Photoshop :: Using Bridge In CS5 Extended

I am using CS 5 Extended, OS Lion, on an iMac.  Recently used Bridge to sort several hundred 35mm slides that were digitally processed using a professional service.  I transferred the digitized files to a "master" file in Finder on the computer and set up multiple subfolders in Finder to sort the files into easily identifiable events.     I used Bridge like a light table to transfer the individual slides from the "master" file into the individual subfolders. 

In Bridge I can see both the master file and the subfolders in the side window.  In Bridge I transferred the individual sldes from the master file to the correct subfolder using the drag and drop method.  I used Bridge to further sort inside the individual subfolders and rename the files inside the subfolders. When I was done, Bridge did not show any slides in the master file - all files had been transferred to the subfolders.   In Finder I can still see all the files in the "master file" and also all the files that have been transferred to the subfolders.  Bridge still will not "see" any files in the "master file".  In Finder, are the files in the subfolders "copies'?  Is this a proper way to use Bridge for sorting ?  In there a better method?