Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Duplicates

I didn’t write a blog entry last night because I was busy.  Busy, busy, busy like a skunk after Loki.  He is a husky mix which has many layers of duplicate fur. He has more fur than most sheep have fleece. 
This is all dealing with more, such as, I had more duplicate pictures on my backup hard drive than original pictures.
As one of the first members of the Elfrida Photo Group (Elfrida, AZ) I was called on for discussions. (I was the one that picked the short straw.)  Our starting member count was low but the questions were fast and furious.  We discussed items such as Aperture, what the f-stop represents and exposure….ah, I mean I discussed them.  When I looked up from checking my notes, all I seen were blank faces and “THAT” look from my wife.  All husbands understand what “THAT” look means.  I had run off and left the posse behind again.  Okay, so I do get a bit technical at times and I “assumed” everyone knew HOW to take pictures.  Lesson #1 for instructors is to determine the starting knowledge level of your students.  (I had a tour in the Navy instructing the troubleshooting and repair of complex digital equipment.) So I forgot step #1.
Taking a step back and asking for open discussion about our cameras or photography in general I received the question: “How do I get the pictures out of my camera?  They’ve been in the camera for over a year.”  So then I understood the need for a photo group.  We are all here to learn and help each other without being critical.
The group has come a long way in a very short time with experienced members joining in but we do NOT ignore the novice photographer.  All right, back to the original subject.  I like to include photos on my blog from my many exploits.  I kept finding the same picture in several folders.  I remembered I did explain how to setup master photo files and working files to the group.  Seems I didn’t follow my own advice.  I have over 20,000 original pictures on my backup drive, and in some cases, 3 additional copies of the same exact picture.  I may also have modified copies but these will have separate file names and file sizes.  So most of my time yesterday evening was trying to eliminate and centralize my MASTERS.  The job continues and should be accomplished later today. 
If you are interested in finding and removal of duplicates files on your hard drive, may I suggest a program called “Duplicate Cleaner”.  You can find this on http://www.download.com which is a CNET webpage.  Best of all, the program is free, my favorite type of program.  As with any program I may “suggest”, read the fine print AND I do not claim to be an expert about the programs.  Use with common sense and caution.