Do you organize and scrutinize your photos to find out exactly what triggered a “blank” photo? Do you make note of the time of every good animal photo to help with patterning?
Right now I bring home the cards and copy the photos to a folder with the date that I checked the camera for a file name.
Over the last couple years I have lost track of the where’s & when’s of most of my trail camera images so this year I started a spreadsheet to help keep things in order and easier to look over in the future.
The spreadsheet has columns for:
“Check Date & Time” so I know when I checked it last.
“Camera” for which trail camera or brand.
“Camera Date & Time” since I often forget to reset the clock.
“Actual Date & Time” to adjust off times and dates.
“Photo” for the photo name with a hyperlink to the photo.
“Animal” for generic titles such as bear, deer, etc.
“Notes” for more detailed descriptions.
It is a work in progress and I may add or subtract columns as time goes on…or I may just give it up. Ha ha.
The other day I was scrolling through 1,500 photos and only 15 contained animals. The rest were from the grass moving around the camera. But I carefully looked at each and every one in order to make sure that I didn’t miss something.
I noticed one 3-shot burst that did not contain much grass and upon further scrutiny, I noticed the leg in left side of the photo.
While it is not really a photo I want to keep, I did note the date and time in the spreadsheet to help me track deer movement through this location.
I also “attach” some photos into my GPS software by linking up the image to a waypoint. This allows me to took over the map and easily pull up photos related to the area.
Anybody have any other ideas or methods for keeping trailcam photos organized or for patterning critters?
