Sorry but these seems flawed if i read wrong and so much work. You store your photos on a harddrive and mention about swapping that hard drive and not to store them on your internal drive plus all these naming files etc??
If you use aperture you can import plus name the files in one step, keep them on the specified drive you have for photos BUT back up using timemachine. You mention that older back ups are wiped, this is correct but im sure you know after one or two months if you got rid of a photo you needed. This way you have a copy on the drive plus one back up, the back up goes you still have your drive and visa verca.
You also mentioned storing it on DVD but that in fact has a shelf life, my understanding is 7 years, you dont want to trust it after that.
Dont get me wrong not having a go at you here I just think you are doing way to many steps and you are setting yourself up for a large loss of data (if i read everything correctly)
With my workflow, you have 2-2 backup (2 medias, 2 locations). And allows easier transferring of data from old storage device to new storage device (which should be done every 2 - 3 years anyways).
My macbook pro unfortunately has smallish HD. And I shot about 4000 photos/videos, in 2009 alone. There's no way I can keep ALL my photos on internal HD. I have to limit to favorite ones or last few month or current year. Hence I require an external HD for storing ALL my photos/videos.
Aperture is a good option that I'm actually evaluating but I already spent $ for iLife. And it doesn't help with backup anyways. My workflow isn't that burdensome, especially when you consider you are preserving the precious/irreplaceable photos/movies.
Yes DVDs have limited shelf life, and HDs have even shorter one. I use DVDs as last resort backup. My plan is never having to pull them out for restoring photos, more explained later.
Hardware preparation
-Get at least 1, preferably external 2 HDs (maybe 1 HD and 1 HD Dock). Preferably Firewire enclosures so you can daisy chain and worry about plugging in/out just 1 cable. With new Macbooks coming with only 2 USB ports, you may want to get Firewire external HD enclosures.
-The 1st external HD I use for Time Machine isn't big enough so it backs up just my Macbook internal HD.
-The 2nd external HD is for storing photos/video/iMovie projects long term.
-I initially suggested using 1 external HD (for both Time Machine and long term storage of photos) because I figured people who don't have an external HD for backup already will be reluctant to buy 2. But I strongly suggest having 2.
-Plan on swapping out the external HDs every 3 years, maybe 2 if you are paranoid and can afford $$$.
Software preparation
-Get familiar with Image Capture which comes with OS X. Instead of Image Capture you can use tools that come with camera makers. I prefer Image Capture.
-Get and install ExifRenamer and keep it in Dock. It's a FREE app. One time procedure, takes 5 min.
-I recommend iPhoto Buddy (FREE). I won't include what I do with it to keep this short but it's a great tool. It allows me to keep one iPhoto Library for a single year, keeping iPhoto library size to more manageable size, allowing easier backup.
Cloud backup service
-If you think you require offsite storage, sign up with Amazon S3 or any other cloud service.
Activity to do whenever you download photos/video from camera.
-Download photos to internal HD, into say laptopHD:~/Pictures/new.
-Drag and drop the folder ~/Pictures/new onto ExifRenamer icon. This is a 2-click operation. All pictures in the folder will be renamed according to date/time taken. Now just looking at the file name allows you to figure out where the photos are from. No need to check thumbnail, view Exif data within iPhoto etc etc. It allows easier backup/restore of photos also. Imagine that each picture has a unique serial, that also allows me to quickly identify where it came from, without having to use iPhoto or Finder to see the thumbnail.
-Having all photos renamed to date/time take will be a HUGE help with organizing photos. No need to view thumbnails. I can't say enough about how crucial this is for easier organizing/backing up photos.
-I move content of laptopHD:~/Pictures/new/ --> laptopHD:~/Pictures/2010/quarters1-4. That way new photos go into an empty folder. Upto individual preference. Key is that laptopHD:~/Pictures/new/ remains empty for next photo downloading.
-If I want to create a slideshow or do other things that iPhoto allows, I import them into iPhoto.
-I upload photos to cloud storage for offsite storage. Due to limited upload speed, I do this overnight.
Once every few weeks *Add reminder for this in iCal, Google Calendar etc.
-Copy the photos to the external HD for long term storage, maybe to this folder externalHD:/Pictures/2010/. You can create subfolders for each month or quarter such as HD:/Pictures/2010/Jan/ or HD:/Pictures/2010/Q1. Having photos/videos renamed to date/time taken will allow you to quickly move the files to correct place, using rsync or simply drag/drop.
-If you have a Mac Mini or Mac Pro and always have the external HD connected, just do it whenever you download photos/videos.
-After making sure the photos are backed up on External HD (and uploaded to cloud storage), I delete old photos from internal Macbook HD.
Once every few weeks, months, or even annually *Add reminder for this in iCal, Google Calendar etc.
-Burn DVDs of the photos/videos. Backing up on DVD is really last or second to last resort.
-Hopefully you never have to resort to accessing DVDs for restoring files in case of data loss, as you will have the external HD.
Once every 2 or 3 years
-Move data from old external HDs onto new external HDs. Because you have the long term archival files on external HD, you connect the cables and start rsync or drag/drop copy. And walk away.
-If you have the backups on DVDs, you have to sit there to swap them. Depending on how much data you have, that's a full Sat wasted. Hence, it's better to keep long term copy/backup on external HDs. DVDs is really last resort backup.
Again these are your best friends when it comes to managing photos/iPhoto: (FREE)
ExifRenamer
iPhoto Buddy
