Not folders. Think collections, inside collection sets.

Exactly! And if LR can't find them don't blame it on the operating system. PEBCAK. (Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard)

DON'T import again! Not now, not ever, NEVER. What has clearly happened is LR lost track of where the original files from previous years are stored.

When you are working in LR it doesn't need to read those files until you develop, export, print... During Import LR made previews (lower resolution compressed versions to show you on screen) that it uses exclusively in the Library module and in fact what you see on the screen in the Develop module. LR never modifies the image in the file original. All of your work is stored in the LR catalog. It is still there. All you need to do is tell LR where they are now. When LR has lost track of the files it grays out the folders in the Folders view in the Library module. BTW that display is totally based on the catalog and is not the equivalent of the view in Finder (mac) or Explorer (pc).

So just close LR and open finder and find the year you want. Then open LR right click on the grayed out year and show LR where to find the file. If you have the year but it is not stored in the same file structure anymore then PM me and I bet we can fix that also.

I keep the current year on an SSD to speed up operation and then annually move it to a rotating disk forever. But then I built my PC expressly for LR/PS optimization.

I apologize for the disorganized stream of consciousness and hope it helps.

So close LR

Because my first DSLR a D70s had only one card slot. I do that with my second and current DSLR a D7100. If I were to lust for a D500 the second card slot has an expensive card type for which I would have to buy an expensive adapter. Brilliant!!! EoL, End of Lust.

My Acer netbook will not work with the larger SD drives I now use. But it is perfect for using its Ethernet connection to log on to WiFi routers and modems for setup or debug without some funky phone app. And even though I usually just use the power adapter the aged battery still works!

I am afraid I don't get it. This plug in searches the catalog looking for image files that appear to be duplicates. So the only way for them to get there is to import files twice. Why? If you want to treat it as a different image just make a virtual copy. That creates an additional catalog entry but that use a much smaller amount of memory. In my case a raw file out of the camera averages 30 MB or so the corresponding catalog entry averages 12 KB or so. Around 3,000 times smaller. You see I am a prototypical nerd so I ran too many experiments to determine those numbers. BTW adding a collection or putting and image in several collection adds so little to the catalog that I couldn't come up with a usable number. Anyway I wouldn't bother to delete virtual copies to shrink the catalog. Yes, a trip to PS and back adds a file but I wouldnt call that a duplicate. So what have I missed?

Quiet, don't tell my CFO! We have that "want isn't need" discussion too often! I used the don't ask don't tell technique to buy a new Benro carbon fiber tripod. She thinks such a thing couldn't cost more than $50 so she didn't ask. And I didn't tell...

It does, however, come with a leg wrap on one leg. So it is essentially complete.

Our trip to Barrow actually started at Ketchikan with a small boat cruse to Juneau. We overnighted on land and the boat had stainless steel chines and armored thrusters so it could move through float ice as close to glaciers as safety permits. No need for long lens here. Then Glacier Bay and on to Anchorage area. Then train to Fairbanks stopping overnight at Denali. Then we fly to Barrow. Sometime I realized that my daughter and I had swum in all the oceans except tha Arctic so we decided to wade in. The wisdom of wading was confirmed by the profanity from a group that just dove right in.

The radars were designed here in Syracuse but I never worked on one of those except a few design reviews. However, while we were GE the field service folks worked out of Syracuse while stationed at places like Shemya where it was claimed their was a maiden behind every tree. We operated the radars there back in the 60s and 70s. Some of them were neighbors of mine when they were in town.

More important than having tripod leg wraps is to actually have a tripod when a snowy owl lands on your garage roof. On May 24, 2009 the attached owl (photo actually) landed on the roof at my camp (summer home to non NY types) on the NE corner of Lake Ontario. 44 degrees North which is at the South end of their winter range. I had no tripod and no long lens. Just a D70s w/ 18 - 200 walking around lens. So I used a tree-pod and cropped the result heavily. Not a great photo but good for evidence of my story. I had photographed snowy owls at Barrow in early June 1999 using that film stuff.

BTW The radar at Barrow is the only one of that type in that network that a field service guy can take a commercial airline flight and a cab to visit any time of the year. Excepting ground fog.

(Download)

I have been trying,for what seems like years, to break myself of the habit of trying to crop to 3:2. Which is almost never the final aspect ratio I would want. Ah, for the 4x4 days.

NO

George,

Read and memorize what Bob said. Try not to think or say "into," "move over"... Think instead "catalog".

Also think of operations selected under File Handling, File Renaming... as happening before LR adds the files to it's catalog.

If your question is just LR dosen't include sub folders then there may be an include subfolders box some in the select process. I don't come across that in my workflow. Does every thing you want show up checked before you click Import?

Lightroom is built using a database application. A database is used as a tool to manage your photos an anyway you like and are comfortable with. Unfortunately, unlike a screwdriver, it is not obvious how to use it. I will not presume I what is best for you but let me give you a little advice.
First remember that the files out of your camera are not moved into LR. LR just needs to know where they are. How the files are organized has nothing to do with how you organize them with the catalog. So just get them imported. I now organize them by date taken which I believe is the LR default. I used to add a description to the file name but it is easier and more useful to just add that description as a keyword <Description during import. Instead of trying to use the folder structures with the operating system (Finder for Mac; Explorer for PC) I would add the images to collections in collection sets by the names you would like. Remember you can put an image is multiple collections at almost zero cost in catalog size.
You mentioned using multiple catalogs. One reason for having multiple catalogs is to keep client information separate and confidential. With separate catalogs you can work with a client in LR with no risk of inadvertently seeing another client’s project. Otherwise, there is no real disadvantage to having all your images in a single catalog. Each additional cataloged image adds only 12KB or so to the catalog size. And adding an image to an additional collection grows the catalog so little I cannot estimate the amount. And the size of the image file has absolutely no impact in the catalog size. As to performance a catalog of 110,000 images is just as “snappy” as one of around 1,000 images. I would just keep to a single catalog. I only export to a catalog when I want to collaborate across the continent with my daughter using Dropbox.

I'm still holding out for the D400.

LR uses the edit history in the Catalog(database). LR never modifies the Raw file itself. You can save metadata modifications in a sidecar file that would include the edit history. I don't which is a well thought through choice.

As to raw vs. dng (which the spelling checker changes to dang if there is a message there) I would get a nice coin and flip it.

Yes, it does. I answered my own question. It is from JEFFREY FRIEDL which is a good sign.