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Ryan James Photo
Bay Area Photography Student Kicks DAS and Cleans up His Digital Life
| About Customer |
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| Company name: Ryan James Photo |
| Recommended Model: DS410 |
Recommended Features:
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"This device has truly changed the way I look at storage and organization." - Ryan James Bonoan
The Company
Photography student Ryan James Bonoan at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University became enamored of photography while still in grammar school. It all started with the forbidden fruit of his father’s camera, used to take photos of the family. After his interest had been piqued, he began taking up yearbook projects throughout middle and high school.
At the Academy of Art, his emphasis has been on advertising and illustration, with a style emphasizing editorial and documentary. Having apprenticed with noted food photographer Noel Barnhurst, he aspires to work as a documentary travel photographer creating photo essays. Even while a student, he continues to take on clients as a free-lancer as projects are available. In both 2006 and 2007, he had pieces accepted to be shown in the Academy of Art gallery. In 2007 he received first place in the Art for Commerce in Photography division.
The Challenge
Like many photographers, Ryan quickly found that he needed plenty of storage to proceed.
"RAW files straight from the camera are 28 MB+; as an editorial and documentary photographer you can literally shoot thousands of images for one project and a single post-processed image can easily climb to 1.5 GB and higher," says Ryan.
He began using direct attached storage (DAS) to hold his work, but soon discovered that this approach, though elementary to start with, presented its own difficulties. Among these challenges was the need to constantly have physical access to the disks.
He found he needed a way to not just store, but keep all these images and projects organized. Aspiring to make photography his profession, he needed also to be able to share images with clients and peers, so remote access would become a must.
The Solution
Knowing his passion for photography, a relative suggested that he look at Synology as a better means of storage than his previous DAS setup. After a little research, he settled on the DS410 4100, a four-disk NAS pre-configured with drives. The DiskStation arrived with the volume already created, and ready to plug into his network. He quickly found the DiskStation included a rich feature set, making it more useful than simple DAS.
The USB ports allowed him to easily populate the DiskStation with the images already stored on his various USB disks. He was then able to access the NAS from anywhere within his network without needing to lug drives around.
Remote access is a key ability of any NAS, and File Station offers a simple interface to upload or download files when on the go. Additionally, DSM (DiskStation Manager) 3.0 and the DS photo+ apps (available for iPhone® and Android) made it easy to access photos.
"The ability to remotely upload and download files through File Station via desktop or smart phone," he says. "This becomes handy when I need to back up files and also have the ability to give clients time-sensitive files. Plus, the volume will grow with me easily without increasing disorder. This is something I couldn’t do with my old DAS setup."
He even found that the included DLNA server has been a boon. When working with large prints, he found that, by streaming them to his Xbox or PlayStation3, he could preview them on his HDTV.
As Ryan finishes his studies and progresses as professional photographer, Ryan has the peace of mind knowing that the DiskStation can grow with his needs. Synology offers easy methods to expand his storage on the fly; a feat he never could have accomplished with his old DAS solution. Synology is proud to work with Ryan as he moves forward in his career.
To book Ryan or to simply view his portfolio, visit his site here: http://www.ryanjamesphoto.com