Clear out!

Clear outs can be brilliant sometimes. No more so than when it come to photographic clear outs. It quite amazing what you collect over the years. Thinking this and that will come in handy. Especially when it comes to collecting single images for reference material. My best storage strategy is to scan everything and keep it digitally. Although it becomes slightly time consuming it does free up clutter (which reminds me I really need to scan that pile of pics on the side). 

Last week I was on the receiving end of a good friend clear out and I acquired some real fantastic item. I know own a tower of great photography books that would have been a gold mine for me in my uni days. There is a mixture on solely image books, how to guides, theoretical, reference, magazines and biographies. The tower looks great in my study, makes me look quite the photographic book worm. However I did not agree to take the collection for me, oh know I already have enough of my own photographic clutter. The tower will be donated to my old college who really could benefit from all the fantastic books. While studying at degree level I came to understand how important books are to anyone who seriously wants to engage in their chosen study. Sure the internet is great for researching, but it is vastly unregulated and will only scratch the surface of must subjects. Good books are packed with factual information approved by peers and publishers. Having the advantage of a good library that is filed with everything related to your interest is priceless. I was fortunate in having such a thing dominated by rows of shelfs at my university.