I don't know about you but I cannot believe that 2009 is already heading into the home stretch and will soon be over. It’s amazing how quickly time flies and even more amazing how much we just don't seem to get done when we plan to. As we all evaluate what we have accomplished this year ask yourself if one of those things is cataloging your pictures and your memories for years to come.
Chances are if you are like me the answer would be no. So before we have to make holiday plans, and soon after resolutions for 2010. Let's review our year in pictures. Do you still have all the pictures from last holiday season on your camera's memory card? Why?, Isn't it time to start printing our digital files and creating a book of memories from them? Most of you might be saying why?, And shaking your head. I mean really, I have all my files stored right where I can find them, share them and put them neatly away. Honestly, that was my attitude just a few weeks ago, until I received an order from this one customer who wanted me to print a scrapbook page for her.
As with most things, you need to go back to go forward. So here we go, in 1999 just 10 years ago. WOW, really? Film was King! Digital was in its infancy and a “new fangled” digital camera would cost you about $1000 for a 2 megapixel model that weighed as much as your head. Today those cameras are completely obsolete. Most people have a higher megapixel camera on their phone and it fits in your pocket.
Back in 1999 and 2000, the world was a different place. People still shot film, you had to buy a 24 or 36 exposure per roll of film before you could start snapping away. A roll of film would cost you about $3 and the prints would cost you about $7 or so. You had to print them all and most would make double sets to share with others.
Today with literally hundreds of shots available on a single media card that fits in the palm of your hand, I wonder if we have become jaded just a little. While people still make prints, we see them only making prints of the certain images. The others are destined for the trash bin or worse yet, a CD, DVD or hard drive for permanent storage without ever being printed. Some folks would argue that “I can just view them anytime I want on the computer”. Well yes, you can but I believe that people are so much into the “now” that they forget the media they stored their pix on is already outdated when they put it away. With computers updating their processors once every 18 months or so, eventually the media we are storing our pictures on will have to change to keep up. Think about it, how many of you have old VHS tapes or betamax tapes of your kids growing up, and don't have a VCR to play them on?
Think about it, in 100 years will your family know where they came from if you keep all your images on an antiquated 2 gig CF card, CD, DVD or event a hard drive formatted for a 2009 technology? The answer is No. They may not even be able to read the media. Just 25 years ago computers didn’t have a hard drive the internet was a dream and Microsoft was just a baby.
I mean really, when was the last time you seen a “floppy disk”? You know the 1980’s floppy disks, referenced in movies like “ Weird Science” . They were 5 ¼ inches in size, and they held a killer 1.4 megabytes of information. If those were the top of the line then, imagine where CD’s and DVD’s will be in 100 years.
So how can we avoid this techno – trap? As with many things in life, we can look at our past to give something to the future. Consider actually printing those images that have been trapped on your media cards. Afterwards, take up one of the really great pass times; put those images into a family album.
Everyday, we are surrounded by images, bombarded really, on the internet, TV, Newspapers, even in our junk mail. They are everywhere but they aren’t as important as those photos we take personally. It seems though that we view these most important images, less than the ones we are subjected to in the media. Why is that? I submit that the digital age has jaded us. It has somehow devalued our images. Oh sure, we value the people and places in those images but printing and displaying them in a book or family gallery has become a cliché. It's the “old” way of doing things; well maybe the old way of doing things is not so bad. Maybe that’s why it’s called “old” it has earned the right! When something works why fix it?
This doesn’t mean that you can’t combine the old and the new however. Recently we printed an order that I received from a very proud Grandmother. She had begun scrap booking digital photos of her grandchildren. It reminded me of when I was a kid my mom had these great photo albums. They were big and thick, had heavy black paper and those cool picture corners to hold the photos in place. She even had a white pen so that she could write anything she wanted on the black pages. It was the pre-cursor to today's digital scrap booking.
Now I have known about scrap booking for some time let's face it I am not a kid anymore. I never really thought about it though until I seen this order. Here’s an industry that is dedicated to preserving your digital images in a medium that will endure. The Scrap booking industry has become the digital heirloom generator for today’s electronic images. The scrap booking houses that provide supplies for all those that use them have begun to flourish as the last bastion of the family photo and not a minute too soon.
In this digital age, people of all ages are using these places and the internet to make specialized layouts, search out special fonts, shapes and whole pages that they can use for their families’ scrap book. They are intertwined their own digital images, with whole pages of text used to describe their feelings, emotions and excitement about the photos contained within.
When I seen this order I thought, “this is the way to pass on a legacy”. This is what the future holds in the world of digital photography for our families. A Hundred years from now this book will still be there, providing valuable photos, writings, expressions and the thoughts and feelings of those created it. The pages will contain names, places, dates, special vacations and how the people experienced them. What a great way to provide a history that is rich in information for your progeny. All the goofy faces and summers in the sun will be there for generations to not only view but experience.
No longer trapped in their electronic state, these digital images can be released and start a whole new legacy. Guys and gals, get your kids, review some of those old electronic pictures 1 night a week and choose some to print. Have the kids lay out a page or two themselves, write what it is that they enjoy about the pictures and put them into a scrap book. Not only will the time you spend with your kids be incredibly more valuable than watching TV, it will be a cherished memory, bound in a book years after your media files are no longer accessable. Aloha
- Aloha
