About twice a year I take a day or two to really dig in and verify that my photo archive is in good shape. I spot check some of the individual image files, replace old hard drives, add new capacity, all of that stuff. Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy.
And, of course, I get sucked into the vortex of reliving old memories. It is just part of the process, but maybe the most enjoyable part, if I'm honest. Inevitably, too, I find a hidden gem or three, and then lose more time futzing around to see if I can extract any more quality from the creaky old files by using modern software. Often enough, I can, which is pretty cool.
What is also interesting is that certain cameras and lenses come to the fore as particularly special. In my case, an early favorite was the Canon Powershot G2 from 2001. On the one hand, it is a bit sobering to think that I've been using digital cameras for over twenty years now! On the other hand, it turns out that the 4 megapixel CCD sensor on the G2 was pretty sweet, and the files hold up really well even today. Who knows, the G2 could be a cult vintage digital camera among the cognoscenti.
The image above was taken at Port St. Joseph in the Florida panhandle. It is an amazing place to visit during the cooler months of the year. During the hot and humid summer months, I'd honestly rather be in an air conditioned environment editing my photographs.
