rconey

Just bought #2 18 tb hard drives for my on site backup. I keep duplicate here and have filled #2 five terrabyte discs. I keep another copy off sight, so after I transfer to the new drives, the old filled two will go off site. 

I haven't wanted to do cloud backup.

Tony Parsons- I'm so sorry. We are all just one mistake away from being idiots......

This is my personal experience so may not apply. I suggest getting a comfortably lightweight camera and carry it everywhere you go. As you move about, think about framing: 1/3rd rules, and near, middle, distance areas. I think ANYTHING can be a subject of photography. You are trying to decide what you want to photograph, so think about it everywhere you go. Even if the image is not of an interesting subject, proper framing can be interesting in and of itself.

Second, with interchangeable lens cameras, pick a single focal length lens and go for a walk. Same idea, but let the focal length guide your efforts. An environment photographs differently with different focal length lenses. 

Third, remember the most important rule- most of the images are trash; throw them away. Don't fret over that either.

Maybe you will find what you like to photograph over time, or get back into the technical aspects of photography, including post processing. Maybe not.

Regards, RC

Update....... No surprise. Still happy with the Canon PRO-200. 

Title: Rough Tennessee Saturday Night

iPhone, no less. Had my Nikon but didn't use it (silly me). Was able to print to 13x19

Can't resist. Late 1980s:

Scanned 2004; image taken about 1991. My wife, Black Canyon, Colorado. 

On the plus side, I see lots of comments that "if you aren't getting good images, it's you, not the camera". Slide film in the 1980s, and 1990s with medium format film, then digital since the 2000s gives the perspective that equipment today is outstanding. Image stabilization means I don't often use a tripod anymore (sometimes wish I had...). 

Probably more important now for most of us is knowing the limits of our equipment rather than needing better equipment. For example on my Z7 I know that if I pull up shadows 5 stops I will see some banding in the background, especially if I use full shadow adjustment and noise reduction in ACR. Now, 5 stops of available shadow recovery is nothing to feel bad about. -Regards, RC

You could create a collage/mosaic in photoshop, but it sounds as if you want some sort of A.I. program to generate the arrangement for you?

I tend to sort through and keep what I like. Nikon here, but the idea is the same. I buy lenses, try them, and if I like them keep them but sell the rest. Having moved to Nikon Z, the old leneses don't keep up as much but some of the old AIS lenses with FTZ adapter are really nice. Don't think I regret selling off stuff. Haven't quite gotten around to selling the Nikon 9000 slide scanner but, well.......

Also, the clean sensor function on startup and turn off helps. I never got around to cleaning after that last trip, but today only see a couple of dots on this image (dots removed)

No great ideas, eh? I am comfortable cleaning sensors. I was hoping for someone to have tried something different. The "bag it" idea came from chemistry lab way back in college......

I have noticed a difference in how susceptible to dust different cameras are. My current Nikon Z7 is about average. The 24-120 zoom extends with focal length change, and that seems to suck dust in (different problem). Oh well, it was worth asking you guys. If you don't have a good solution, probably no one does. Regards, R Coney

Sounds like a job,,,,,,,,

Well, I have been ignoring it. This last trip though I really got dusted, even though the air on the beach seemed clear. Dotting 30 or more spots on 1 image gets old even with the newer, user friendly version of ACR. Just wondered if anyone had found a better method. so far....NOT!

Holding On........

I am frequently photographing in the great outdoors. Changing lenses is always a risk for dusting my sensor, so I tend to use zooms and minimize lens changes. I've considered taking a large plastic bag (5 gallon?) and changing lenses in the bag. Anyone tried that, or have other suggestions? I note that my 24-120 lens with a telescoping barrel seems to let in dust from its design, so a different strategy would be needed there- maybe a plastic rain sleeve. 

Looking for brilliant ideas. At least dust spotting has gotten easier as photoshop ACR has advanced..... Thanks.