Where do you store your photos?

[John_SD]

For some time, I have been concerned about proper long-term storage of my photos -- the ones that mean something to me. If you beleve like me, that photos capture a time and place in our lives and that you'd like future generations of your family to have access to them, then you begin thinking in terms of storage options.

I myself don't have any faith that any of these companies will be around 40 or 50 years from now, or that today's hardware solutions will be viable. CDs and such? They are on their way out already. Flickr (or any other Yahoo offshoot)? Don't make me laugh. Dropbox? Let's talk about it 25 years from now. SmugMug? Get real. Google Drive? Please. 

All of them are fine, for now. I stash mine on Google Photos, also a temporary solution at best. But my photos that really mean something to me, I print.

Thus, I am using the only tried and true storage and retrtieval "device" that has stood the test of time. That is the photo album. Don't laugh. I have family photo albums chock full of black-and-whites from the early 1930s onward. And I am **bleep** glad I have them. There is no hardware to fail. No company to pull the plug. No technology that will fall by the wayside. For many, photo albums may be a thing of the past. For me, they contain generations of my family.

What about for you? Where do you store the photos that mean the most to you?

[ebiggs1]

B from B,

I don't do backups, well in the real sense of the word anyway. All the photos go onto one of the 5 external HD's after LR.  After I retired I stopped keeping jobs (guaranteed) for 6 months.  Actually I kept them until I ran out of room on a backup drive usually well more than 6 months.  There was always two copies of every photo.

The big problem is there are so many it becomes impossible to even go through them.  And it is ever growing daily!  I had no idea it would come to this after retirement.  I think pulling the plug is the answer.  Prints were made of the ones wanted at the time. 

[RobertTheFat]

Ernie and John,

Before you place too much confidence in printing as a long-term storage methodology, look into how many town governments in the U.S. have had all their records destroyed by fire. And into the number of companies that ceased to exist on September 11, 2001 because their backups weren't in order.

[JacoMedia0113]

I have had the exact same concerns. What I did was bought a simple seagate 4 terabyte external hard drive. Then created a folder called photos. Inside of that I put film and digital since I shoot both. Inside digital is the year and inside of that is the month and then inside of that is the day number and a very short description. Inside of that is 2 folders named edited and original placing all the photos in original folder and then select/edited photos in the edited folder. You can also skip putting the year month day thing and just put the date in numbers (ex. 5/12/17) with a short description. It depends how much you shoot. 

[JacoMedia0113]

You can make one print with like 50 pictures on it. Ive done that in the past and its pretty fun

[Mr_Fusion]

I'm agreeing with Robert here. 

First paper is not an end all answer as it too has its own problems. Paper will become brittle and ink fades. Most inks use dyes for their colors. Look at your favorite old denim jeans for why dyes are not a first choice. Then add in the cost of printing each picture. depending on the machine, 8 X 10s will cost you roughly $1 - $2 per page by the time you add in paper, ink, and machine. Plus time. Then there is the physical size, moisture, heat, hungry bugs, etc. as long term storage hazards. While synthetic materials offer longer term storage options, they are expensive and not as high quality.

In the future I assume that someone will develop a file format that replaces jpg and tiff. Because of the vast number of files out there, any new file system will also include some backward compatibly or easy to transfer mechanism. No future system could ever gain a foothold if it orphaned trillions of files.

[veer6]

On lots of sd cards

[John_SD]

You guys who are relying on disk drives and SD cards for long-term storage are looking at disaster in one fell swoop when those devices fail.

[RobertTheFat]

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@John_SD wrote:
You guys who are relying on disk drives and SD cards for long-term storage are looking at disaster in one fell swoop when those devices fail.

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Er ... That's why we put them on three or more geographically separated devices. (Everybody does that; right?)

But I agree with you regarding SD cards. No way are they a reliable medium for long-term protection. It's easy enough for a few of them to simply fall into the wastebasket and not be noticed.

[John_SD]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@John_SD wrote:
You guys who are relying on disk drives and SD cards for long-term storage are looking at disaster in one fell swoop when those devices fail.

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Er ... That's why we put them on three or more geographically separated devices. (Everybody does that; right?)

But I agree with you regarding SD cards. No way are they a reliable medium for long-term protection. It's easy enough for a few of them to simply fall into the wastebasket and not be noticed.

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Three or more hardware devices in differnt geographical locations? That merely multiples your problem by 3, in my view, Bob. Hardware fails, period. And it's not a matter of if, but when. 

I have family albums full of black and whites that go back to the early 1930's. The photos remain in top-notch condition because they are protected (and not handled individually). While disk storage may be fine for now, think of the future. Disk drives aren't going to last for nigh on a century, and your future family members will have no clue about the photos that mean the most to you today, because they will be gone, along with a valuable trove of memories from a different world. Put your favorites in photo albums for all to enjoy, now and in the future. 

Photo albums don't require IDs or passwords to open up, nor family members 70 years from who know nothing of such things. After you're gone, who will maintain the accounts where your photos reside today?  

While photo albums themselves may need replacing after many decades, the photos will still be in excellent condition. Printing from a commercial firm and proper photo storage is the way to go. 

[Waddizzle]

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@John_SD wrote:
You guys who are relying on disk drives and SD cards for long-term storage are looking at disaster in one fell swoop when those devices fail.

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I shoot hundreds of photos every week.  What is your suggestion?