Data Protection with the Drobo S

For a long time I have been struggling trying to effectively manage my growing image library.  At first it all fit on one 120GB external hard drive (remember those days), but recently it has been split between two 2TB hard drives in my MacPro tower.  I have also been using Backblaze for an online backup, and keeping an Apple Time Machine as well.  But every time I come back from a big shoot it takes weeks for the online backup to catch up.

After placing my order for the new 36mp Nikon D800 I knew this problem would only get worse as the file sizes are several times larger than the ones from my current cameras.  Thus I started searching for a more robust and fast system that would allow me to keep redundant copies of all my files, at an affordable price, and have fast access.  I first looked into faster cloud storage options, but the prices blew me out of the water for the amount of space I needed.

Enter my wonderful Dad!   He is a manager at an industrial company in the Seattle area and deals with all their network technology stuff (or in layman's terms he is a computer geek).  I was lamenting my storage issues with him one day on the phone and he mentioned Drobo and how his company had just bought a big 8 bay version to run their entire multi-million dollar company.  He suggested I look at their systems for photographers and gave me a contact name at Drobo to follow up with any questions.

Fast forward a couple weeks and this fancy looking black box with 5 green lights (Drobo S) is now plugged into my MacPro Tower.  It will hold up to 5 regular hard drives of any size (they don't all need to match in size), and stores my data spread across all the inserted drives.  It can run with as few as 3 hard drives and still have a single drive fail without any loss or work slow down.  I currently have 4 hard drives inserted and thus have the ability to have 2 hard drives fail at the same time and still not loose any data.  Aside from the unit being stolen or the house burning down... You know the rest...  Knock on wood. 

When I start running out of space I'll just insert one more drive into the box and it will get larger.  If a drive fails I'll just eject it and replace it (hot swap).  No managing data, formatting, RAIDing...  Strait out of the box I just inserted the drives and put in the install CD, after that it was ready.  Just plug and go! More time to shoot!

For safety sake I still plan to keep an off site backup, but having a fast and safe storage system in my office helps me sleep better at night.  The Drobo will also work when I end up replacing my aging MacPro with a newer iMac that doesn't have the space for multiple internal hard drives like the older tower.  For the serious photographer with lots of photos that represent their income Drobo is the way to go!

How Photographers Really Spend Their Time

This has been floating around the internet lately, but I thought it was worth sharing it on my blog.  While I am in no way complaining about the opportunities my job as a photographer has given me to see the worlds most remote places while pursuing my art, I have to laugh when people think that is all I do.  In fact I often feel more like a baggage handler/logistics manager than anything else... maybe I should have been a rock star!

In all seriousness I can't think of a more amazing job that could allow me to meet amazing people and adventure around the world.

Shutterbug Article

As many of you know I do a lot of work for non-profit environmental organizations throughout the world.  This past year in an effort to get more photographers out making a difference with their images I teamed up with Shutterbug Magazine to do an article focusing on shooting for a cause.  The April issue is on news stands right now, and I encourage all photographers who care about the future of our planet to take a read and start changing the world around them.

The article can be viewed here at my website.

Winter Accent of Mount Whitney

A couple weeks ago I finally had a chance to try climbing Mt. Whitney in the winter.  While the lack of snow this winter has frustrated all of us skiers it has made for some great winter climbing conditions on the high peaks of the Sierra.  The lack of snow also made for an interesting and frustrating approach/bushwack. 

While we didn't summit due to ice on the approach we enjoyed a 10 degree open air bivy at over 12,000ft under the full moon.  After a wonderful sunrise photo session my partner and I both agreed that wild location and amazing photography more than made up for our lack of a summit.  Besides we both have been to the top several times by other routes.