Import NEW Images in folder Only?

CroMagnum wrote:

I don't think that complete chaos is the way to go, despite Kirby's kind assurances.

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CroMagnum wrote:

I suspect that Aperture probably doesn't adversely affect an "edit" by overwriting the file imported into Aperture.

The file imported into Aperture is the master. The master is never modified in any way, all changes are applied to a image called the version which is a combination of the master and your changes. This version does not exisit as as an actual file on the HD unless you export it for use outside of Aperture.

What I meant was, if I import a file, "doctor" it to suit - then accidentally, or deliberately reimport the same image file again - whether I will be overwriting whatever changes I made & saved.

If you import the same master again it will be a duplicate image in Aperture with no connection to the original master or to any versions you created from the original master.

I gather that those edits are likely stored separate & nondestructively. Most usually, when I edit an image in PS, I wind up with one, two or three copies --- different treatments for the same image. I might be using a small version of an image, in which case I need to change the brightness to suit the size, etc. just as an web image might be manipulated depending on the presumed gamma value of the chosen audience's screens.

The same process occurs in Aperture except instead of three copies of the image you'll have three versions all based off the same master. When and if you need one of the versions outside of Aperture you export it as a JPG or TIFF file

Hope this helps,

regards

I appreciate both the explanation and your sense of play 😎. Getting Aperture to work for you -- which means setting both it and you up so that the resulting pictures are what you want and the resulting organization allows you to continue your relationship indefinitely -- requires thinking specifically: exactly what you do, exactly what your needs are, exactly why your earlier attempts at organization have failed. "Complete chaos", "being chaotic", "thrives on clutter", and "tongue-in-cheek" are not attempts at specificity. That lack of specificity will keep you from taking advantage of what is available here.

Of the things I need to know in order to help you, the most important is "What are your needs?". "Having fun" is clearly one of them -- but it must be secondary to "What exactly are your goals and how can Aperture be used to achieve them?".

CroMagnum wrote:

A good policy, Kirby. I'm just not always good at following that: Life gets in the way.

{ ... }

Nothing worse than wasting a good "zone!"

Aperture cannot change you -- all it can do is help you.

Here's what I do, with the same goal of never having to fiddle with cards when I'm working.

• I use cards that hold a full shoot's recordings. In my camera, a 16 GB card holds 314 files at the resolution I use. 314 files is all I need for any shoot, more than 99 times out of 100.
• I number my cards with a thick Sharpie. I use them sequentially. If I ever need a new card, I don't have to think about which one: it's the next in the numbered series. The cards are with my camera always. Every time I put a new card in the camera, I reformat it (three button presses).
• I use a camera that holds two cards. These are different formats. I use one format always (it's faster) -- but if a card fails or I don't have time to change cards when I fill a card, I use the second card in the camera for overflow.

I have only once been knocked out of "the zone" -- I forgot I had the second card in the camera and got flustered.

Obviously, your equipment, your needs, and your habits will differ. The above is simply a sample of what can be done.