"I'm backed up baby..." Photo: Hilary Camilleri
I’ve said it before, but it would be remiss not to mention it again: Back up your data.
Sad reminder of this again when I saw a recent story on PetaPixel about a guy who is taking Apple to court over lost baby photos, saying the failure of a storage device caused him to lose priceless memories. Perminder Tung used an Apple Time Capsule to back up his photos. The Canadian man claims that the device failed and that Apple subsequently told him that data was gone forever. Tung, a lawyer, says the data included the birth of his child and is now suing for $25,000 to compensate for the lost memories. Sad. But is this really Apple’s fault? Hell no. Drives fail. As photographers and filmmakers who depend on the retrieval of data not just for nostalgia – but for our living – we must accept this fact and take the necessary steps to avoid being int the position of the forlorn Mr. Tung.
This is one of the most important fundamentals–not just for professional photographers and filmmakers like us–but for anyone with valuable digital content that’s worth backing up. You can review my workflow video on how to back up your data here.
The workflow video I hinted at above, under the link “said it before” walks you through steps you can take to NOT be this guy. This may well be the most important behind-the-scenes video we’ve made, not because it’s fancy or sexy, but because it covers arguably the most essential information on a set of topics that every photo and video person should understand: workflow, storage and backup of your precious images. This video covers all the ins and outs, the theory and the details of our complete photo and video workflow from capture to archive and everything in between. It’s a tad dated, given some updates in technology, but the theories are crucial and sound. So whether you’re a seasoned pro, an aspiring amateur, or just starting out in photography or video we’ve worked hard to make this worth your time.
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Too cute baby photo: Hillary Camilleri and Angela Smith
I see that Perminder Tung asked Apple if the data from Time Capsule could be recovered. Apple said no, but has he asked for a second opinion?
Apple are great at lots of things, but not data recovery experts. This is what we do here at PicBack.
We have successfully recovered data from many damaged Time Capsules. They can be a little more difficult to work on but are still just hard drives at the end of the day.
While we can’t guarantee that data can be recovered every time, we have all the right tools for the job.
If anyone else is in the same position then they can read more about out service here – http://picback.com//time-capsule-recovery
This story should stand as a warning that drives do fail and that it is always a good idea to have several backups of your valuable data.
PRINT YOUR PHOTOS
“Time Capsule is a revolutionary backup device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in OS X. It automatically backs up everything, so you never have to worry about losing your important files.”
Good point. Chase’s post is misleading. it does not identify that the lawsuit is about the failure of a backup system and not a primary drive. Time capsule is marketed by apple as a safe backup system. Many of the posts here seem to suggest that it was the user’s fault for relying on the product for the very purpose for which it was sold. By analogy, if I drive and maintain my car in the manner recommended by the manufacturer, and the wheel falls off, is that my fault? The only question here is did the user of time capsule set it up right.
When I worked as a server Admin I saw so many issues with proprietary backup systems. If it puts your file in another type of file then there is an additional layer of possible error. The backup could become corrupt making the whole thing not work and you generally only will find this out when you have already lost data.
I’m glad someone pointed that out.
Good reminder Chase, we as photographers should all know about the need to back up data, but I’m not sure how aware is your average Joe about the importance of doing it. Some people give reliability and technology for granted, till they get burned!