Monday, December 10, 2012

No Christmas Tour Photos Today :(

The Fredericksburg Candlelight Christmas Tour was this past weekend.  Every year, during the second weekend in December, a number of historic houses in town are decorated for the holidays and are open to the public ... with hosts and hostesses in each room telling about the house, the history, and some of the more interesting furnishings and decorations. 
 
The Husband and I always volunteer to do a shift in one of the houses ... on Saturday, he was on the porch of our assigned house telling about the architecture and the the history of the original family, and I was showing guests the living and dining rooms.  On Sunday, we went out to breakfast and then headed to town to be among the first in line to tour the rest of the houses.  I had my trusty Nikon D70 camera with me, and I took lots and LOTS of photos.  The day was cloudy and a bit drizzly, but I still think I got at least a few really nice shots of the outsides and decorations on the tour homes.
 
Earlier this morning, I hooked up my camera to download the pictures.  Nothing happened.  I checked the camera's playback, and I got this:

(This is a simulation, because my iPad camera wouldn't set its exposure compensate for the brightness of the LCD screen to photograph the actual words.)
 
 
I took about a hundred photos yesterday, and I know the images were there as I was taking them, because I checked the playback numerous times to make sure I got the shots I wanted.  Somehow, the photos vanished.
 
This happened to me once before ... while I was in Sacramento at the rose conference in October.  I hooked up the camera to my laptop to download my photos, and the last 75-or-so of my 400+ photos from that day disappeared.  Gone. 
 
I suspect that it may be the memory card.  I have three that I use with this camera, and I wonder if this was maybe the same card I was using that day in California.  Just in case, I have put that one aside and now I will go back to using my tried-and-true original 512mb card that I KNOW has never let me down.
 
(Just so you know, I don't use any camera software to download my photos.  I read the files directly using a USB cable and Windows Explorer, cutting and pasting them into the destination folder on my computer.  This morning, there were no files on the card at all.)   
 
I really wish I could have shared the tour photos with you.  I can get streetside shots again on another day, but many of the photos I lost were views of the parts of the outside of the houses that are only available if one is actually IN the private parts of the yards.  No interior photography is allowed, but I did sneak a few shots through the windows while I standing outside.
 
Have you ever had this happen to you?  If so, did you ever find out what caused the problem?
 
 

13 comments:

  1. Not with the computer age. Yep, with a regular ole camera and forgotten rolls of film. We were on a tour of homes and the owner gave us permission to take inside pictures. Years later when we were moving I found several rolls in the desk drawer. I took the film in to be developed and back came pictures I recognized and those of a gorgeous house. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why we had them. Then the memory of that wonderful day came flooding back. Pictures really do say a thousand words.

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  2. Oh no! Well I suspect you are right and it's the card. I've not had this happen to me but it would be awful if it were an event like this one that you can't go back and photograph again. Sad!

    hugs, Linda

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  3. I'm sooo sorry. You must have felt extremely disappointed not to have the photos. The only time I have ever lost photos is when I accidentally hit delete on my camera and an entire day's worth of photos disappeared. It's maddening.

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  4. This happened to me recently. I changed out the memory card with a brand new one and everything is back to normal. I threw that old card away. Just like you said, the photos were taken and they were showing up in my viewing screen but were not there when I went to download them. At least for me I didn't lose any crucial photos that I couldn't re-take.

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  5. Lori, thank you for telling me this! (I would have sent you a proper, personal thank you, but your email address isn't visible in your blogger profile.) Knowing that you had the exact same thing happen to you is very, very helpful!

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  6. That sucks!!! I was looking forward to your pictures as I was out of town and couldn't go on the tour...I'm sure you have some great memories of those houses! :) donna

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  7. Oh- How frustrating. No- I haven't had it happen but I can imagine how awful that must feel- xo Diana

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  8. Don't give up immediately! The first time this happened to me I shed many tears of frustration because I lost a month of pictures including all the family Christmas photos - I thought maybe something like a magnet had totally wiped the memory card.

    However when the same thing happened months later, I was really mystified as the photos had definitely been there just moments before - so I refused to accept it was fatal. The good news is that time I did get them back - it turned out they were still there, just not bring recognised for some reason. I downloaded some software (I think from the Major Geek site) which was able to check all files, even 'hidden' ones and determine what was retrievable. Then I used all possible methods to access the card e.g. a separate card reader, the camera's supplied software and cable, a different camera, all the different 'viewers' on my computer - and somehow the photos were accessible after all. I was so relieved (these were summer holiday shots, and again had irreplaceable family pictures :-)

    So try all alternative connections and photo viewers - just in case!
    Good luck.

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  9. How very disappointing, for you and for us! It does sound very much like memory card issues, but how frustrating.

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  10. So mAny years back, I took what I'm sure were the best pics EVer of a family trip to a small amusement park!
    They were taken with my amazing 35mm camera--before digital cameras came along. When I went to take the film in--THERE WASN'T ANY IN THE CAMERA! Ooops!
    But, hey--I still have my memories! And a good laugh on my faux pas!
    Catherine

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  11. I've had it happen to me in the middle of a shoot. All of a sudden the memory card has an error and the camera is trying to recover everything. I solved the problem by only using SanDisk cards. There are other less expensive cards out there for handheld gaming devices but they aren't really compatible with cameras and inevitably cause problems.

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  12. Happened to me also..
    I was terrified!
    took mine into a "computer shop" and somehow they retrieved the files for me..$$$
    I'd accidently "locked" the file when downloading to my laptop! the pictures were still in the memory section of my camera also.
    Now, like someone previously stated, I only use SanDisc cards,
    I do NOT download to my laptop at all..instead, I wait until i get home and download directly to my computer via cable..I never insert the card into the computer..
    I set the computer to clean the card AFTER all pics are downloaded.
    so far no more mishaps.
    good luck.. do NOT give up!
    hugs.. Loui♥

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