Star Letter

Call for backup

In your June 2021 issue (N-photo 124), Mike Harris had an article regarding the need for backing up pictures. As an engineer with more than 45 years’ experience working in the backup and data security industry here in Norway, I fully endorse his message. And it should be extended: it is not just your pictures you need to backup, all data that you receive or generate yourself and is of value to you must be protected with adequate backup procedures. Remember, there are only two types of data: the data that you already have lost and the data that you have not lost, yet.

Let’s make one thing very clear: all types of data storage devices, be it hard disk drives, solid state disks, optical disks and so on will eventually fail. It is just a matter of time: if you buy a new storage device for your pictures today, it may fail tomorrow, or in three months or in 10 years

– you just don’t know.

You should store all your data, including images, on more than one storage device, and you should make backups on a regular basis. Any important pictures you take during a day should be backed up on at least one extra device. And then, as an extra protection, you should frequently backup all your pictures (and other data) on a storage device that you store in a place away from where you live, be it with parents, a friend, or at your workplace. Then, if you should be so unlucky that you have a house fire, you can at least still enjoy your images and all your data. Erik Solhjell

A sobering and sensible assessment, Erik. You could also store images (and other important data!) on one of the many cloud services, which has the advantage that you can access your data wherever you are.

Eye of the beholder

Having taken photographs most of my life (I am over 60 and use Nikon Cameras), I take exception to the word ‘grotesque’ as used by Klaus Lytzhoft in his letter in the March 2021 issue (N-photo 121). He claims that heather is never as vivid as that pictured in the lead feature of N-photo 116, and that he has never seen heather that colour.

I think it must be his eye/ brain interpretation, as I see the colour of the heather as per the photo in the magazine, and that is my eye/brain interpretation. I cannot Photoshop my brain!

Having seen the Cumbrian fells ablaze with purple heather, it really does look that vivid. I’m sure that any ophthalmologist will say that everybody’s eyes/brains interpret colours differently.

In fact, I have sometimes been told that my photos are over-saturated. Which is interesting, because I usually only adjust the levels. Christine Lang

There will always be a debate on how much you can get away with ‘enhancing’ tones when it comes to processing images. What are other reader’s thoughts? Is this image overdone or truly reflecting the vibrancy that nature is capable of?

No Joe woe

No Joe? I always look forward to my N-photo mag arriving at my local booksellers, particularly as I have to wait three months from the time of publishing for it to get here to New Zealand. By the time it arrives, I have been dying of anticipation, having been teased by your Facebook and Twitter announcements of the contents of each issue.

In recent years I have particularly looked forward to the Joe Mcnally article. Each month, as soon as I picked up the new issue, I would zoom straight to the Joe section as I quickly browsed the contents of the mag. I loved to share in Joe’s enlightenment around his lighting techniques and setups. But alas, in a flash, there was suddenly no Joe! Things have just not been the same since.

Before I seek the help of a grief counsellor, can you please just give it to me straight – is Joe just on a bit of a sabbatical from N-photo, or will he be back? And I mean, really back – not just a mere flashback in my memory. #bringbackjoe Don Pearson

Every now and again we shake up the magazine to introduce new features or contributors, and this sometimes means that long-running articles have to give way to make space. You’re not the only one who’s written to say they miss Joe’s musings, but you can keep up with his adventures with photography, lighting and more besides at his blog: www.blog.joemcnally.com