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A/B
02-16-2014, 23:00
I'm looking for suggestions as to how you managed the WHAT/WHO/WHERE you took the photo on a thru or long distance hike. I'm bringing a decent point and shoot, and figure to use one SD card per month, and either back up the better pics online, or send the SD card home.

Did you keep a daily log of the where/when you took photos, perhaps in some type of journal? How do you keep track of the people pics? Mountain pics? After awhile, in my experience, they all start to blend together, if you don't take the time and effort to journal them... As far as labeling the pics in camera, I suppose date/time is about the best you can do. Help!

Slo-go'en
02-16-2014, 23:35
If you use up one SD card a month, your taking an insane number of pictures and if you try to log each one, your not going to have much time for actual hiking! I have a 4 gig SD card with 750 pictures on it, most taken at 16 mega pixels and it still has 1 gig of space left.

If you just use the date/time stamp feature on the photos and keep a record of the dates of where you were in your guide book (just note the date your at a shelter or campsite), you'll have a pretty good idea of where the photo was taken. People are another matter, especially ones you only meet for a short time, like a few minutes. Those you spend time with and your most likely to have pictures of are easier to remember.

Happy44
02-17-2014, 01:26
take more mental snapshots :)

Miner
02-17-2014, 01:38
As I keep a journal which includes where I camped and took lunch and all my photos have time stamps, I can usually piece together where within a mile or so by looking at my maps. The who issue is a bit harder. I wrote that stuff down when doing my journal at night. If I couldn't remember a name, so be it. If I met them again, no problem. If I didn't, who cared then. A friend of mine used his camera's video function to get every hiker's information when he first met them (name, trail name, email). So he could look back at those records and figure out who was in all his photos.

And it is very easy to go through a 16GB card if you are taking video along with photos and most good camera allow you to take HD video as well as photos. HD video takes a lot of space up. When I hiked the PCT in 2009 with a camcorder, I was going through 16GB every 2 weeks, and I was trying to go easy on the video and take some photos instead. I took a Mirco 4/3 mirrorless camera on the AT in 2012 and was doing a less video since the AT doesn't have the views of the PCT, and I was still filling a 16GB card up in about 3weeks.

Theosus
02-17-2014, 07:51
sounds like way too much work... sometimes cameras let you take a voice memo to go along with a picture. I had one that would do that. Of course, you could go old school - write down the information on a sheet of paper (take a little pocket notebook), take the photo, and then take a picture of the paper.

bigcranky
02-17-2014, 08:48
I shoot a photo of every sign, shelter, mileage marker, etc., along with the scenic photos and people shots, that way I can use my journal and these "waypoint photos" to figure out this information.

If you want to match names with faces, it's possible to shoot a 10 second video and have them say their names and other info.

Slo-go'en
02-17-2014, 10:25
Humm, I guess I'm a really conservative picture taker compared to some of you. I suppose that is an old habit from when I used to carry an 35mm camara and only had 36 shots per roll of film so had to be really selective of what I took a picture of.

Maybe Curious George will need a SD crard a month, especially if video is involved.

Austin 2014
02-17-2014, 11:42
I shoot a photo of every sign, shelter, mileage marker, etc., along with the scenic photos and people shots, that way I can use my journal and these "waypoint photos" to figure out this information.


That's a good idea. Might have to do that.

colorado_rob
02-17-2014, 11:47
That's a good idea. Might have to do that. Yes, truly! so simple, but some of us (myself included) did not think of using the date/time stamp on pics for the trip log. Excellent. My 8GB SD card in my 12MP little camera takes what, a thousand pics or so? I take a separate 8GB card for video.

fredmugs
02-17-2014, 11:48
I shoot a photo of every sign, shelter, mileage marker, etc., along with the scenic photos and people shots, that way I can use my journal and these "waypoint photos" to figure out this information.

If you want to match names with faces, it's possible to shoot a 10 second video and have them say their names and other info.

I do the same thing. I got tired of people asking me where I took a specific picture.

bigcranky
02-17-2014, 16:24
Humm, I guess I'm a really conservative picture taker compared to some of you. I suppose that is an old habit from when I used to carry an 35mm camara and only had 36 shots per roll of film so had to be really selective of what I took a picture of.

Yeah, with a big card there's really no limit anymore. I shoot a lot of photos.

Trail signs, road crossings
Shelters
Scenic views
People that I meet along the trail
Every place I camp, try to get both evening and morning photos
Self portraits using a Stic Pic
Animals, interesting plants, and flowers
Various meals, both on the trail and in restaurants (not every meal, I'm not an iPhone photographer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIRBxRlsYR0).) :)
Gear photos, usually in use showing how something works (or doesn't work)

Due to physical problems with my hands, I can't write particularly well. I do try to keep a short journal, using pre-printed pages with spaces for locations, mileage, people, etc., but the camera is my real journaling tool. The photos help bring back specific memories of the trail and the people.

DeerPath
02-17-2014, 16:26
I'm looking for suggestions as to how you managed the WHAT/WHO/WHERE you took the photo on a thru or long distance hike. I'm bringing a decent point and shoot, and figure to use one SD card per month, and either back up the better pics online, or send the SD card home.

Did you keep a daily log of the where/when you took photos, perhaps in some type of journal? How do you keep track of the people pics? Mountain pics? After awhile, in my experience, they all start to blend together, if you don't take the time and effort to journal them... As far as labeling the pics in camera, I suppose date/time is about the best you can do. Help!

I use the Nikon AW100, 16mp and has GPS that will show where the picture was taken.
Happy Trails

swonut
02-17-2014, 16:48
+1 on the signage pictures, and I've also scribbled notes on a scrap piece of paper and shot a picture of that.

BTW what camera are you using? I'm trying to figure out my electronics and having trouble supporting the weight of my Cannon G-12, batteries and chargers.

Right now, I'm thinking of bouncing some stuff and maybe selectively carrying some gear off and on.

A/B
02-17-2014, 20:29
Thanks for all the ideas! I'm planning on one card a month for safety, as much as anything. The cards are cheap, as 16GB cards are only $10 these days. The photos will be priceless (to me). I'm more worried about card failure than anything, and want to minimize potential losses.

Anyone upload photos to the web as a backup? I'm thinking it might be time well spent every so often, while doing laundry or whatever, to upload some of the better pics.

Slo-go'en
02-17-2014, 21:31
Thanks for all the ideas! I'm planning on one card a month for safety, as much as anything. The cards are cheap, as 16GB cards are only $10 these days. The photos will be priceless (to me). I'm more worried about card failure than anything, and want to minimize potential losses.

Anyone upload photos to the web as a backup? I'm thinking it might be time well spent every so often, while doing laundry or whatever, to upload some of the better pics.

The cards are pretty much indistructable, you'd have to beat them with a rock to damage them. Still, leave them in the little plastic carrying case they come with when not in the camara. The only problem with up loading to the web is that it will take time to move all that data and you will need a means to do so. That could be a problem. If you want to use a public computer, you should carry a card reader and cable so you can plug into USB ports, since many machines don't have a slot for a SD card. There have been reports of people loosing thier SD cards in the mail, although that is hard to belive. Probably the person they sent it to lost it. All in all, since the cards are so small and light, I'd just keep them with me, at least that's what I do.

Prime Time
02-17-2014, 21:46
Although not as good as top of the line point and shoots, I used my iPhone as my camera on my thru hike. I also kept a journal on trailjournals.com. My pictures were all date stamped and each night I recorded a journal entry on my Notes function which I copied and pasted onto my trail journal when I had the chance. I also downloaded my favorite pictures from each day with a narrative onto the journal using the function/app provided by trailjournals. This worked great and was fast. Plus I automatically uploaded my note entries and pictures to the cloud every time I connected to the internet. If you want to see how it all came out, you can see it at www.trailjournals.com/chrislaganos.

Teacher & Snacktime
02-17-2014, 22:04
I had a hard drive crash and lost all of our Fall 2013 trip pics. If I hadn't posted some on WB and FB, I'd have nothing from that trip. Uploading to the net was a lifesaver for us!

Feral Bill
02-17-2014, 22:07
It would pay, I think, to upload your best few shots of the week (or whatever) when in town. Any more at high resolution would take more time than your likely to have internet for.

bigcranky
02-17-2014, 22:11
BTW what camera are you using? I'm trying to figure out my electronics and having trouble supporting the weight of my Cannon G-12, batteries and chargers.

I carried a G7 for several years - nice camera. I think a G12 would be even better, given the wider angle lens. On a long hike I'd carry a spare battery and the charger, and an extra card or two.

I go back and forth on what I carry, between a cheap Panasonic point and shoot and an old micro-4/3 camera. The image quality of the m4/3 is much, much better, but it's heavier, doesn't have a zoom, and doesn't have image stabilization. The p+s is fine but the final images don't really do anything for me. Of course once you upload them to the web, there's not too much difference.

If I were thru-hiking this year I'd probably spend the bucks on a large-sensor compact like the Sony R100 or the Canon GX1. Much better image quality in a more compact package. The Sony in particular is a good choice, though all of these are pricey.

Venchka
02-17-2014, 23:16
There are waterproof SD cards. Google can find them.
Decent, fast, waterproof cards cost more than $10. Why cheap out on the most important aspect of recording your trip?
Carry 2 cards. Swap daily. Cards do loose their minds and your photos.
Several of my friends put 64Gb Micro SD cards in their phones and WiFi cards (or use WiFi cameras) in their cameras and dump photos to their phone over lunch. That might not work on the AT on longer stretches between juice connections.
A darn shame you have to buy a huge camera to get two card slots.

Wayne

Teacher & Snacktime
02-17-2014, 23:17
I've never had any problem remembering each name and exact detail of my photos......what was the question again?

ChuckT
02-18-2014, 12:59
The capacity of SD or CF cards depends to a great amount on how the camera firmware creates each file. Of course most Point and Shoot cameras do not let you choose the format nor the compression but that in itself is a flag for the quality you can expect. To memo each image with a date & time is good as would be GPS location. If necessary you _can_ get the date and time from the file Metadata (you did remember to set the camera's internal clock didn't you? Hint - they are wildly innacurate.)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

ChuckT
02-18-2014, 13:02
I prefer to journal as I go gives me something to contemplate in the pm. Lately I've been wondering if an audio journal on a smartphone wouldn't be worth trying. Speech-to-text software has made some advances since I last had the need to look at it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

goody5534
02-18-2014, 14:03
Slogen, The higher quality of the pic and camera requires (FX vs DX vs point and shoot) larger better performing sd cards. Big difference in quality, downloading speeds and amount of video (hd or not) these all effect the amount of pics stored on a an SD card. My Nikon d610 allows me to catalog as I shoot by setting up file name which is then stored with pic info... For instance I use 32 gb SD extreme cards that cost $44.00 and can store 1000's of low quality pics and only about 500 at the highest megapixel... just like pack size and pack build and type of hiking...


If you use up one SD card a month, your taking an insane number of pictures and if you try to log each one, your not going to have much time for actual hiking! I have a 4 gig SD card with 750 pictures on it, most taken at 16 mega pixels and it still has 1 gig of space left.

If you just use the date/time stamp feature on the photos and keep a record of the dates of where you were in your guide book (just note the date your at a shelter or campsite), you'll have a pretty good idea of where the photo was taken. People are another matter, especially ones you only meet for a short time, like a few minutes. Those you spend time with and your most likely to have pictures of are easier to remember.

colorado_rob
02-18-2014, 14:03
Seems like most modern cameras now have Wifi; both my wife's and my camera both do, so I'll simply upload (download? sideload?) all my shots to phone which has additional 32GB of storage for backup. Piece of cake these days, really.

BTW: My cameras (all canon's) all seem to have excellent internal clocks, never drifted off significantly, a couple minutes over the life of the camera, maybe.

ChuckT
02-18-2014, 16:30
You have only slight drift? Lucky. Seems like I'm constantly blessed with dealing with goofball photogs that can't be bothered to check.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

slowfeet
02-18-2014, 17:05
"I'm planning on one card a month for safety"


good idea....I lost 1700 miles worth of data using a single 16gb micro SD.