[Shotwell] 100% CPU consumption

[Titus von der Malsburg <malsburg posteo de>]

Hi list,

I'm a happy Shotwell user with a photo library containing around 3000
photos that I took over the last two years.  I really like Shotwell's
simplicity and straightforwardness.  However, now I encounter a problem
that renders Shotwell pretty much unusable.  When I start the program
(on Ubuntu 14.04) the GUI comes up and Shotwell consumes 100% of one CPU
core.  Shotwell continues to keep this core busy even if I wait a long
time and the GUI is only partly responsive: I can look at pictures and
change folders but when I empty the trash, the GUI hangs.  Likewise,
it's not possible to import images from my camera (used to work).  I see
the message "Starting import" but nothing happens.

Is this a known problem?  If yes, how can I fix it?

Please let me know if you need further information.

Thank you!

  Titus