SD Card Recovery software & bird photo

[nchoney]

So... this morning I was downloading images from my SD card and the card became corrupted somehow. Not sure if it was the card or the reader (getting rid of both of them) but the computer could no longer see any of the photos on the card.

Not horrible for most of the 900+ photos, since they're downloaded onto my computer and backup drives... and are also uploaded to Snapfish. BUT.... I was missing the photos I took during the storm, some great shots of a heron, and some super shots I got this morning of a huge flock of black skimmers and some Caspian terns.

I found this super simple program CardRecovery .... I ran the free trial and it was finding files so then I paid the $40 and it recovered all 933 photos from that card. In a matter of minutes. Best $40 I've spend in quite some time.

So.... if you need it ... here's the link https://www.cardrecovery.com/

And.... don't store all your photos on your SD cards. PLEASE make sure you back them up to a computer, etc. SD cards are dirt cheap for a reason. They're not meant to last forever.

[nchoney]

Here's one of the photos of the flock of skimmers... with a few Caspian terns in the mix

I've never seen this many skimmers all at one time... usually only see a couple zipping along the surface of the water. This is just a small section of the flock. So I'm really glad I didn't lose these photos!!

[pamcook]

I’m so happy this had a happy ending.
Amazing photo!

[Keitha]

Great photo Debi, thanks for sharing. I wonder if the skimmers are congregating because they're about to migrate? One of my favourite sights is the Loons congregating on the bay at home before flying south for the winter; typically we see them singly all summer.

And thanks for the recommendation for that program. I do keep my SD cards, but as just one of several backups. I've had computer hard drives fail, and also external backup drives. I recently bit the bullet and paid for a pro subscription to Google for the storage; just need to find time to upload everything there as well.

[jmp1022]

I did that for Pam P at one of the recreates

[nchoney]

I haven't ever seen them all congregate like that.... and I've been driving that road for years... ok.. decades... LOL

But... maybe they congregate elsewhere and they came out here to get out of Florence's winds... stranger things have happened

[mpizzazz]

That's a good tip about the SD card. It happened to Ray on one of his solo trips that he lost all the photos on one card.

I was thinking the skimmers might have congregated to shelter from the hurricane. Critters know what weather is going to happen before humans do.

[paddlegal]

So happy you were able to recover your wonderful photos. I’ve had similar, weird problems with SD cards.

I am guessing that storm and the movement of the open water has altered what and where they feed. They were likely following a food source along with staying somewhere better sheltered. Birds follow the food.

[pbp908]

I'm at the point where I download to the external every time I take photos, and then clean the card. I now have a great recovery software, too. Just in case.

[nchoney]

I download almost every time I shoot photos ... but didn't download the few I had taken during the storm stuff.... they weren't mission critical... and the heron and skimmer photos were just two days apart and then I was downloading... or trying to

the other 900 photos were already downloaded and backed up and were up on Snapfish... so those weren't making me crazy either... but it was fun to watch this software recover all of them in a few minutes