I have written quite a bit about LF and ULF photography here on the jbhphoto BLOG since we started back in January of 2009. A lot of it is my rambling about this or that, and sometimes I tend to repeat myself. Oh well, must be old age??? One thing that I do not remember writing about is keeping notes. We are both meticulous about keeping records of our travels and detailed notes on the film we shoot.

We do several things when we go out on an extended trip. One is to make a lot of snapshots. They are an excellent way to keep track of the places we visit and are used to plan future trips and serve as a visual reminder of the places and things we discover. We also keep a daily diary/travel log of what, when, and where we were on a particular day. I have to admit that Susan is better at the diary than me, but at the end of every day before we drop off to la-la land, we try to type a few paragraphs. We keep this on a laptop computer and entries continue till the trip is over. It is a great resource, along with the snapshots, later when trying to come up with exactly what happened on any particular adventure.

But, the most important notes are those that pertain to the film we shoot. I experimented for some time when I first started shooting sheet film and eventually came up with a record keeping scheme that works. We have both used this method for many years and it has given us detailed records that, when needed, are invaluable.

When I first began seriously trying to keep film notes I started off with a small notebook. For me though, having to fumble with pen and paper was just not working. So I came up with the bright idea of using a small voice recorder. This worked great! I would record one entry for each exposure and later transcribe the information into a notebook. We both used a micro-cassette recorder for years, until mine just flat quit working. It was worn out and had to be retired.

At this point the digital voice recorders were available and they opened up an entirely new way of record keeping. With the digital recorders it is even easier to keep up with the daily notes. We make one entry for each exposure. The digital file is date and time stamped and it is easy to upload them to the laptop computer. This we do every evening along with updating the daily travel log.

Originally we transcribed each film audio entry into a notebook by hand, but starting about three yeas ago we began typing this information into a computerized form. This form has spaces for Negative Number, Film Holder Number, Development, Image Orientation, f Stop, Shutter Speed, Notes, Filter, Lens, GPS and Date and Time.

This is a somewhat complex way of keeping film data, but it has proven to be well worth the effort, especially when you need to recall the what, when, or how of a particular photo that you made years back. I can go to my film notes and tell you most anything about a particular negative, including the weather.

Keeping notes is also a way to track mistakes. If a particular negative did not turn out as expected, you have all of the information that can provide a clue as to what went wrong. I also record information on my audio entries about location, the light, temperature and anything else that might affect the image, or the photographer. Your notes can be a lifeline to help you track problems.

Detailed records of each sheet of film are not hard to keep up with if you are diligent and keep the process current. Next time I will talk a little about keeping notes in the darkroom. . . and. . . yes, we also keep pretty detailed records of the prints we make.

JB