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Take back photos from Big Tech in 2023

I’m guessing you took thousands, if not more, of photos and videos in 2022, because with a smartphone in our pockets, it was just so easy to do.

And like most people, if you thought about backup at all, you did what was easiest. You signed up for the automatic backup programs on Apple and Google, which made copies of the photos and videos on your phone, and placed them into the “cloud” for a monthly fee.

But as we talked about several times in 2022, what if Apple or Google stopped liking you? What if the companies, rightly or wrongly, decided you violated their terms of services and locked you out of your account? (Read this blockbuster piece in the New York Times for more about how this actually keeps happening.) What if you suddenly died, and forgot to leave your password behind for loved ones? All your photos would be unavailable to future generations and lost forever. (Please take a minute RIGHT NOW and share your digital photo passwords with loved ones!)

New Year’s project: Make 2023 the year you took back your digital footprint and control of your images. How to do that? Thanks for asking. I have several ideas.

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Finally there’s a small affordable backup solution for use in the field

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I say “finally”, there used to be a number of them. Back when I shot a pair of D100 bodies back in 2002, I used a 20GB Super Digibin 2 to backup my massive 128MB CompactFlash cards while still out shooting. It was slow and the battery didn’t last very long, but it was reliable and it worked. It allowed me to backup or unload my cards before I got anywhere close to home.

In recent years, such inexpensive and readily available backup solutions seem to have disappeared. There are a few out there, but many are either way out of most budgets, offer very little in the way of user experience, or just aren’t very good. New startup DFi Gear is looking to change that with the Flash Porter. It’s basically a hard drive (or SSD) in a small case with CF, SD and microSD card readers and a great big LCD screen to back up while you’re out and about.

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Western Digital’s My Passport Wireless Pro lets you quickly back up your memory cards without a computer

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Even if you shoot to two cards at once with a dual slot DSLR, one of the biggest issues that many location photographers face is that of creating backups when out in the field.

I’ve long recommended the Western Digital My Passport Wireless as a self contained solution for such a need, but it can be painfully slow, especially if you’re backing up multiple cards at the day.  This situation is now hoped to be resolved with the new Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro.

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