every 2 years or so, and PA Me is not ready to invest the time to tag, when it is not going to stick.  So this is it for now, until OCD Me gets bored or Bill Gates promises not to change anything on my computer or Fabulous Spouse can be tricked into buying me an iPad...I know, I know...when donkeys fly (check out the opening sequence to the original Shrek).  Next week: Ideas!