For Photographers and Those HIRING ONE ~ Important Tech Warning

Thank you for coming to read this blog. I don't blog often, perhaps once or twice a year. This particular one is VERY important to me. It will not only help me vent a litle about recent "camera tech advancements" I consider harmful, but should provide ALL OF YOU reading this with VALUABLE insight whether you're looking for a photographer, thinking of getting into photography as a hobby or professionally, or upgrading your present equipment. That covers most of you!

To give you an idea of how far we've come, please forgive my occasional references to "photography of the past;" this is necessary to give you proper background, and thus proper scope to the argument. Also, it is impossible to discuss a topic like this "briefly." I'm going to dash in to the point with several "bullet points" as brieflyk as I can. If you think this is a long blog, you would all be laying down if I went into all the technical AND creative "details" involved in this argument. I'm keeping it short because we all have lives and things to do! LOL! As I'm fond of saying, there are short answers and there are correct answers. There are very few short correct answers. 

We all love looking at pictures, most of us like taking them, and whatever you use (phone, iPad, point and shoot, semi pro or pro SLR) ~ you obviously want them to turn out okay. If you're posting to social media, just about anything will do, and I have seen some INCREDIBLE photographs on Instagram taken by very young talented folks using a cellphone. We live in an amazing time.

Most "professionals," and especially us old timers who came up with developing film (either paying a lab or standing in a red-lighted room over a sink of chemicals) care about the modern equivalent of "film grain," or "digital noise." Sharp images capable of being printed 16x20 or larger are important. Clients' ability to zoom in on details is very important to us. In smaller formats like Instagram / other social media, uploaded images are "dumbed down" anyway but when original large size full resolution photos are viewed on laptop or big screen TV, or projected on a wall, they should retain sharpness to a reasonable "zoom level." 

With 35m film we never really worried about film grain; you used a fine grain film like Kodachrome 64 , Kodachrome 25, or Fuji 50 and didn't worry about the rest. If you needed landscapes in excruciatingly fine grain detail, you used a larger format negative like a Mamiya 645 or 6x7 negative. Today computers and phones edit digital format images with dozens of amazing programs.  People we pros like to call "pixel peepers" sweat details that are 1% of 1% of an image (in other words, 1/10 THOUSANDTH of the entire image). This was not possible with Ansel Adams' photographs, the timeless works of National Geographic and Life Magazine, or anyone that ever produced an image on a film negative or slide. These pixel peepers love to endlessly worry about image sharpness on levels no one ever sees, and often forgo a good photograph because they can't appreciate "all of it as a single image." They should not only be taken out and shot for being annoying; they are the people causing the problems I'll now describe.

The Good Stuff:

Digital cameras caught up to top end 35mm film cameras using standard 100-200 speed films above at about 5 mega-pixels. FIVE. From now on "mega-pixels" will be written "MP." At around 7MP, they superseded fine grain pro films like Kodachrome 64 and Fujichrome Velvia 50. So anything above 7MP is a huge gain. 10MP was terrific, and even NOW "most" editing done by "most" pros is done at 10MP, although I prefer higher because I'm picky and don't mind waiting longer times for editing processes to take place on the computer, because the results are worth it to me.

Now BEAR THIS IN MIND: Mega-pixels are probably the LAST thing you should consider when buying a camera. I'll repeat that. Mega-pixels come LAST on the list. Inherent sensor noise should be your first consideration; that's why after 25 years of using Canon film cameras, I recommend NIKON because they have LESS sensor noise.

My first digital camera was a Sony 707. 5MP. If you look on my old website at the "Night" section, all the shots of Las Vegas at night were taken with that camera. Here's that link, BTW: Las Vegas Night After it was sent in to Sony for a manufacturer flaw (blank rear screen), and returned to me with a severely scratched rear screen, I sold it and got two Nikon D80s. They were 10MP and did a great job. Later I sold those and upgraded to three Nikon D7000 bodies - they're 16MP and astoundingly good cameras to this day. Even with a 25% crop of the image I'm still at 12MP and I have no intention of switching.

Knowing that "newbies" looked at mega-pixel count first, Canon "cheated" for years. They had a "30MP" camera out first but it was really a 15MP with a doubler. Nikon have never used math manipulation; for a while they had "less MP" on the brochures but it was honest.

Nikon are now offering a true 45MP full frame camera for $3300 (body only). They are still on backorder since September of 2017, and some lucky enough to get one have reported that after 5000 actuations (shots) the rear display is dying. Not good, but I'm sure Nikon will figure it out. It's the cost factor and whether or not anyone needs 45MP that is my issue. If I were to replace my 3 bodies with Nikon D850s, it would run $10,000 for the three bodies ALONE. Let's look at whether that's worth it for me (it isn't) and MORE IMPORTANTLY... is it worth it to MY CLIENTS:

1) I often see photographers doing portraits, engagement shots, wedding photos, using the "glow mode;" overly bright blown out background with a glowy softness on the faces to soften FLAWS. Flaws in eye makeup, skin, that dreaded zit that showed up that morning of the shoot, bags under the eyes, fine lines, etc. While I don't do "glowy" (it can be added in post if a client absolutely demands it) we all want a nice photo of ourselves. Well, you can FORGET that with 45MP. It will bring out every single pore on a woman's face. If the photographer isn't careful, those 2 crossed eyelashes will show up big time; you might as well have a big arrow over your head pointing at it. 

2) Bride at a wedding. Hopefully the happiest day of her life. Let's say there's a bug crawling up her gown. The photographer is obviously going to heal/airbrush that out in post. At 16MP you'd not only see the bug, you'd be able to see its antennae. Well, at 45MP those antennae would be "crisper." That's about the difference. Remember you're removing the bug anyway. 

3) I specialize in Real Estate Photography. Even with my reduced versions for Realtors, who have to upload the pics to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), you can take one of my shots of a large room, zoom in to the back of the room, zoom in on a lamp, and see the lamp SWITCH. That's at 16MP. At 45MP, you could zoom in on an electrical outlet, then the SCREW holding the switch to the wall, and see the details inside the slot the screwdriver goes into. Amazing ... but it's not going to sell the house. In fact, if a kitchen shot at 45MP shows a bit of mold in the grout in kitchen tile, and you're dealing with a "pixel peeper buyer" ~ you're screwed.

4) Staying with the Realtors and their uploads to the MLS, the upload limit was ONE mega-pixel. That's (finally} been increased slightly. Without giving away technical secrets related to how I work, the full rez pics I proved didn't have to be "squeezed" that much to get them to fit within the parameters. NOW ... take a 45MP image, which takes three times longer to process, and THEN reduce its quality & size to make it "fit" the MLS guidelines ... you have to reduce it to ONE TWENTIETH of its original size. FOLKS ... Realtors ... there goes your 45MP. You're lower than if you'd used a 10MP camera in the first place. Wow. That sucks. 

5) Remember catching up to the finest film at 7MP? OK ... at 16MP all is right with the world. You might say 24MP is "acceptably better." But at 36MP something BAAAAAD happens ... you start to bring out the flaws in the LENS itself. Those several glass elements making up the lens? Sometimes 12 of them? They have coatings, folks. If those coatings aren't perfect, or the glass elements aren't exactly straight (perhaps from being dropped) ~ that shows up. NOW the sharpest lens in your bag... isn't. And there isn't one sharper. You're not taking better photographs, you're showing why your pics would be better with LESS pixels. 

In other words folks, we've reached the end of practicality. What's irking me, and the reason I wrote this, is that there is now undue "pressure" on working photographers to shell out what isn't necessary for camera(s) that aren't better in the final analysis. If you shell out $3,300 for the body, plus the lens, for 45MP you can't use it's a needless expense for the pro photographer, and no benefit to the CLIENT EITHER. If you're like me and use 3 bodies for a wedding / family photography so you can have 3 lenses immediately available without switching plus backup body in emergency) ~ you're looking at $10K and the same result ~ no real benefit to the client. So my message to my photographer friends is "don't." My message to any of you needing photography now or in the future: don't judge the prospective photographer you're considering hiring by "his/her mega-pixels." INSTEAD, judge them by their images, portfolio, ease of working with them, price (but don't be cheap, it is an art form and you can't do it), timely delivery of your images, creativity, whether they archive backups in case you lose your photos... almost any number of OTHER qualifications. 

We have to send a message to the primary camera manufacturers, Nikon being my preferred favorite, that in the not too distant future, not only will no one buy an 80MP $15,000 camera (they've probably got them ready to go, LOL) ~ they need to put an inflation-tied cap on camera prices and not "force" the semi pro/pro industry they COUNT ON to constantly upgrade. Sheesh, they're starting to act like Apple :)

Photography buffs: Take more pictures. Take different types of pictures. Challenge yourself. Never stop. Realize that there was a GREAT improvement from 5MP to 6MP, then 10MP, now on average 14-16MP. That's plenty. Focus on the creativity and "rise above the equipment." Don't go into hock for "improvements" you can't generally notice.

Photography clients: Don't judge the photographer you're considering by what your friend told you was in a brochure, or what his rich know-nothing buddy just bought. Both your friend and the brochure are wrong. Your family memories, headshots, wedding will mean just as much at 4 times the quality of film as (MAYBE) "8 times" the quality that you won't even notice. 1) Any self respecting photographer will spend HOURS preparing your photos. Let's say 6 hours, that's my average for a house. At 45MP, I'm not sure anyone has figured this out yet ... but you're looking for EIGHTEEN hours because of the massive file size. So get ready for a huge price increase. 2) If my 33 years experience is an indicator, 70% of the "professionals for 48 hours" types will aim that 45MP body toward the SUN photographing clients, if they even remember to remove the lens cap. I'm not being cynical, that's the reality of "photographers advertising cheap shoots" these days.

Alternative titles for this blog were lengthy: 

"Keep Art Pure. Keep Out Greed ~ Photography Is NOT Just A Jillion Pixels"
"Creativity Isn't Math And Artistry Should Not Be Blackmailed"

Go forth and do well, and don't forget to love each other! / Paul
www.paulbritphoto.com

Social Media ~ Know What It Really Means Before You Hire

Hi friends and interested people; this is hopefully a helpful overview you can learn from, based on my personal growing frustration & observations of late both here in Palm Springs California, Wichita Falls Texas and online worldwide. Forgive the occasional cynicism and instead consider it as a positive encouragement to you, whoever and wherever you are, if you're contemplating social media or hiring someone to help. This isn't a resume, bragfest or about my achievements or talents; you can contact me via email, phone or text through my website www.paulbritphoto.com if you'd like my help. This is instead a perhaps long overdue synopsis and “help sheet” which you can hopefully gleen some pearls from!

I've been hearing terms like “social media, SEO, brand, branding, soc-med consultant, virtual assistant, etc” for 7 years now; frankly it's making me testy. I have redefined “eyeroll” a few hundred times now; it's a wonder they're in my eye sockets at all. What passes for “professional,” “expert,” and “branding manager” is an INSULT to most peoples' intelligence and perhaps most especially for the poor saps who hire one without doing homework.

If you are considering either bolstering or venturing “into” social media, you had better know a few simple truths right off the bat.

1) NO ONE can give you an instant social media presence (although I can get you on the board pretty quick). It's not a coupon, bus ticket, or purchasable, immediate benefit. Anyone telling you that they can double your store revenue, internet sales, popularity, “brand” (I detest that word) probably knows nothing more than how to press “enter” on a computer. It's like people buying a digital camera and thinking they're Ansel Adams the following morning. It's just not TRUE. It's just not a FACT. It's just NOT going to happen.

2) Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. TEACH him how to fish, and the fish are nervous. It's the same with social media. YOU have to take a vested interest in it. If you “don't have time” you're never going to be “known” in the vein you need to be ~ i.e. “personally.” You do NOT get to suddenly jump on the bandwagon, get 7-10 Twitter followers and a FaceBook Like Page, and suddenly be the Kim Kardashian of fresh fruit grocery stands or brain surgeons or Realtors or political candidates in the blink of an eye. It happens over TIME. Fortunately that window can be a short one but don't fool yourself. Another example are people espousing about “being real and genuine,” and then seeing they're AUTO posting from a script. They're telling you to be real and using a computer to generate the post about being real. It's crap, it's harmful to you, and it's rude to your audience & potential clients.

3) Before you “HIRE” a social media “consultant” you should look at THEIR social media. Do they have 27 likes, 90 FaceBook friends and 22 Twitter followers? Perhaps a brand new Instagram with 22 followers, all spammers? Ooohhh, that'll work GREAT. You're in good hands there. Sarcasm. I've seen people not only representing businesses poorly, with perhaps 1/30th of my reach, but who also never read or learned #4 below (this is a biggie) >>>

4) Someone checking in on your FaceBook “Like” Page is NOT marketing. Like pages themselves are not marketing. They're a joke and mostly a horrid disappointment unless you're Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga or Kim K. Personally, I now use FaceBook for its initial intended purpose: to keep up with IRL friends and follow groups I'm interested in. There are MUCH better avenues for social media promotion available. When you post to your “Like” page, roughly 5-10% of your “number of likes” will see the post unless you pay to promote it. A restaurant with 4,000 likes can still go out of business and indeed one I enjoyed patronizing just did in Wichita Falls. Unless you get SHARES on your FaceBook page or Like page, you are talking to the same 100-500-2500 people over and over again; if you use it as a “shout channel” over and over again for let's say new Real Estate listings, people WILL lose interest, unfollow or unlike/unfriend you.

*** INSTEAD: ***

1) Start slowly. I won't bore you with my social media history, but I initially picked something I LIKED (Twitter) because of CNN's Don Lemon. I saw the Iran Revolution being covered when no reporters could be there and the only “press” were kids running with cellphones and posting to Twitter. I signed up watching Don Lemon because I was fascinated. About 40 minutes later a “light” went on above my head and I thought “this is the greatest thing ever!” You might enjoy other platforms and it's important to pick one you WILL enjoy. Feel free to contact me if you're not sure what might be good for you. But start slow. You don't have to be a mogul in 20 minutes; you WON'T ANYWAY. So have FUN. There are things you should and shouldn't do; there are things that are a complete waste of time. Again, feel free to contact me and I'll save you some time.

2) Show some common manners, courtesy and respect. Do for others if they do for you. NO, you do not have to share/like/retweet everything on the planet for other people. Sadly, and I'll put it bluntly & honestly because that's how I've attained a reach of 1.8 MILLION … most are takers and won't do squat for you. Learn the nice people, and thank them when they help you. It's amazing how often they'll help you AGAIN, because they too are “seeking the nice people.” If someone shares your post, share theirs. If they like your Instagram pics, like THEIRS. It's basic common courtesy and that will go a long way to establishing “connections.”

3) If you don't have a sense of URGENCY … GET ONE. Learn it. 10-12 minutes of doing the right things occasionally will have great rewards.

4) Hire someone who, while putting you out to their LARGE ESTABLISHED NETWORK (and they'd BETTER have one or why & how are they offering you anything?!), TEACHES YOU what to do and to the point of annoyance, pressures you to do it. It's like having a fitness coach. Anyone who DOES NOT want to teach you isn't your friend, your ally, or consultant because they want to extort money on a monthly basis forever... to not do as much as YOU could if you just learned.

5) Most social media platforms have an excellent phone app version. You do NOT have to sit at a computer 5 hours a day liking pictures of cats to start getting your message out. What the phone apps afford is the ability for you to RESPOND to people quickly. That, boys and girls, is very important. It's essential. It's real life. If someone messages you, tweets you, shares a post … and you quickly THANK THEM in a timely manner as we all should have been taught .. lots and lots and lots and LOTS of other people SEE that and you are immediately removed from the sewer barrel plethora of non-caring, self absorbed twits on social media and instead elevated to “human.”

6) Be yourself. Should I type that 11 times? Be yourself. This is where I differ from many, many “experts” who don't have the reach I do. How did I get the reach? See the first words of this #6. Be yourself. Don't be a drama queen, but if you're having a bad day it's okay to vent a little. If you feel strongly about something, post it. Politics and religion, for example, are considered the 3^rd rail in social media. You'll see things like this:

“Don't for God's sake say anything real or defend a public official or put out a meme about something or other. Just stick with pictures of cats, nice weather and fluffies.”

Horse shit. FaceBook and Twitter especially are full of those gladhanding nimrods; they're usually the type that “in real life,” would give you one single Tic-Tac. An absolute natural disaster can be occurring in their town (I've seen it myself on MY timeline) .. and nary a mention. It's happy rainbows and bunnies and “I have a new listing.” Loud buzzer. Fail. Be real or don't bother. People and their lives matter and if you care, they'll care about you. It's painfully simple and yet often ignored.

The Happy Conclusion, Drinks Available In The Lobby:

Friends, social media isn't pulling teeth. It can actually serve you well. It can and should be fun, it can make you new friends. It can be educational, a release and an inspiration, all while serving a purpose for you and introducing you and perhaps your product or service to the world. Skip the lightweights and phony types and get behind someone who will get behind YOU and show YOU how to effectively handle yet enjoy it.

I hope this helped give you an outline and some things for look for. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions. Cheers!

Droning On And On

Droning On And On ~ by Paul Roberts

Sometimes the right thing to do is blog about something that will help Realtors without your necessarily having an "interest in it." It's just the right thing to do. This is one of those posts. The “new” fad in Real Estate Photography seems to be the use of drone photography of properties. Here are my thoughts on the merits vs downfalls of using drones from various aspects. As an added bonus, if you read until the end, I'll give you a hint how you can get the shot ANYWAY … for FREE.

I consider myself a “new technology early adopter” in almost all respects. At the same time, I recognize fads, at least when I believe I see them, and I looked into drones TWO YEARS ago. I am friends with several photographers/videographers WORLDWIDE who are using drones to capture stunning images of downtown scenes, meadow landscapes, lakes, volcanoes, hard to reach river beds and other endless views and landmarks ~ they're truly stunning images. I have a bucket list of subjects I'd photograph should I opt to get one.

However, with Real Estate photography for clients, after careful analysis, I don't see their worth for the photographer, the Realtor or the client he/she is representing in order to SELL that property.

We have many “country club” properties here in Palm Springs & surrounding areas like Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells & La Quinta. Often these are in a “tract.” The Realtors won't use that word, LOL! Sorry … “community” or “country club.” They are cheek by jowl with other homes. Taking the right angle of the home to the property line, front & back, with well lit balanced interiors will show that home nicely. Now … let's say we shoot it with a drone. Pool, jacuzzi, backing on to a golf course fairway, lake on the fairway, nice interior that shows even in the exterior shot(s), blue sky reflecting in the bay window. Nice! Right? That'll work. Now put a camera 100-150 feet in the air, bother the neighbors, get a roof shot.

• How will that be cropped
• What's on the roof (leaves, palm fronds, dead rat, dismembered hobo skeleton from the 70s, dust, bugs, little Johnny's kite). Happy air-brushing.
• How do you isolate that property to the seller? An arrow saying “this is the one I'm selling” ~ ?
• What are HOA rules for flying a drone within grounds airspace? I'm guessing forbidden.
• What are the neighbors doing? #SkinnyDipping Next door? Again with the airbrushing, and hopefully no lawsuit.
• If a golfer misses a tee shot because you buzzed him/her, there'll be hell to pay :)
• Neighbors won't want THEIR home included, especially if doing dishes in the kitchen naked. Many modern drones (as of this date June 14 2015) DO HAVE the resolution to show what's inside a neighbor home.

Further liability issues: There are TWO sets of batteries; one in the magic flying machine itself and another in the CONTROL unit. If either of those batteries run down (average flying life is 10-12 minutes at present) ~ and that thing gets “squirrelly,” it's going down. So is your reputation. What if it takes out a bay window? Straight into a neighbor's pool and electrocutes Mrs. Nesbitt?

Aerial shots, especially if it's a very large property, are indeed nice, and dramatic. Since I believe “dramatic but accurate” PROPER photographs (not computer generated layered litho nonsense) sells homes, drones might have their place. I'd make the rule of thumb 5 acres. If the property is 5 acres or larger, and therefore you can operate the drone WITIN the property lines, and there isn't a noise or neighbor privacy factor, then go ahead. Battery failure and the other concerns outlined above wouldn't be an issue. But what to do with properties smaller than 5 acres? How many properties that large are you realistically going to list? The answer, folks, is free and the images are good. It's called Google Earth. Believe it or not, the Google Earth app for your PHONE is often a better, more “tweakable” one than Google Earth on a computer. As long as you DO NOT REMOVE the Google Earth watermark / logo from the image, and CREDIT Google Earth for that image, you can use one. After searching for the address and perhaps putting the “street view little golden man” icon on the street if necessary, you're “right there.” By placing two fingers on the screen you can not only rotate the angle (go higher); you can swivel around to show front, back, side view of the home/property and position it just how you like it. You will not have exposure control since you're using an existing library image of the property taken by Google. On average the clarity & sky conditions are quite good but you may not get a perfect blue sky. However, it will show layout, bushes, landscaping, the home, the pool, golf course, even the street if you want it as a reference.

Problem solved. I would say in 80% of the cases an aerial won't do much to promote the property; in fact you're probably taking away “visual value” because all you'll effectively show is how close the neighbors and the dumpsters are, and a dirty roof. I'd recommend letting clients assess that for themselves in PERSON when you show it. Let the fantastic, natural interior/exterior ground level shots show the beauty & appeal of the home. After all, that's how you'll see it when you're living there, unless you're 200 feet tall.

The bottom line is this: Good photos, an aggressive agent, longer hours open houses, advertising including social media and “sense of urgency” sell homes. Not cutesy sales pitches about “I'll photograph it with a drone.” If you're approached by an agent who offers “cutting edge” 50 year old remote control plane technology to “get” your listing, ask “How many have you actually SOLD using drone photography.” Giggle and wait for the long pause. I have no aversion to providing equipment & photography (and charging a LOT accordingly) to help Realtors sell a home. I just don't believe in risky gimmicks that afford little or no return. You shouldn't either.

Cheers!

Singing: "I've Looked At Clouds From Both Sides Now"

This relatively short blog will be about YOUR DATA, clouds and their value to some, and some general backup tips & suggestions. First, some important background because it relates to the tips.

Some Background:

I was actually a latecomer to “PCs,” after getting my first used laptop and then an upright as a peripheral for my Palm Pilot. I was a Palm freak, loved tweaking and hacking the operating system, ran hacks and TWO hack managers, and pretty much lived by it. My first was the 505, and later a Tungsten T3. I still miss it for its spreadsheet ability, Agendus calendar, customized icons within calendar, excellent search function, TealScript (which allowed you to personalize graffiti) and many other programs. Sadly, with the attempt to combine with a phone (The Treo) and some awful OS (operating system) “advances,” ~ Palm died a slow death.

Once I had the used laptop 2 weeks (motherboard fried) and I got a decent upright, I was “away for slates” as they say in England. I wanted to learn everything I could about the Windows OS and in a short time was able to do simple programming like plugins for photography, “FiltersetP” used for adblocking in the Firefox Browser (for a long time the most downloaded script in Firefox history, finally beaten by of all things a silly theme! Haha!) and being a daily branch build tester for Firefox starting with version 0.80 (prior to the first public release “1.0PR”). That all meant I had files. A LOT of files. A lot of VALUABLE files, at least to me .. and backup became very important to me very fast. It's common sense, but VERY FEW people back up correctly or often enough. These are the folks that cry on FaceBook or to their friends about “OMG my hard drive crashed and I've lost everything!” Well … DUH. You're an idiot.

Once I started into digital photography, things really got “backup crazy.” I not only didn't want to lose any photos, but I now had a responsibility to clients to not lose THEIR stuff. The reason my 3 Nikon bodies have TWO SD Card slots is NOT to assign one for video or another purpose .. it's because I can set them for BACKUP and take each photo twice. If I'm halfway through a wedding or 2-3 homes in a day and that card fails .. no worries, there's a SPARE.

For almost 6 years I put everything on “The Jesus Drive,” a 256GB SeaGate external hard drive. Still I wondered “what if THAT breaks?” … so I put everything on multiple DVDs. I kept a notebook of 40-50 disks, each 4.3GB, in case the external took a dump. It is still working great, to SeaGate's immense credit .. but recently I purchased 2 1-Terabyte drives (1056 GB each) from Western Digital. They're called “My Passport” Drives .. $60 from Amazon. I formatted them in FAT32 (as opposed to the stock NTFS, which gave me problems in Linux) .. and then mirrored (simply copied over) the entire Seagate contents of around 80GB to both of them. Oila .. 3 externals of backup, all the same, so I could start cutting up the DVDs.

I'm convinced that external hard drives are still the way to go because of cost & privacy. I still don't fully trust ANY cloud for complete security of personal information or in my case, photographs ~ expecially those that might not be watermarked. How could anyone trust internet storage 100%? But the problem is … if all 3 externals are under one roof and there's a burglary, fire, earthquake, flood, etc etc .. you could still lose everything; in my case every digital photo I've ever taken, programs, backup settings, files, folders, etc etc.

EVERYONE has stuff they don't want to lose. It's not just businesses that can suffer tragic, irretrievable loss of “files.” They're no longer “files” if it's your grandchildren, favorite MP3s of songs, that scanned love letter from High School, etc. No matter what you use a computer for, what you put on it has value to YOU.

So get yourself a COUPLE of external hard drives, set up a folder hierarchy (I use subject matter and then yearly folders within them). Initially you can start with “Documents” and “Photos” and then years within those. You might have “cellpics” within “Photos,” or “scans” or “receipts” .. however it works best for you. But get those files ON THERE and do it ASAP, because there might not BE a tomorrow.

You will put your files on BOTH hard drives, in case one of THOSE fails. I had a problem in the SECOND WEEK with the 2^nd Passport I ordered .. I suspect it was due to the NTFS formatting. That's when I decided to format BOTH in FAT32, and RE-IMPORT (mirror) the Seagate all over again. It took about 90 minutes for each transfer but I haven't had a glitch since.

NOW … if you want to take the next step, moving to the cloud, and feel comfortable about the information you're PUTTING on the cloud … here's my experience and some suggestions.

I won't name them all but I've auditioned (actually TRIED either on laptop OR my Android phone) … 7 clouds. SEVEN. Google Drive (which comes with a Gmail address) was one of the very first. It's still up there as a favorite, albeit a little clunky at times. You can only upload folders from the Google Crhome browser, and it's Android counterpart is “OK,” but not fantastic (and I'm a HUGE Google fan). Ubuntu (the Linux folks) offered “Ubuntu One” for a while, but I thought that was invasive and kind of “pestering” so I avoided it. Good thing I did … a year later they emailed everyone to say “we're discontinuing our cloud service so get your files off.” Lovely. Thank God I hadn't invested time putting stuff THERE. I initially was only going to use a cloud for CELLPHONE pics backup, and there are a couple of cellphone dedicated Android apps that will handle that but you can't access the uploaded files from a laptop. They also have relatively small data limits.

NOPE .. that wasn't going to do; I wanted something I could access from laptop and/or cellphone, and for several reasons I “dropped DropBox” despite it coming “stock” on my Galaxy Note 3. I had installed and used it extensively on my Galaxy S3, was awarded 52GB for a limited time, and when that wasn't extended I decided I could do better. Boy did I .. and you can too.

The WINNER, in my humble opinion, is … (drumroll) … Microsoft OneDrive. This after, again, trying out 7 clouds. Not only is their WEB interface terrific .. they passed the Android test. I had pretty much decided on “Copy Cloud” and promoted it to friends .. but their Android app was horrific. It would often say “you have no files.” So, after changing my PANTS, I'd look on the laptop and there they were, no problem. They just didn't appear on my phone app. Well folks, that is probably EXACTLY where you'll need them to appear .. you're out and about, perhaps out of town or state or country .. and need something, and “no files” is the last thing you want to see. MS OneDrive has not glitched ONCE on laptop or my phone, and I'm “committing” to it. By that I mean I'm going to use the 15GB they gave me, the additional 15GB they award you when you turn on “camera roll” backup on your phone, but I'll be purchasing extra space. And that's where things get really good.

Benefits of OneDrive:

• Wonderful, simple interface (I despise “tiles” so I elect for list view)
• Changeable Sort Order (when you pick yours, select options again and click “remember”)
• FANTASTIC SEARCH ABILITY. OMG, I can find any house I've ever photographed! Awesome!
• Price (more on this below)
• OUTSTANDING Android app … which to me is 70% of the “WOW” factor of MS OneDrive.

Rather than futzing about with getting “500MB for a friend that signs up,” just pay 'em. Presently, 100GB is $1.99/month. Twice that, 200GB, is correspondingly $3.99/month. But go with the Terabyte (1000GB) .. and it's $6.99/month. That's the deal right there. I will never fill that up, because there are many files I won't be PUTTING up (celebrity photos, etc) again for security reasons. If they're not hacked in a year, I might change my mind. But that Microsoft OneDrive cloud combined with 3 external drives makes me comfortable about the safety of my data. Lest anyone think “Paul is nuts and going overboard,” let me say .. I've NEVER lost a file to data loss. Not one file. Not one damn thing. Ever. I'd rather be over the top with backup than “sorry.” Believe me, that's the attitude you should take as well.

I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you one little annoyance you'll encounter. If you're like me and have 11 years of “stuff” all organized in folders & subfolders & years & shoe size (the last one's a joke) .. that's terrific. But there is a 1000 FILE LIMIT upload at a time. You can't just drag the whole kit & caboodle into the browser upload window and go to lunch. So for example if I've got 65 shots of a Realtor's house in the MLS folder, and the same 65 in the “watermarked for web” folder … that's 132 files. The shots and the 2 folders. So 6 of those would be 792. Close to the 1000 limit already, huh? So don't attempt to upload more than a few at a time. Don't fret, you'll hopefully only lhave to do this ONCE and it's DONE. Theoretically, “forever,” unless you didn't like your cloud or something catastrophic happened to it online. Subsequent incremental backups will take a mere fraction of the time; it's the initial “OMG there's a lot of crap” which might seem daunting. Which is why 1) you STILL keep your external hard drives, and 2) be very picky about what cloud you use. I went through the pain in the a** of deleting all my files from DropBox, emptying the TRASH, and closing the account. I did the same with CopyCloud. So MS OneDrive was my 3^rd “investment,” the 7^th cloud I'd looked at, and the one I'm finally happy with. I hope you're just as happy.

Remember also that whatever your “internet connection speed” is … and “TW” lie about THAT constantly and forever … DOWN isn't the same as UP. Your download speed is one thing .. upload is dramatically less in 95% of cases. If you have Verizon FIOS, apparently they're the only ones who have same speed up AND down (you'll recall their commercial about the other guys not being fast, but rather “half fast” and the guy's wife doing a “half fast job of uploading the kids' photos). So bear that in mind; it will seem intolerably slow migrating a ton of files to the cloud but again, it should be a one time “deal.”

Hope this helps not only in convincing you to back up your stuff, but that using a cloud while keeping privacy in mind should help many of you access files on your phone without keeping them there using up space. Keeping 2-3 external drives in your home and 80% of their information on a cloud should protect you from data loss. Cheers.

FaceBook Apps On Your Droid ~ Convenience, Contact, Bloat & Privacy

Intro / Background:

I don't blog often but feel I should explain some of the new FaceBook app strategies and subsequent required permissions for their installation & use, which have some people “freaked.” Also discussed will be overall space use vs benefits and a suggestion that works for me. As a Real Estate photographer in Palm Springs CA, staying in contact using several mediums is important but I also value privacy AND efficiency.

When I was a child I remember my Dad and I getting into the elevator at Sears in Del Amo Mall, Torrance. The “Pet Rock” craze was in full swing, and the 2^nd floor was where the elusive pets could be found & purchased. My Dad overheard people on the lift talking about them, and said in an overt “loud whisper,” ~ “I hear you can get little sweaters for them.” THREE people wheeled around and said “WHERE?!?!” My Dad and I almost collapsed with laughter.

Fads come and go. I hope you're sitting down, but FaceBook is a fad and it will probably be the equivalent of “Atari” or “Pet Rock” in 5-10 years. While it's here, people lately have pretty much forgotten the days of yore when they checked FB on a COMPUTER browser. Now it MUST be on their phone. I mean for God's sake, if you miss a lolcat or even worse don't know IMMEDIATELY that Mrs. Nesbitt commented on your checkin at “The Osso Buco Palace” or recommended a Greek endive vinaigrette … all will be lost! There would simply be no use in carrying on. I know precisely ONE person who has built several business around “FaceBook Networking,” and that's Amy Akins. I'll provide a link to her Vintage Junque Like Page below. Amy has taken FaceBook to levels seldom seen, and I marvel almost daily at her use of it. I think she could run General Motors from FB. MOST people just don't need that level of “on top of it,” unless of course they're just plain addicted. In contrast, FB often just gives me a depression headache after 5 minutes, but yet I'm a Google Plus / Pinterest / Instagram freak. To each their own.

Permissions, What They Are, and Why They Sound Scary:

When you install an app it needs functionality, and therefore access, to some of your phone's processes. Messenger, for example, now has an icon of a “telephone,” and you can make CALLS within that application to people you message. For THAT reason it needs “phone dialer permission.” You can also have it replace your standard texting/messaging application .. so oila, it needs “to be able to read and send texts.” There is nothing Satanic about these permissions, but starting about 3 months ago (and more recently for the out of touch) there has been a plethora of fear mongering and handwringing anxiety about whether installing “Messenger” violates your privacy.

Personally, part of my love / hate relationship (mostly the former) with FaceBook is it's incredible battery usage, bloating footprint on the phone, and use of RAM resources. As of today the FaceBook app install is 39.4MB .. which when installed becomes close to 90MB. That would be fine (although it rivals the entire Chrome browser in installed size). Unfortunately it continues to bloat with “data,” which is NOT stored in a clearable cache. You can clear the data and sign in again (basically emulating a fresh install) but that fragments data / app footprint and could result in slowness or freezing. So best to uninstall / reinstall, and I found myself doing it once a week. Within 48 hours it was back to almost 200MB. This is IMO crazy for a single application. Pages Manager isn't much better, 60MB, but I understand folks like Amy needing a proper Like Page Manager to control/edit/manage not one but perhaps several like pages.

Along comes FaceBook Messenger, which in Facebook's view will soon be the ONLY way to send/receive messages from FB friends. Messaging will in all likelihood be removed from the FaceBook app proper. This to me is a GOOD thing for 2 reasons. 1) Removing messaging from the FB app itself would reduce its size and probably data storage, make it leaner/meaner, and probably quicker. 2) Most of us who want immediate notification of a FB message have had Messenger in addition to the FB app for a while. It also yields other benefits.

For months I had all 3: FaceBook, Pages Manager, and Messenger. At a cost of 300MB footprint and almost 15% (FIFTEEN PERCENT!) of available RAM being taken up at ALL times while the phone was on. No wonder folks are having shorter battery life. In another blog soon I'll discuss services that can be reset to factory and turned OFF to make your battery last about 20% longer. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, with an outstanding battery .. and I can see the difference plainly when these apps are not installed.

So what to do?

Personally I've given the “permissions” and KEPT FaceBook Messenger, at a cost of only 36MB installed with instant messaging notification from FB friends. I've UNINSTALLED (for now, I often vacillate and reinstall if I'm using it more often) the FaceBook app and Pages Manager apps. In doing so, I freed up 13% of RAM, plus 260MB+ of space, and all my other apps run better. I don't care how much “free space” you have. I have 32GB, and 23.5GB still free. I still don't want bloat where I don't need it. Instead I have a simple bookmark for FaceBook and use the web version on my phone. Getting back to the pet rock and FaceBook on our computer .. you know, it wouldn't kill most of us to spend 30 minutes in the morning and/or evening on a computer viewing FaceBook. There's nothing in stone saying you HAVE TO check it on your phone every 5 minutes. The possible exception are people like Amy who use it as a daily tool .. and so I recommend you allow the Messenger permissions so you don't miss an important contact.

MANY APPS require permissions that seem intrusive or weird. Get a QR Code Reader and it will want camera permission. That doesn't mean it's taking underwear selfies for you while you're asleep. It needs the camera to view and decode the QR codes. So it is with Messenger; if you're allowed to make a phone call from within the app, it's going to need the phone. You have to allow that. Permissions are not selective, it's an all or nothing YES or NO. If that bothers you, no Messenger for you :-) But bear this in mind .. posting an Instagram pic from home with your GPS & “tagging” on just gave away WHERE YOU LIVE. That is only one example of a far greater security risk than the chance the esteemed and brilliant Mr. Zuckerberg is listening to you ordering a pizza. As for content of your messages, THAT is where you control your privacy. I have never trusted ANY messaging service, Twitter, FB or otherwise, in transmitting personal data right down to a phone number or home address. NO ONE knows where that text is “stored or looked at” on a server. However, Messenger requiring permissions to do its job is NOT a security “threat” in my opinion.

Happy messaging, thanks for the Osso Buco Palace checkin, I'll be in the grey raincoat & sunglasses. As Jason Bourne put it so well … “Get some rest, Pam. You look tired.” ;-p

Amy's Like Page on FaceBook:

My Like Page on FaceBook:

Fragility of Life & Importance of TRUE FRIENDS

The lessons from the words below are "obvious," and yet can't be stressed enough. Too often our days are full of "have to;" as Steve Martin said in "Parenthood," ~ "My whole life is have to." It is important to remember that EACH oif us has trials, perhaps hidden in our daily "friendly banter" on Twitter/FB/G+ and a myriad of other "social media" platforms but are social but veiled in terms of what's REALLY going on in our lives. THINK about each of these situations, as well as those applying to YOU ... and you realize as I have for a long time that REAL matters. I'm constantly going on about it on Twitter ... this is what I mean by "REAL" and "being real," and setting true concern for others above cutesy clique hashtags and "mwahs." Platitudes are great for the non-feeling. REAL people need more. They need love. Show some.

1. Two years ago I was followed by and followed back a girl whose Twitter name has been re-released, so I won't disclose it here. It contained the word "pixel." I follow VERY few photographers back, but she seemed fun. Her last tweet was the day I followed her back, saying "off to work." That day ... at 25 years old ... she was killed in a car accident. I hadn't been on Twitter that long, and it devastated me. I never knew her in a real sense, a site to light a candle for her memory was set up, but I think about her often although we never tweeted. Sentimental I guess. 2 years later I grieve for the loss of someone I never knew ... who was full of life and taken way too early. Life is fragile like that. I'm actually a tad upset NOW writing this. God Bless her.
2. A week ago, my friend @RennaParisyan was at a funeral. She was burying her EIGHTEEN year old cousin. Last night, Renna herself was in a horrific car accident, hit by a drunk. She is "alright," was kept overnight for observation and released this morning. She now has no car and will struggle (I imagine) over the next weeks resolving all that mess. She's lucky to be ALIVE. Renna is also 18.
3. Amy and I hadn't heard from our friend @TheRedHeadRiter in 4 days ... so we both texted "Red" last night, and she was fine. But power and internet had been knocked out by Hurricane Irene and she had "all of those dreadful issues" to contend with. Fortunately she is also safe and will be back on Twitter (hopefully) this weekend.
4. My friend David Hallman, @AuthorDHallman on twitter, wrote a book called "August Farewell" about the passing of his partner ~ lost to cancer too young. That 2nd anniversary, just passed, saw David alone at home, reflecting. The book was therapy to cope with the loss and many on Twitter have sent him support & blessings. Those messages MATTER. And David is grateful. I am indeed grateful to know him as a friend.
5. My Mom had spinal surgery 3 times in 2 years, one operation involving putting in an electronic "pain reducer" box. It was put in the WRONG place. It has shifted, causing even more pain, and she will be in hospital AGAIN for surgery to remove it. I'm not sure of that surgery "date." Likewise, Amy's Dad will be in hospital next week for surgery.

How many of the people you "talk to" in Social Media are having these troubles? I would suspect ALL or certainly most. Life is difficult and especially "nowadays;" kids grow up fast, the economy is in the dumper (albeit better than "coming off the rails" as it was 3 years ago) ... love, life, sickness, job loss, "life mission" questions, unsurety ... are felt by all of us. So TAKE AN INTEREST, without being nosy, in personal problems people might be having, reach out to them as PEOPLE ... we only have each other ... and pay LESS attention to hollow, generic, self-promoting types. If you have 40 followers and follow someone with 25, not only help them get more and MAKE friends ... BE one to them. YOU might be the difference in their feeling better about something that is NOT "aired on Twitter," but plagues them daily. That might be the whole reason they're ON there. You just don't know. And ... they might be there for YOU when you need someone.


Let's forget about kitten hugs and bunny rainbows and feel-good nonsense ... let's be real for each other and realize the Fragility of Life & Importance of TRUE FRIENDS. OXO