I have been using a period of enforced rest to tidy up the way I catalogue my (35mm) negatives. Physically, all my negatives are stored in clear plastic sleeves (Secol), one film per sheet, 270 films in total. Each film has a number, and individual frames are referenced by the film number followed by the frame number within the film: e.g. 0065_16. Although I store the whole film, the frames of interest average less than one 'keeper' per film.
Although my main focus is to make prints, I scan negatives of 'keepers' in order to share online. Up to now, the scan files have been a disorganised muddle with whatever filename the scanner gave them on the day. Occasionally I have substituted a title, but generally there was no way of knowing where to look for the negative that matches a given scanned image. I currently have almost 200 images that I regard as 'keepers', and already that is too many to search through without a system. I have now renamed all unedited scan files with the actual film and frame number. What I need next is a way to recognise the image in question (eg from a thumbnail, and/or via keywords embedded in the file) and thus find the negative number.
Now we come to the limitations of my computer and software. I am a Mac-user and for years used Aperture to edit scanned images (mainly retouching dust spots). Aperture was great because it had totally reversible editing and (if I had ever been organised enough to use it) integrated image file management. Inexplicably, Apple stopped supporting Aperture a few years back, and it became unusable in recent versions of OS-X. I can still open Aperture using Retroactive, but can no longer import or export or re-attach source files, so its edited images are irretrievable. I am very reluctant to shell out lots of money for Photoshop or Lightroom because digital images are a low priority for me, and I don't need much editing functionality. I can do all the editing I need using GIMP, which is freeware; but GIMP has the disadvantage of storing images in its own file format which isn't supported by OS-X (i.e. Finder, Preview, Photos can see the file but not read the image - so no thumbnails).
I am also reluctant to export scan files to the native Apple Photos, because Photos seems to take control of how they are stored, adds a lot of unwanted gimmickry, and pools everything together with trashy family photos and aides-memoires taken on my phone. Otherwise, the Photos software would seem to offer one solution to my problem, because it will generate pdf contact sheets annotated with the file name. I would still need an editing package, because you can't retouch dust spots in Photos. At worst, I suppose I could temporarily move file copies into Photos in order to generate those contact sheets. But there must surely be a more straightforward solution.
I would be very grateful to hear how others have solved their own cataloguing needs.
[Moderators: Not sure where best to post this, please move if you see fit.]
Although my main focus is to make prints, I scan negatives of 'keepers' in order to share online. Up to now, the scan files have been a disorganised muddle with whatever filename the scanner gave them on the day. Occasionally I have substituted a title, but generally there was no way of knowing where to look for the negative that matches a given scanned image. I currently have almost 200 images that I regard as 'keepers', and already that is too many to search through without a system. I have now renamed all unedited scan files with the actual film and frame number. What I need next is a way to recognise the image in question (eg from a thumbnail, and/or via keywords embedded in the file) and thus find the negative number.
Now we come to the limitations of my computer and software. I am a Mac-user and for years used Aperture to edit scanned images (mainly retouching dust spots). Aperture was great because it had totally reversible editing and (if I had ever been organised enough to use it) integrated image file management. Inexplicably, Apple stopped supporting Aperture a few years back, and it became unusable in recent versions of OS-X. I can still open Aperture using Retroactive, but can no longer import or export or re-attach source files, so its edited images are irretrievable. I am very reluctant to shell out lots of money for Photoshop or Lightroom because digital images are a low priority for me, and I don't need much editing functionality. I can do all the editing I need using GIMP, which is freeware; but GIMP has the disadvantage of storing images in its own file format which isn't supported by OS-X (i.e. Finder, Preview, Photos can see the file but not read the image - so no thumbnails).
I am also reluctant to export scan files to the native Apple Photos, because Photos seems to take control of how they are stored, adds a lot of unwanted gimmickry, and pools everything together with trashy family photos and aides-memoires taken on my phone. Otherwise, the Photos software would seem to offer one solution to my problem, because it will generate pdf contact sheets annotated with the file name. I would still need an editing package, because you can't retouch dust spots in Photos. At worst, I suppose I could temporarily move file copies into Photos in order to generate those contact sheets. But there must surely be a more straightforward solution.
I would be very grateful to hear how others have solved their own cataloguing needs.
[Moderators: Not sure where best to post this, please move if you see fit.]
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