So, this actually started off as an e-mail to someone who shall remain nameless to protect the totally guilty, but I got to thinking that I would post it since I had a perfectly good, and essentially empty blog on which to put it. It also, I expect, will generate some thoughts (and comments) from readers, which may in turn keep me from leading the aforementioned guilty person down the wrong path.
In a nutshell, a certain person I know (yes, a blood relative no less), lost his camera. In all probability, it was not stolen. The important issue is that the camera had whole bunches of pictures, from multiple trips on it, that were NOT downloaded. This person should have known better. (Hence my ire.) I should have known better. You see, in fact, I had the memory card in MY computer just days before, oohing an aahing over the pictures. (More ire.) I used a combination of Windows Picture and Fax viewer, and Adobe Bridge to preview the pictures. All I had to do was use Bridge to actually keep the pictures. But, as it goes, the picture viewer does not keep a cache, and I have Bridge set to keep its thumbnail file in the folder in which the pictures reside-the lost memory card in this case. (Still more ire.) So the pictures are totally gone.
The question then becomes, what to do for the next time. Besides emptying the card after every event. And, at this point, lets not get into one big card vs. multiple little cards. I’m thinking more along the lines of what to do to get lost pictures back. For instance:
First I would suggest writing your phone number on the memory card. Next, I would use Wordpad/Notepad to make a text file, and save it in the root directory of the card. I would name it "If_Lost", "If_Found", "Please_return_me", or some other clever, attention getting thing. Depending on how important your pictures are to you, you could even title the file "Reward_Offered". Yes, you could take a picture of your return information, but it is all too likely that you will delete it along with the others when you clear your card. Putting it in the root directory may prevent that, but would still require the finder deliberately looking for it, so why not just use a (much smaller) text file?
So now the obvious question about all this. How much risk are you willing to take to get your pictures back? Personal security, identity theft and all that now come into play. What phone number do you use, and what goes in the text file? At the moment, reverse lookups don’t work for cell phones, so that is probably a safe bet (for now). If you work in a small enough place you could use your work number, and let everyone who might answer the phone know that you lost your card (sympathy to your face, snickers behind your back). The text file could likewise have your work address, rather than your home address. Less obvious possibilities are your camera store (if you are well known), your lawyer, or anyplace of business that knows you. Business phone numbers and addresses are quite public. The idea is to allow the person possessing your card find you, without giving up any more personal information than necessary. While we’d like to think that the person that has your card is more benevolent than nefarious, you need to cover yourself if your camera is stolen, rather than just lost.
So there you have it. What about you guys? Has anyone ever lost pictures and actually gotten them back? Does anyone know of any statistics that say what the odds are of losing a camera (or anything for that matter) vs. having it stolen? Do you think the above might work, or am I all wet?
Sage
