A poll about your field notes

[Renato Tonelli]

Moleskine notebook, gridded pages. I sometimes think that I keep a photo log just because I love these notebooks! The little elastic band that keeps it shut is way cool, to my way of thinking anyway.

.....

But, let's face it--content is secondary to the fun of writing in my Moleskines!

I got a big kick out of this; I totally identify with it. I am more diligent taking notes whenever I have one of these notebooks with me. And how about that little flap in the back? I cut a small piece of 18% gray card and put it there - handy for close ups of flowers and the like. Naturally, I wished that the Moleskine would be waterproof as well.

[nathanm]

I used my digital camera to do voice annotation one time, which was more or less a test to see how it worked. It's kinda cool, you can have Adobe Bridge play the sound when you click on the thumbnail. If I was really dilligent or was going to shoot a lot of stuff I'd probably do that again, but for the most part I don't write anything down. Numbering systems can get dicey once the film leaves the holder.

A little exposure\camera setup video probably wouldn't be a bad idea either, for posterity. Although said video could disprove any impressive story you may wish to give about your would-be famous photograph.

[William McEwen]

Picker's version:

I still keep the notebook in my camera bag -- it's been about 25 years now! But I use regular small notebook paper, and not the pre-printed Zone VI sheets. I did record every exposure faithfully on the Zone VI sheets for many years, though.

Photo of notebook and sheet here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/williammcewen/3845916514/

[ImSoNegative]

I always keep a small notebook in my backpack, i write down holder number, exposure time, f stop, filter if one is used and developing time i will use.

[ic-racer]

I only keep notes when doing a test or diagnosing a problem. Othewise, no pre-processing notes. I do keep brief processing notes for every rool or sheet I have ever processed. On rare occasion I may include some info about the exposure, lens, camera or location in the processing record.

[jvuokko]

I write notes. On all formats I use (35mm, 120 and 4x5).
When I photograph handheld with 35mm or 120, I tend to write down only subjects. The lens, filtration, exposure times etc. are extra that I write if I have time.
Mostly it's enought to write down the subject..

When doing more serious photography with 120 and LF, I make always careful notes.
I don't use any kind of exposure card. Instead I use just ordinary notebooks where I write freely the subject, perhaps time of day, sometimes my feelings, the thing that get my atraction first, my visualization...
The way I metered light, zones, filtration, sometimes even tilt/shift if I am at doubt that I am working at the limits of the camera.

Sometimes I draw a rough scetch of the scene, marking important tones. Sometimes I wrote couple of pages about the photograph process, plans how to develop or just about my feelings.

It really has become kind a photography journal to me. Have do it so long, that I cannot imagine of taking photographs without writing things down on the notebook.

I might even write if I have migraine or I am really need of taking a d*mp.. The notes has all kind of information that might only have memorial purpose or might explain why I made stupid error..

About twenty years ago I tried to use formal exposure record cards, but they just didn't work with my style. There was always too few room for notes and everything felt restrictive.

One thing that I have found is that now when many of the negatives has scanned and I should build some kind of database, I haven't yet figured out the best way to put all that data to the computer.
Perhaps I keep them only at my notebooks


The notebook is also valuable tool. I have all kinds of precalculated data, mnemonics, formulas etc. written down to the notebooks. This information I transfer always from old notebook to the new.

[ljb0904]

I use my iBrain. But I have a problem with hard drive crashes...

[Gary L. Quay]

My time behind the camera isn't leisurely enough for good notes. I use the exposure records that Ansel Adams developed for the Zone System, and sometimes I remember to write stuff on them.

--Gary