The past two years have involved quite a lot of travel and photography is a big part of those trips. The camera kit questions have been resolved and I feel good about the gear with which I travel. One body, three lenses, a few spare batteries and SD cards and I am good to go. However, until recently, that same satisfaction didn't exist with regard to the "processing workflow" portion of my trips.
Early on I brought along my 12" MacBook, mainly for email but also for photo editing. Unfortunately, that computer was new in 2017 and in 2024 it is not up to the demands associated with moving hundreds of gigs of image files. Nor is its processor able to keep up with the computational needs of modern LR/PS releases. Plus, in addition to the laptop, I brought along an 11" iPad Pro Gen 4 purchased just after release in 2020. It is that platform on which I gamed, interacted with social media and surfed the internet. Increasingly it became apparent I needed to move photo editing and file management from the MacBook to the iPad Pro. After a few weeks of internet research (thank you YouTube!) I began experimenting with a few of the various ideas I came across. Trips to Olympic National Park and Iceland further informed my thinking and I coalesced around a process that seemed to fit my needs. Two follow-on trips, a two-week self-drive around Scotland and most recently, a three-week drive through Europe, further honed the process to the point where I am very satisfied.
The kit I put together includes;
- Camera SD cards - although I have several makers, my go-to for the Leica M10R are SanDisk's Ultra or Extreme Pro in 32GB. I usually bring along at least 20 SD cards. More if I'm on a longer trip. In the big picture (e.g. in comparison to the cost of your camera / lens system) SD cards are inexpensive and easy to carry...don't fret the cost, buy more cards! Even with the 50MB files produced by the M10R's 40MP, a 32GB SD holds over 600 images. In my experience that is more than enough for me on a daily basis. The M system is slow and methodical and most definitely not a "spray and pray" platform.
- UHS II capable SD card reader - Sony MRW-S1. This has worked for me perfectly for a few years. My only comment is that it is very small. I worry about losing it in my bag and often think about painting it bright yellow and attaching a lanyard.
- USB hub - Anker 332 5-in-1 USB C + A. No complaints, no worries, works every time. Larger than the Sony kit above but not by much and it is very portable.
- External storage media - I keep four drives. SanDisk's Extreme Portable SSDs in 1TB (x2) and 2TB (x2). The two 1TB drives go on the trip with me and are used for daily backups. Prior to the trip I add an empty folder to those two drives that matches the file structure of my iCloud master backup. The two 2TB drives remain at home for use after the trip. More on them later.
- USB-C cables - 8" and a few longer - this process uses the 8". The cables I use work for both data exchange and power delivery.
iOS software includes the Leica FOTOS app as well as LR, PS and PS Express. All four are loaded on my 11" iPad Pro Gen 4. My iPhone 15 Pro Max includes FOTOS, LR and PS Express.
The kit above enables me to easily transfer and back-up image files. Here's how I implement the plan.
Throughout the day's shooting I will, during down time, review images on the camera and mark those I'd like to edit that evening. While I can download to the iPhone on the road, I generally prefer to wait for the hotel so I can transfer to the iPad - bigger screen for easier editing. To transfer marked images directly from the M10R into the iPhone/iPad involves establishing comms between the camera and the iOS Leica FOTOS app. This is a very straightforward process that always works. I startup the local wifi net on the M10R, startup up the FOTOS app on the mobile device, and wait for the camera to connect with the app, usually just a few moments and I am reviewing images on the mobile device. Image files I select for download are added to the Apple Photos app on that device (and uploaded to iCloud in background). On any given day I transfer between five and ten images for evening, or next day, editing. The iOS LR app uses Adobe's Creative Cloud (CC) so when I open one of the images from Apple Photos, that image is also uploaded to CC. This enables me to edit an image with either of my mobile devices while on the road and, after I return home and synch LR with LR Classic, on my Mac Mini. Editing a few images on a daily basis during a trip lets me keep friends and family up to date on my adventures through social media (IG and Flickr) or directly through text/email. Easy peasy!
Back at the hotel, and after I've transferred images as discussed above, I remove that day's SD card then insert into the camera and format a new SD card. The Anker USB Hub is connected to the iPad's USB-C port and the Sony USB card reader is attached (that device uses a USB A connection). Into the Anker Hub is also attached the 8" USB-C cable. At this point there are no storage devices connected. On the iPad I open Apple's "Files" app then insert that day's SD card into the SD card reader and 8" cable is inserted into a one of the 1TB SSDs. After a few moments both devices appear in the iPad's Files app. Now it is a simple matter to drag the images from that day's SD card and drop them into file structure on the SSD. (Note: dragging/dropping and editing can be accomplished with a finger or with an Apple Pencil - I use both interchangeably.) Once that transfer is complete, I remove SSD #1, insert SSD #2 and repeat that transfer process onto the second drive. Transferring the SD card images to the two SSDs usually takes between five and ten minutes depending on how many images I shot that day. When completed, there are three copies of the day's images. The used SD card, 1TB SSD #1 and 1TB SSD #2. The accumulating pile of SD cards and one of the SSDs are kept in my luggage and the other SSD is with me in the camera kit. Not foolproof, but as good as it's going to get while on the road. Final backups to the cloud happen back home.
Regarding the source from which to edit, I could leave one of the SSDs plugged into the iPad and edit in LR directly from and save back to that drive. However, that requires I keep the SSD and the hub plugged into the iPad and that feels constricting. Much more mobile to edit just the few images that were transferred wirelessly. The rest of the images can wait until I return home.
Once home, there are three copies of all photos - the pile of used SD cards and the two 1TB SSDs. My first step is to upload, from one of the 1TB SSDs - doesn't matter which - all the trip's images to Apple iCloud. This is a time consuming, internet-bandwidth-clogging process which takes a few days. Literally a few days. I returned recently from a three-week Europe trip with about 2,700 images totaling about 115GB. It took just at 48 hours for all of those files to upload to iCloud. To accomplish that task I attached one of the 1TB SSDs to my home computer (a 2020-era M1 Mac Mini) then dragged and dropped the trip folder into the image storage file structure that is established in iCloud. Again, this is a time consuming process. Don't plan on streaming your favorite shows while this upload is in progress.
When the dust settles on that process I check two things; that the beginning and end image file numbers my camera assigned are the same in both locations (SSD and iCloud) and that the total number of files transferred to iCloud is the same as are on the SSD. This is a quick no-brainer check that is intended to assure me I have all the photos safely in the cloud.
The final step, after all the files are uploaded to iCloud and before beginning at-home editing, is to back up iCloud images onto the two, 2TB SanDisk SSDs reserved for this purpose. For this transfer I utilize a program on my Mac Mini named Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC). It has been may go-to for quite a few years and has always worked as intended. On first use you will need to define a cloning task. For this example my task is "iCloud Pictures to 2TB SSD #1." A second, defined task saves to 2TB SSD #2. Simply start-up CCC, plug in a 2TB SSD (whichever one, just choose the like named task else CCC will ask you to rethink what you are doing) and press "Start." The program reads the source folder then the destination folder and begins cloning. My defaults are set such that the 2TB SSD is an exact copy of iCloud. After the first 2TB SSD has cloned I eject it, plug in the second 2TB SSD, select the appropriate task, and press "Start" to begin the second round of cloning. The iCloud back-up process takes a short bit of time but it leaves me with two in-hand copies of all of my iCloud images. For safety, one of the 2TB SSDs lives two blocks away at my daughter's home.
After all the uploading and backing up, I am left with the two, 1TB SSDs and an accumulation of SD cards, all loaded with the trip's images. At this point, the camera SD cards are placed back into rotation. It is my normal process to format an SD card upon first insertion into a camera so I don't worry about formatting them at this point. As for the SSDs, there is still plenty of room on those drives for a few more trips. However, at some point they will be erased and reformatted for allow continued use.
I hope this discussion helps anyone trying to figure out a similar process for their travels. While I am sure there are other methodologies, this one has worked for me. That said, tech is improving daily and I suspect the process I use in a year will be different, and most likely more streamlined, than I use today. Cheers all!
Note: the gear listed was purchased at my own expense after a lot of research and a lot of trial and error (I have a box full of stuff that didn't do what I wanted). I'm sure there are similar types of kit that perform the same functions. Use what works best for you.
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