One man's trash might be his own treasure.

I was having a conversation the other day with a friend who just purchased his first DSLR camera. We only spoke briefly about RAW’s capabilities before he exclaimed, “the files are huge.” Then he said, “I’m going to have to start deleting more pictures so I have room on my computer. I told him, “just buy another hard drive.” Here’s why.

Unless you’ve shot your foot by accident, you might want to keep ALL those pictures for another day. After my trip to Uganda in 2008, I had over 5000 photos to work through and it was overwhelming. Trying to pick the best shots for presenting in lectures and gallery shows, I could only take so much editing. I had made the cuts as best I could. No one wants to look at 5000 pictures all at one time because even good people can only take so much.

While working on a recent ebook project on poverty, I decided to take another look at all the photos that were not starred from the first run. No surprise, there were several images that I couldn’t believe I had left out of the original set. I’m not sure what I was thinking. What I do know, is my mind has been refreshed. I’ve also, upgraded a few software programs that have given me new techniques working with my photos. I’ve read journals and blogs of others who have challenged my creativity. The result was found gems.

These are three of many photos I rediscovered and worked with in lightroom and photoshop cs.

With that, before you trash those photos, be certain you could NEVER do anything with them. And remember, never say never.

peace.

johno~