Being retired, with possibly a bit of OCD, and not shooting massive amounts of film, I use Printfile pages in binders separated by format. Within the binders, most recent is on top, with some index tabs to separate years, and there are now multiple volumes in 120 and 35mm. The file sheets get a number aaa-nnn where the aaa is a code for the camera used and the nnn is a roll number through that camera. On the sheet header I also put the date, film, and a few clues to the subject.
But then there's the Excel file! I create a page for each film, with the tab identified by that aaa-nnn code and the page is laid out to have a longer description, film type, and development used. In addition to that there is a line for each frame to include description, shutter speed, f-stop, filter, and a short note if needed. On the cameras with interchangeable lenses I will pop in a blank line and name the lens whenever it changes during the course of a roll. (That doesn't happen much or I'd probably have a column for "Lens.")
Then the fun starts. I'm not sure when it became available in Excel, but at least by 2007 you can set up hot links, just like the web. So I have a master index page with links to index pages that list by subject or by film. The subject list is laid out by year and by camera (for a few of the heavily used ones, the rest "Misc"). At each of those entries there is a clickable link that goes to the page for that roll. There is also a couple of indexes to track use of my heavily used films. which have links to pages where those films were used and some counting for monitoring of inventory. The pages for each roll have links back to the master, subject, and film indexes -- it ju-u-s-st like web surfing!
It all sounds more involved and complicated than it actually is; once the basic formats are set up you just duplicate a page, fill it in, and add a couple of links to the index. All after that said, I admit that sometimes I don't get too obsessive about exposure data, depending on what I'm doing. (On "serious" outings I use a voice recorder to take field notes.)
And yes, at least the 120 stuff, I usually scan on my flat bed and maintain some moderate resolution image files archived in folders using the yyy_mm_dd_aaa_nnn (date and roll) naming sequence. I find that useful as a first pass to identify things that are worth further attention -- others may not.
I have delusions of going back in time and putting all my negatives at least into binders and recoring the rolls in the subject index portions of the Excel file. But at the current rate I'll probably never get there. I discovered a while back that the stamped info on the back of many color prints from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s apparently doesn't include any date info, just printing exposure adjustments, so I may never quite reconstruct that level of detail (as if it were
truly necessary!
)
(OMG - a book! Well, you asked ....)
