After any event (sport or performing arts) there is a lag before the images are published. We are often asked if there will be any photos before we are able to get them online. So I thought I'd outline the process to help you understand what is taking "so long".

Step 1 - Review
Every photograph is reviewed "by eye" for focus, composition, and exposure. If either of the first 2 are bad, the photo is deleted. If the exposure is outside of my acceptable parameters, it is corrected. We keep about 95% of what we shoot. This step takes about 45 minutes for every hour of shooting. Eye fatigue is an issue in this step, so about every 2000 images I have to take a break and do the dishes, or the laundry or play with the dogs.

Step 2 - Generate JPG Files
For the best images, we shoot in the native format of our cameras. This format is called "raw". The internet cannot display images in this format so we export all the "keepers" as JPG files. This step takes about 30 minutes per 1000 images. No other work can be done on the computer processing the images because all of the computer's processor and memory are used for this task.

Step 3 - Copy to Our Web Server
We own and operate our own web servers. The image files, now in JPG format are copied to the server, which takes about 1 minute for each GB of data, and an average 1000 images is around 5 GB.

Step 4  - Publish the Images
We have written our own publishing routine that manipulates the images into folders, creates a searchable database of the folder and file names, and creates the thumbnails that you first see when you open an album. This can take 20-30 minutes per 1000 images.

Step 5 - Create Links (optional)
For the ski community, we create links to the published images by race or show, so that you can both easily jump directly to the event and so that you can tell where we are in the publishing process. (We publish in the order skied.)

Throughout the process outlined above, there are frequent backups of both the original files and the web files. The time and gear needed for that are the fodder for another blog post. ;)

For our show ski fans: for each 1 hour show we (2 photographers, Roger and Carol by name) shoot we spend another hour and 40 minutes to get it to the web. Let's round that up to account for "life" (answering the phone, letting the doggies out, etc.) keeping this from being a linear process to 2 hours per 1000 images. There were just over 28,000 images taken at D1 Nationals last weekend. That amounts to 56 hours to publish all of the images. Please note that sleeping, eating and personal hygiene are NOT optional, and add to the total time it takes to process!

Ski (water or snow) Fans - go to www.SkiPhotos.US to see the progress of our publishing and to find links to your event!

Hope this helps with the wondering whether we will make your images available. We will - it just may take a little time.