Everyone is talking about RAID hard drive setups and it’s the only way to fly if you want to protect your images from hard drive crashes – which will eventually happen to you, if it hasn’t already. Here’s a simple RAID setup that I installed for our Asukabook staff at the office. I’ve documented the entire setup process and listed the parts I purchased and where from. This was the easiest setup I’ve done yet! Even a monkey could do it…well, maybe an orangutan, they’re supposedly smarter.
This is a basic RAID level 1 setup, which simply means two hard drives are mirrored and look and act like one to your computer. You use it like you normally would, except every file is written to both drives simultaneously, saving you from having to duplicate it yourself.
How it will work: The case holds 2 bare drives. Each drive I used is 500 GB, but you can use any two identical drives. Since one mirrors the other, you have the actual useable storage space of one 500GB drive. The case connects to my Macs via Firewire 800, but you can use USB 2.0 if you don’t have Firewire 800. USB is slower however. This setup will connect fine to either a MAC or PC.
Parts used:
2 bay hardware RAID case
part# 3610-WAC Dual SATA HDD firewire + USB 2.0 hardware RAID case
price: $399
source: http://www.cooldrives.com
2 – Seagate 500 GB SATA-II bare drives
(note: Seagate is considered one of the most reliable drives, don’t skimp here!)
part: SEAST3500630AS
price: $215 each
source: http://www.macsales.com
Here’s the stuff (minus the cables and other doodads) Notice how nice and small the drive case is. IMPORTANT: Be sure to discharge any static from your body before touching the drives. You can touch a metal part of your computer or grounded metal object. Use a static wrist strap if available. Don’t drag your feet on the carpet while doing this. Don’t put your finger in an electrical socket.
1) remove the trays from the case using the plastic key.
2) remove the plastic blocks by removing 4 screws.
!http://www.kkphoto-design.com/blog_images/raid_03.JPG!
3) place the bare drive in the sleeve and tighten 6 screws. Do this for both trays.

4) Insert the tray back in the case CAREFULLY. Pull out the lever (which releases when the plastic key is poked in the hole), then gently push the sleeve in then close the lever until it locks.

5) Power on the drive and you should see the HDD OK message like this:

6) Plug the drive into your computer and you should see a message to initialize the drives, click “Initialize”.

7) In the drive setup utility, name your drives and choose the options as below. PC users will see a different window, but just initialize like you would any other new drive.

That’s it! Now, you can start copying images to this drive. If a drive should ever fail, you’ll hear an alarm from the case. It will tell you which drive is faulty, so remove it and replace it with a new matching drive and put it back in. The case will automatically start to rebuild that drive, copying everything from the other drive to it.
If I have any long term issues to report on this setup, I’ll post them here. But so far, it’s working perfectly.
Aloha,
Kevin
Just back from a great week teaching at the Texas School of Professional Photography, and I learned as much as the nearly 1000 students that blanketed the hotels and campus of Texas A&M.
I learned a little more about the power of passion. I learned how to see through things and cut to the core…a little better.
When I teach workshops, I often talk about “falling in love” with your clients – if only for an hour or two. I forget about any notions I may have formed about them. I try to ignore my assumptions that they are not the “expressive” types or not “romantic”. If you allow yourself to see the real person behind your lens and accept them for who they are, you can capture their inner beauty. You have to peel away the layers and expose something, whether they offer it or not.
Some shells are harder to crack than others. Some shells are there for protection. Some shells are misleading.
When we drop our egos, and see past another persons ego, we obviously cut to the real person. This is when a great photograph happens. But it’s not always easy to do.
When I photograph, and when I teach, I let down my guard. It’s cathartic for me. I can be myself – and hopefully my subjects or students will do the same. Learning happens better, and photographs happen better. It’s all about truth.
What if we let down our guard more often? What would happen? What if we said what was on our minds more often? Would we still have friends?
We would have fewer friends, but better friends.
Allow yourself to open up to your next client. Let them feel your passion, your energy, your soft side. Encourage them to do the same. Be a mirror. Love them for just a little while…it may be the only chance you get – but you’ll have the photographs to prove it :-)
I’ve just returned from Orlando, FL where I did some presentations for Nikon at the PMA show. It was a good show, and I got some great business ideas there too – like the value of a big mouth. Good friends of mine, the Lensbabies crew, got their picture on the front of USA Today through diligent schmoozing. This led to a potentially large deal with a major new distributor for their product. Way to go guys!
At Nikon, part of my presentation covered how I use my wireless TTL SB800 flash, the D200 camera (which has a built-in pop up flash), and a collapsible diffusion disk to create great natural looking lighting anywhere.
By setting the camera’s pop-up flash to the TTL wireless controller (Commander Mode) and lowering the power by 1 stop, this becomes the fill light. I then have an assistant hold the SB800 behind the diffusion disk, about 3 feet away, and point the whole thing at the subject – firing the flash through the disk. I try to keep the face of the disk as close as possible to the subject so to keep the lighting soft. I place the disk off to the side at about 30-40 degrees to create directional light, and then the on-camera popup becomes the fill light and trigger.
The light quality from this setup is amazing. It’s soft and directional, very flattering and natural looking. I can light a headshot or small group – upto about 4 people. Full length portraits look great too as the light gradually falls off towards the feet.
You can quickly move from place to place with this setup and take portraits anywhere – even a completely dark room.
Because the off-camera light is TTL controlled from the back of the main camera, adjusting the balance of the lights is quick and easy too. Try this setup outdoors too when the light is rather flat and unexciting.
Are you ready to RAID?