Step into the world of 35mm photography with the Photography Discussion Roundtable, heard every Monday evening at 7:00 PM ET on BrandMeister DMR Talkgroup 31266 — the MichiganOne Nets channel. This engaging net is your chance to explore the art and science of photography, ask questions, and sharpen your skills in a welcoming, knowledge-rich environment.
Hosted by James N8TMP, Bob KB8DQQ, and Rick AD8KN, each brings a wealth of experience to the mic. Bob and James are seasoned wedding photographers, while Rick adds deep technical insight and practical know-how. Together, they guide discussions on camera features, techniques, terminology, and everything from aperture to artistic vision.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your craft, tune in and join the conversation. Your next great shot starts here.
This guide outlines a simplified, fail-proof way to organize a library that mixes digital sources (cell phones) with analog sources (scanned 35mm film).
The goal is to create a “Single Source of Truth”—one master folder where everything lives together, sorted by when the moment actually happened.
The Strategy: Chronological Filing + The “Star-Gate” System
The best way to organize is Chronologically (by date) combined with a Strict Rating System. This removes emotion from the organization process and turns it into a simple checklist.
- The 5-Star “Star-Gate” System
Before you organize, you must cull. Use a photo viewer (like Lightroom, Adobe Bridge, or FastStone) that lets you tap a number key (1–5) to rate photos quickly.
- ★ (1 Star) – Trash: Blurry, pocket shots, black frames, or accidental videos of your feet.
- Action: DELETE immediately.
- ★★ (2 Stars) – The “Almosts”: Duplicates where eyes are closed, focus is soft, or the composition is just okay. You have 10 shots of the same sunset; you only need the best one.
- Action: DELETE. (Be brave!)
- ★★★ (3 Stars) – The Archive: Technically good, clear, and focused. These are the “memory keepers”—good for documentation and family history, even if they aren’t “art.”
- Action: FILE.
- ★★★★ (4 Stars) – The “Socials”: Great lighting, great expressions. These go on Instagram, Facebook, or the family group chat.
- Action: FILE + SHARE.
- ★★★★★ (5 Stars) – The Masterpieces: The absolute best shots. If your house was burning down, these are the digital files you’d save.
- Action: FILE + PRINT/FRAME.
- The Unified Workflow (Cell Phone + 35mm)
Since you are mixing film and digital, you have a unique challenge: Metadata.
- Cell phone photos know the date they were taken.
- 35mm scans usually think the date they were scanned is the date they were taken.
Follow this simplified 4-Step Process:
Step 1: The “Digital Hub” Folder Create one master folder on your computer or external hard drive named:
MASTER PHOTO LIBRARY
Step 2: Create Year & Month Folders Inside the Master Library, create a folder for the current year (e.g., 2025). Inside that, create sub-folders using this specific naming format:
YYYY-MM-DD Event Name
Step 3: The “Film Fix” (Crucial for 35mm) When you get scans back from the lab (or scan them yourself), the files will be named something generic like Scan001.jpg and dated today.
- Immediately rename the folder to the approximate date you shot the roll.
- Example: Even if you developed the film in November, if the photos were from a July beach trip, name the folder: 2025-07-15 Beach Trip 35mm.
- Move these files into the corresponding Year folder alongside your phone photos.
Step 4: Rename Your Files Once the bad photos (1-2 stars) are deleted, rename the keepers (3-5 stars) so your film and phone photos mix together in order.
- Select all photos in the folder.
- Batch rename them to: YYYY-MM-DD_Event_SequenceNumber.
- Result: Your iPhone photo IMG_9021.jpg becomes 2025-12-25_Christmas_001.jpg, and your film scan Scan01.jpg becomes 2025-12-25_Christmas_002.jpg. Now they tell one seamless story.
Why You Must Do This (The “Why”)
- Legacy: If you leave behind a hard drive with 50,000 unorganized images, your family will likely throw it away because it’s too overwhelming to sort through. A curated library is a gift to your future family.
- Searchability: When you need a photo for a funeral, a wedding slideshow, or a throwback post, you can find it in 10 seconds (Look for “Year,” then “Event”).
- Speed: Computers run slower when they have to load thousands of thumbnail previews in one giant, messy folder.
What Happens If You Don’t?
- The “Digital Shoe Box”: Just like a physical box of photos gets shoved in a closet and never looked at, a messy digital folder becomes “write-only” memory. You put photos in, but you never enjoy them again.
- Context Decay: You know today that the roll of 35mm film was from “Sarah’s Wedding.” In 10 years, it will just be “Unknown Roll 4,” and you won’t remember who the people are.
- Data Loss: If photos are scattered across Dropbox, an old phone, and a USB stick, you will lose them. Centralization is the only way to backup effectively.
Hints for Success
- The “Delete Key” is your best friend: You are not a historian archiving every millisecond of your life. You are a curator. If you take 5 photos of your lunch, keep 1. If you take 36 shots on a roll of film, expect only 5-10 to be true “Keepers.”
- Handle 35mm Rolls as “Events”: Treat a single roll of film as one “Event.” Don’t try to split a roll up into 10 different folders unless the dates are wildly different.
- Don’t Backlog Binge: Do not try to organize your last 10 years of photos in one weekend. You will burn out. Start with this year. Once you have a system for new photos, do 15 minutes of “old photo organizing” on Sunday mornings.
A great free, easy option that works on both Windows and Mac is XnView MP. It has a built‑in “Batch Rename” tool that lets you:
- Select a folder of photos, choose Tools → Batch Rename, and apply a pattern like “Vacation_2025_###” so it auto‑numbers everything.
- Preview the new filenames before committing so you don’t accidentally scramble a shoot, and then run the batch in one click.
If you ever want platform‑specific tools instead, good choices are:
- Bulk Rename Utility (Windows) – very powerful but still straightforward once you get used to its preview panel.
- NameChanger (Mac) – simple drag‑and‑drop batch renaming with patterns, prefixes/suffixes, and automatic numbering.
Here’s a quick 5‑question multiple choice quiz on organizing photos:
- Which folder structure is usually best for long‑term photo organization?
A. One single folder called “Pictures” with everything inside
B. Random folders named after the camera model
C. Year/Month/Event (e.g., 2025/11/Thanksgiving)
D. A new folder for every day you shoot, with no names - What is the main advantage of using consistent file naming like “2025-11-29_Birthday_001”?
A. It makes sorting, searching, and identifying photos much easier
B. It improves image quality
C. It makes files smaller
D. It compresses photos automatically - Which is the safest way to protect your photo library?
A. Keep everything on one external drive
B. Store only on your laptop’s internal drive
C. Email all photos to yourself
D. Use at least two backups, such as an external drive plus a cloud backup - Why is adding keywords or tags to photos helpful?
A. It changes the resolution
B. It makes editing faster
C. It allows you to search by people, places, or events later
D. It reduces the file size - What is a good habit when importing new photos from your camera or phone?
A. Delete them from the card without checking
B. Import, rename in batches, and place them into your main folder structure immediately
C. Leave them unsorted on the desktop
D. Copy them to random folders and sort “someday”
Answers
- Answer: C
- Answer: A
- Answer: D
- Answer: C
- Answer: B
Next week we’ll discuss:
Understanding long-exposure photography
Previous and upcoming Photography Discussion Roundtable topics:
| Date | Topic |
| 8/4/2025 | Welcome to the world of 35mm photography |
| 8/11/2025 | What is Aperture in photography |
| 8/18/2025 | What is the Golden Triangle? |
| 8/25/2025 | Top photo editing software available in 2025 |
| 9/1/2025 | What is Depth of Field? |
| 9/8/2025 | What is Bokeh in photography? |
| 9/15/2025 | Understanding Lens Focal Length |
| 9/22/2025 | What are leading lines? |
| 9/29/2025 | What is Back-Button Focus? |
| 10/6/2025 | 5 important photography facts that I didn’t know when I started |
| 10/13/2025 | How to shoot in manual mode |
| 10/20/2025 | The different types of lenses |
| 10/27/2025 | All about camera filters |
| 11/3/2025 | On-camera flash vs off-camera flash |
| 11/10/2025 | How to use tripods and stabilizers |
| 11/17/2025 | What is ISO? |
| 11/24/2025 | Film vs digital? |
| 12/1/2025 | How to find and organize your photos in a logical manner |
| 12/8/2025 | Understanding long-exposure photography |
| 12/15/2025 | Enhancing the sky in your photos |
| 12/22/2025 | Where and how to learn more about photography techniques |
| 12/29/2025 | DSLR vs mirrorless cameras |
| 1/5/2026 | The exposure triangle |
| 1/12/2026 | How to develop your own personal photography style |
| 1/19/2026 | Color theory (histograms) in photography |
| 1/26/2026 | Photography ethics in the digital age |
| 2/2/2026 | The future of film and where the analog industry is going |
| 2/9/2026 | How to build a portfolio |
| 2/16/2026 | Photography hints and tips |
| 2/23/2026 | How to take action/motion photos |
| 3/2/2026 | Explaining photography terms |
| 3/9/2026 | Macro photography hints and tips |
| 3/16/2026 | Landscape photography hints and tips |
| 3/23/2026 | Portrait photography hints and tips |
| 3/30/2026 | Night photography hints and tips |
| 4/6/2026 | F-stops and how to use them |
| 4/13/2026 | What are the AE-L, AF-L, and *-buttons? What do they do? |
| 4/20/2026 | White balance explained |
| 4/27/2026 |
https://thediabeticham.com/previous-and-upcoming-photography-discussion-roundtable-topics/
