Who hasn’t heard the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words”? While the origin of the expression has long been debated, many paintings and photographs have been the catalysts of both animated conversations and written exchanges.

The emergence of the digital camera has presented photographers – both professionals and hobbyists – with new tools to capture and share moments in the lives of others and their own. However, coupled with the software tools used to manipulate these visual stories, the digital camera presents new pitfalls to which film could never fall prey.

In today’s data-dependent society, many individuals prefer not to print their photographs, but instead save them to their computer or upload them to a portal for others to view. But sometimes the unthinkable occurs: They cannot access either the photographs on their camera or the images downloaded to their personal or laptop computer. To make matters worse, the photos are already deleted from the flash card or memory stick!

When precious photos are lost, a thousand words can’t provide consolation or compensation for the sense of loss or urgency you experience, particularly if photography is your chosen profession. And to the data recovery professional, e-photographs may in fact be worth 10 million bits of data or more, never mind a thousand words.

A digital photograph, like a spreadsheet, financial record, e-mail message, customer correspondence or other business document, is simply bits and bytes of data, ones and zeros organized on the memory card of your digital camera or your computer’s hard drive. When access to electronic images or data on a memory card is denied, this could be the result of an electronic or mechanical failure. Your 512 Mb or 1 GB flash card or memory stick could be faulty, the firmware has malfunctioned, or the configuration card adapter interface is corrupted. When the photographs are stored on your computer and have gone missing, your hard drive could be defective, the operating system infected or damaged by a virus, or your files deleted accidentally by human error.

Whether you are a professional photographer or a weekend hobbyist, no one is immune from data loss. There are several best practices that every professional or amateur digital camera user can follow to reduce the probability of losing your data and possibly your means of income:

• Familiarize yourself with how your camera operates. Read the owner’s manual.

• Do not change your viewing mode until your camera has processed and saved the image.

• Do not eject your camera’s memory card while downloading photographs. Wait until your computer has successfully saved the images before you eject the card.

• Once the memory card is no longer processing the images, properly eject the memory card from the card reader and safely disconnect the reader from your computer.

• Do not store all images on one memory card. Pack extra memory cards in your accessory bag.

• Download your photographs as soon as possible.

If you have already downloaded your photographs or those of your clients on to your computer,

• Regularly backup your data and test the backup.

• Update frequently the back-up media which stores your precious photographs and memories and, if possible, store your backups offsite.

• Stay current with the latest developments in storage media so you’re not caught with obsolete media.

• Maintain your computer in a dry, controlled environment free from dust and smoke.

• Use anti-virus software and update it frequently to scan and screen all incoming data.

• Turn off your computer if it or the hard drive makes any unusual noise.

• If you work for a small organization or work from a home office, play it safe. Use power surge protectors in the event your environment experiences a power outage.

When data loss strikes, don’t ‘shutter’. Professional data recovery specialists can rescue your photos, so don’t fear the worst!

Deal with a data recovery organization where all employees are empathetic to your needs. The emotions captured and conveyed in your photographs cannot be replicated. However, digital memories can be recovered and that means far more than a thousand words.

http://www.cbltech.com