Sep 07 2017

What To Do When Disaster Strikes Your Photos

This article was first published on Calgary Photo Solutions. Thank you to Kathy Stone for sharing this important information with us.

“When our house flooded, it wasn’t losing the TV or furniture that bothered us most, it was the memories. We captured our memories in photos and although our thoughts could conjure up moments that were special, losing the physical picture was beyond traumatic to us.” – Martha K., resident of High River, AB (June 2013)

Floods, tornados, hurricanes, and wildfires seem to be occurring with greater frequency in recent years, and often our priceless photos and albums are the victims of these events. Or our photos are damaged by more mundane events such as leaky pipes, burst hot water heaters, and sewer backups. When these events occur, you need help and information right away.

This post provides tips for what to do when disaster strikes so you can reduce damage and increase the chances of salvaging your photos and albums. If you suddenly find yourself faced with wet, damaged photos and albums, here’s what you need to know to reduce damage to your photos and recover your precious images once the emergency is over.

What NOT to Do When Disaster Strikes

First, it’s important to know what NOT to do:

Don’t throw away your wet, muddy or damaged photos or albums!
Don’t dry photos in their albums, in envelopes, or stacked together.
Don’t dry photos in a place with bright sunlight, wind, or dust.
Don’t dry wet photos without rinsing off mud and debris.
Don’t rub the photo surface with your fingers or a cloth.
Don’t pry wet or dry photos apart.
Don’t use cleaning solvents of any kind on photos.
Don’t use heat sources to dry photos (hairdryer, oven, microwave, etc.)
Don’t dry photos on printed newspapers or similar materials.

If your photos were damaged in storm, you need to follow this advice. #saveyourphotos Click To Tweet

First Things First

What to do first:

Wear gloves and a mask when handling wet photos and albums – particularly in cases of natural disasters or sewage back up.
Remove wet envelopes, folders, album covers and dispose of them.
Remove plastic covers and sleeves from photos where possible.
Put your wet photos and albums in plastic bags and freeze them. If possible, layer wax paper between individual photos or between album pages.
If you don’t have access to a freezer, put photos and albums in sealed plastic bags to try and keep them from drying out completely. These must be cleaned within 48 hours, as mold will begin to grow.
Focus first on the photos that you know have no digital backup or negatives.
Focus on the photos with the least amount of damage first.
If you have very old heritage photos, you may want to contact a professional photo restoration service. A Certified Photo Organizer can assist you in finding one.
Members of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers can help you with recovering your photos. Locate one in your area here.

How to Clean Your Photos

Gather the supplies and materials needed. (see below)
Take safety precautions. (see below)
Plan the order of cleaning and drying your photos: wet first, then frozen, then dry. Framed photos first, then prints with no negatives or damaged negatives, negatives, then all other prints.
Thaw frozen photos in small batches at room temperature out of plastic bags.
Scan or photograph photos that are stuck to glass or album pages, or that have significant damage BEFORE you clean them.
Remove photos from albums or glass frames – this may require soaking in clean water.
If photos are stuck together, soak in water until they can be separated.
Test your cleaning process on a few, less important photos first – do this for each kind of printed photo
Rinse photos one at a time in clean, room temperature tap water. Gently rub any stuck dirt or debris with a soft brush, or swish in water if the emulsion is damaged.
Once dirt and debris are removed, swish the photo in clean, room temperature distilled water.
Change the water frequently.
Shake off excess water, and lay prints flat on layers of clean newsprint to dry. Photos can also be hung by a corner with a plastic clip to dry.
Wait until prints are completely dry before stacking them.
Once dry, flatten under heavy books.
Scan the dry photos to create a digital back up copy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does freezing the photos do?

If you don’t have time to deal with your photos and albums immediately, freezing them halts the biggest threat to the destruction of photos – mold. Freezing doesn’t kill the mold, but it stops it from progressing. When you thaw out the photos to clean, the mold will start to grow again, so thaw your photos in manageable batches, not all at once.

Can I keep photos I have cleaned and dried?

It depends. There is no way to kill the mold on photos. It will dry and particles may stay on your photos. Placed in another situation with moisture (e.g. a humid house), the mold may grow again. I recommend that you scan the cleaned photos and dispose of the prints.

If I follow these steps, will I be able to save all my photos?

These tips are your best chance to salvage your photos and albums, but there are no guarantees. Some photos and albums survive floods with surprisingly little damage, some may be completely destroyed, and others will be somewhere in between. In addition, some types of photos are more easily damaged by water than others; Inkjet prints, for example, usually do not survive any time submerged in water. Fortunately, however, Inkjet prints have usually been printed from digital files, and can hopefully be recovered from the original file.

Resources and References

For detailed information on the cleaning process, please consult the following reference documents:

“Recommendations for cleaning and restoring damaged photos and albums.” FujiFilm Corporation

“A Consumer Guide for the Recovery of Water-Damaged Traditional and Digital Prints.” Image Permanence Institute with support from Creative Memories

“Photo Recovery” FlipPal Mobile Scanners

More information on saving damaged photos can be found on Calgary Photo Solutions Pinterest Board

Materials and Supplies

Work tables
Gloves (latex or nitrile), rubber gloves, cotton gloves
Respiratory masks
Tyvek® suit or old clothing
Safety goggles
Plastic bins
Freezer bags, plastic bags, and garbage bags
Wax paper
Scissors, utility knife, pliers
Soft brushes
Microfiber cloths
Cotton swabs, cotton balls
Spatula (plastic or rubber)
Distilled water
Drying tables or hanging racks
Plastic clothes pins or plastic-coated clips
Clothes lines
Blotting paper, clean newsprint, plain paper towels
Masking tape, note paper, paper clips (plastic)
Permanent ink markers (such as sharpies), pencils
Empty photo boxes or shoeboxes
Negative envelopes
Scanner
Camera
Glass or Plexiglas
Heavy books

Safety Precautions

Wear gloves – rubber gloves for handling bags and containers of wet photos, taking albums apart, etc.; and surgical gloves for cleaning.
Protect your clothing.
Wear a mask.
Wear goggles.
Work in a well-ventilated area away from children and pets.

© Calgary Photo Solutions, 2017

We also invite you to visit our sister blog The Photo Organizers for more tips and in-depth knowledge from some of the top photo organizing industry professionals. To find a photo organizer near you, visit the Association of Personal Photo Organizers.

Kathy Stone, a Certified Personal Photo Organizer, founded Calgary Photo Solutions to help people preserve their photos and stories by providing a range of photo organizing services. Kathy has been helping people organize and enjoy their printed and digital photos for over 17 years. During severe flooding in Southern Alberta in 2013, Kathy saved thousands of photos for several families. She is a Certified Adult Educator, and has presented at the Association of Personal Photo Organizers Conferences in 2014 and 2016, provided digital and print photo training to numerous groups and individuals, and spoken to individuals and organizations about the importance of photo preservation

Sep 06 2017

We Have to Evacuate! How Do I Keep My Photos Safe?

If you’re looking at evacuating ahead of a storm, there isn’t time to scan your photo collection. You need to focus on ensuring the safety of your family and preparing your home as much as possible.

What To Do Before The Storm Hits

Here are some basic steps you can implement before the storm hits to give your photos the best possible chance of surviving the storm dry and intact.

Backup

Backup your computers and hard drives, including your photo collections. Keep a copy of your backup secure in the cloud. Bring your backup drive with you, and store another copy at a friend’s house that is out of the storm’s path.

Find Your Photos

Do a sweep through your basement, first floor, and garage. Do you have boxes or bins of memories stored there? Are your albums on a low bookshelf or coffee table? What about framed photos on walls or mantles? Gather them up so you can protect them. Children may be able to help with this step.

Protect Your Printed Photos

Wrap photos in double layers of plastic, sealed tight. This could mean zip-top bags or a plastic garbage bag sealed with duct tape. Smaller baggies secured inside a larger garbage bag is a good system. If any of your frames have sharp edges, pad them, so they don’t rip the bags. Don’t forget to LABEL THEM. As an added precaution, you can put the wrapped packages in a plastic bin.

Plastic bins may be water resistant but are not water tight. Floods can lift and carry heavy boxes, and can tip them over, so the water gets in. Make sure everything in the bins is wrapped in plastic.

You can put a few desiccant packs (like the ones that come in shoe boxes) in the container, making sure the photos are wrapped up separately and protected from any chemicals.

Get To Higher Ground

Move the bins of wrapped up photos to the highest level of your home and choose an upper shelf of a bedroom closet or any closet on an upper floor. A closet will keep bins from floating around or tipping.

Above all stay safe, and we wish you all the best as you weather the storm and its aftermath. Visit saveyourphotos.org to learn what to do after the storm with any water damaged photos.

Kathy Rogers loves photos and the stories behind them. Since 2012, as the founder and CEO of Baltimore Photo Solutions, she has been helping others to preserve their photos and share their legacies. She is a certified photo organizer and APPO member.

Kathy’s first career was in health care. She brings lessons learned from her public health training into her photo books for families dealing with dementia and now, in blogging about disaster preparedness.

We Have to Evacuate! How Do I Keep My Photos Safe? | SaveYourPhotos.org

Sep 06 2016

Stop Waiting and Start Saving Your Photos

Learning from personal experience, Lisa Luken of SimpleJoyLiving.com, wants you to commit to saving your photos today.

If you’re like millions of others, you have photos. And lots of them. Prints and slides buried in boxes that you inherited from relatives. Digital images that are hanging out on flash cards, CDs, old computers and hard drives. And maybe you even have some slides and old home videos mixed in there too.

I’m guessing that at some point, you’ve thought about doing something with these precious memories. Maybe you got excited about organizing them initially. Then maybe you started to think about how to do it, which led to thoughts about how overwhelming and time consuming the project would be, so you never got started.

If this sounds like you, let me first reassure you that you are not alone!

And second, I’d like to share with you a personal story…

When I was 15, my family lost our house in a tornado that destroyed most of our town and took the lives of 29 people. The storm came without warning and left me caught in a car riding out the storm in the driveway. In a mere 10 seconds, my life was drastically changed.

The storm passed as quickly as it came. After making my way into what was left of our house and discovering that my sisters and dog were okay (they ran to the basement when the power went out), I was suddenly responsible for figuring out what to do next.

Standing there in the midst of what was left of our home, I caught a glimpse of my mom’s favorite pictures, our baby pictures, still hanging on a wall that remained standing. I immediately knew that we needed to find any pictures we could and take them with us. That is what we would save…

Everything else was just stuff…stuff that could be replaced and that, in the big picture, really didn’t matter. Even at the age of 15, in the midst of a devastating life-changing event, I knew this. And I knew that the pictures were what was worth saving.

Everything else was just stuff that could be replaced & I knew that the pictures were what was worth saving. #saveyourphotos Click To Tweet

Our photos tell the stories of our lives – where we came from, what we’ve experienced and who we’ve ‘done life with.’ They take us back to the good old days. They make us smile and laugh. They teach us about what life was like before us. And possibly most importantly, they are gifts to future generations.

Although I didn’t have the opportunity to prepare in advance for the tornado, you have the ability to do so right now. I strongly encourage you to stop waiting and start saving your photos. I was blessed with the chance to save many of them after, but many people aren’t so lucky.

If you’re one of the many individuals like me that would choose to grab your pictures after saving your people and your pets, I encourage you to organize and preserve your memories now.

Completing your project is possible. Yes, it will take time…but I invite you to consider the time you spend working on this project as a gift to future generations.

What if instead of spending time out shopping for another “thing” for your family members, you instead pulled out “that box” and begin sorting photos? Or what if you spend that time telling and documenting the stories that only you know? This is a gift that only you can give. And it’s far more valuable than any “thing” that can be purchased at a store.

There are numerous resources available to help you start saving your photos. Visit www.saveyourphotos.org and thephotoorganizers.com for ideas and inspiration. Find resources and partners in your community. Make the project fun by planning a photo-sorting family gathering. Or find some friends who also have “that box” buried in their closet and schedule a routine time to work together on your projects. You can do it!

Lisa Luken offers Life Coaching, Professional Home & Photo Organizing and Speaking services. She supports others in creating SIMPLE, finding JOY and LIVING a life they love by working with them to get focused and take action on the parts of their life that are not simple.

Lisa has experienced both unintentional and intentional simplifying of her home and life and she knows what it feels like to be overwhelmed with having too much stuff. She also knows what it’s like to find freedom through simplifying and loves sharing her insight and knowledge to guide others on their journey toward a simpler, more fulfilling life.

For ideas, inspiration and to learn more about Lisa’s own personal simplifying journey, visit her website and blog at www.SimpleJoyLiving.com.

Aug 10 2016

How to Backup Photos While Traveling

This is a guest contribution from Chantal Imbach of Simply In Order

Do you know anybody who doesn’t take photos while traveling? Well, certainly not me! Modern technology enables us to take photos very easily and we often not only use a digital camera but also our phone or other devices to take photos.

However, these things can easily get lost, stolen, or damaged and you might lose all of those precious photos you took (possibly even those taken before your trip if you haven’t got a backup system in place). So, what can you do to keep your photos safe and backed up during your trip?

Below are some options for various needs and budgets. Just go through the list and find which method suits you most. You may even vary between methods from one trip to another depending on where you go.

Photo organizers recommend that you save three copies of a photo. This might not always be realistic while traveling but keep it in mind. Also, downloading your photos to a backup place and then deleting the photos on your camera is not a backup – it’s just a relocation of your photos!

Technology changes all the time so please do your own research with regards to the equipment you need.

Backup from a Phone

To the cloud (automatically or manually)

If you’ve got internet access it is a great way to backup your photos. Especially because we recommend that you not only have three copies of a photo but also in two different locations.

I recommend checking out two of APPO’s partners – either Forever or Mylio.

Dropbox has worked well for me in the past. There are of course lots of other services such as iCloud, Google+, OneDrive, etc.

A word of caution: read the small print of all providers before you make a choice. As an example: there are some who will charge you if you want to download your photos from their cloud service or with some of them you won’t get back the original resolution or you might have to download them one by one.

To a portable hard drive with WiFi

Together with the right app (depending on your phone) you can upload your photos wirelessly to a portable hard drive. An example is Seagate Wireless Plus.

To a portable hard drive without WiFi

This is a bit trickier because you will need a computer via which you can copy your photos to (see below how to do this). Don’t shy away from the idea of using a portable hard drive. I use Seagate all the time and they’re really light and small; perfect to carry around.

To a computer

If you take a laptop on your trip you simply need to connect your phone to your computer and copy your photos. To be even safer you could then copy the images to an external hard drive or USB to backup your computer – et voilà: you’ve got your three copies.

You may also use a computer in a hotel business centre or in an internet café if you travel without your own.

To a USB flash drive for smartphones and tablets

There are various USB flash drives which you can connect directly to your phone and download your photos to. They come in various sizes and are pretty easy to carry around. This is definitely a favourite of mine.

Examples are the PictureKeeper, SanDisk iXpand, or SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive.

As an option you can also buy adapters to connect your phone with a regular USB flash drive.

To a tablet

The fastest way if you don’t have internet access is probably to use Airdrop, which creates a peer-to-peer network. SHAREit works similarly.

To an SD card

Some Android phones actually include a mini SD card. Make sure in the settings that this is where the photos are stored. If you want to transfer photos from the SD card please see below for options.

iPhones cannot export or copy photos from the phone directly to an SD card. It is only possible via a computer.

Backup from a Camera Memory Card

Remove the memory card from your camera (or your Android phone) and use a card reader to import the photos to a computer, your phone, a tablet, or another mobile device. Make sure you have the correct reader/s and adapters with you.

If a computer and a portable hard drive is too much to carry along, a memory card backup system like Nexto DI or Hyperdrive might be the ideal solution. They are like a hard drive with slots for the memory cards and come with a display as well.

Backup from a Camera via USB Connection

Connect the camera to a computer via the USB cable and copy your photos. While you’re at it, you could make another copy to an external hard drive or to the cloud if you have internet access.

Wireless Backup from a Camera Memory Card

Invest in an Eye-Fi memory card which can transfer photos wirelessly to your device or computer. Keep in mind that the camera will have to be powered on while photos are transferred which requires battery power.

Once you have copied the photos from your camera to a computer or other device, you can use the above-mentioned tips to back these up.

Before You Travel

Work out a backup plan that suits your needs.
Make sure you have all the necessary equipment formatted correctly (especially portable hard disks).
Don’t forget at least one international power adapter.
Think about how you want to transport these things so they stay organized and safe. I like zip lock bags (protects against humidity and dirt at the same time). Also try to keep the camera away from the backup.
Make sure all your cameras always have the correct date/time setting (of the time zone you’re in when taking the photo). It will make your life a lot easier because you will automatically have the correct chronological order (especially if you use several cameras and devices).
Once your trip has started, keep in mind to set aside some time to backup your photos regularly.
Enjoy your holiday!

After Your Trip

Remember, these backups are meant to happen while you’re traveling. If one of the copies you made is now already in your photo hub (e.g. if you used Forever or Mylio) it will save you the time to download everything again. If they are not in your usual hub yet, you’ll have to download your photos as soon as possible and use your usual photo management workflow.

2013_04_08_Chantal – Version 3 — Chantal Imbach

Living in a beautiful but also very fire prone area outside Melbourne (Australia) has triggered Chantal Imbach’s passion for keeping photo collections safe and organized so they can be passed on to future generations in a meaningful way.

Starting out as a home declutterer and organizer, she has now specialized in digital photo organizing and shares more of her tips in her blog at Simply In Order.

Aug 03 2016

3 Things You MUST Know About Cloud Storage

This is a guest contribution from Shelley Murray, Executive Sales Director of Forever

In the hustle and bustle of our digital age, we are often too quick to click the checkmark on the Terms of Service field when signing up for things online. But, have you ever stopped to read the pages and pages of conditions to which you are agreeing?

Our family photos are among our greatest possessions. Yet, we freely upload them to “The Cloud” without even thinking about whether or not they are truly safe there. Over the last 3 years, I have worked with numerous clients, helping them get their photos organized and preserved permanently. I have had first hand experience with Shutterfly, Flicker, MyLife, Google, Amazon, Dropbox, Walgreens, Costco and Apple iCloud. And I’ve been shocked by what I’ve learned about these cloud storage sites. When I outline the three biggest reasons why, my customers are usually just as shocked.

It’s amazing how trusting we tend to be, and how quickly we fall for the word “free”. Lets take a look at these 3 crucial points:

#1 – No Privacy or Security: Digital Rights & Data Mining

This is important. When you upload your photos to these sites, they immediately claim ownership of the digital rights to your photos. To my knowledge, all cloud storage sites are like this, with the exception of Dropbox.

To follow are some excerpts from the Terms of Service from several popular photo storage companies as of Feb. 2016:

Google: “When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host store, reproduce, modify, communicate and publicly display such content.” Also, “Our automated systems analyze your content (including emails). … This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored.”

Nothing is free!

Membership at these sites is costing you your privacy. Once they own the digital rights to your photos, you become the product that they are selling. Yes, you are both the customer and the product. They are selling your habits, your interests, and your personal information as marketing collateral to large companies. Your information is extremely valuable for these billion dollar companies; it’s how they became billion dollar companies in the first place. The more photos you upload, the more money they make by watching what you do with those photos. A friend of mine uploaded photos to Amazon of her kids playing soccer and wearing Under Armor. Next thing you know, she began receiving all kinds of advertisements from Under Armor. Data-mining your life is the reason why these companies are so profitable and successful.

#2 – No Permanence

Do you trust that your photos will be available on these sites tomorrow? You should. Yet, according to the Terms of Service, there are no guarantees.

iCloud: “Apple may at any time, under certain circumstances and without prior notice, immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Account.”

Shutterfly: “We may terminate your access to our Sites and Apps and to your account at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice.”

Drop Box: “We also reserve the right to suspend or end the Services at any time at our discretion and without notice.”

In the last 10 years, three photo sites have terminated my account and taken down my photos: Kodak, Creative Memories and most recently Costco. They did give me warning, but I never got around to downloading the photos and double-checking to ensure I had a second copy. Though I am pretty sure that I did have a second copy available digitally, others may not be so lucky. According to the terms of service, this termination can happen without any notice.

#3 – No Succession Plan

What happens to your photos if you die? Will your loved ones know which sites they are store on? What about the passwords? What if you have them stored on a site in which you pay a monthly fee? Will your family know to continue paying that bill for the next 50 years? What happens if your monthly payments are not made? Yes, your account will be terminated. Your photos, taken down. Sadly your photos will not outlive you; none of these sites guarantee a succession plan. Basically, according all of the available Terms of Service, these accounts terminate upon your death and they cannot be transferred to anyone else.

iCloud: “You agree that your Account is non-transferable and that any rights to your Content within your Account terminate upon your death.

The three points I have outlined above are so very important when it comes to deciding where and how you will store your precious family photos. I am not going to leave you here without giving you a solution to this problem. At Forever, we have been busy for the last three years creating a company and pledging Terms of Service that are beneficial to our members. We have taken all of these considerations in mind and have provided the solution that we ourselves would look for in a Terms of Service. My team and I have helped to create a place to keep my own photos permanently, privately, and securely. Yet, I also want to share them with my family and friends and have easy access to them on all my devices. Forever.com meets all of these needs and desires.

Forever.com offers a permanent digital home for your precious photos, documents and soon video. With Forever, you purchase an account and become a member by making a one-time payment (or, if you choose, it can be paid off over time.) Once a member, you own the digital rights to all the content you upload; we do not. We will never sell your information to third parties, your account will never be terminated, and we have instituted a succession plan, so that your future grandchildren and great grandchildren will be able to enjoy your treasured memories.

Think of Forever as a photo insurance company. When you purchase your account, the majority of that money goes right into a fully-restricted fund that is used to maintain your photos on our site. It also pays for any possible file format migrations that may be necessary as technology changes. Right now we normally save our photos as JPEGs, but it will surely be a different, more advanced format in the future. So, 100 years from now, your ancestors will be able to enjoy your photos in whatever format they are using at that time. As you can see, Forever gives you all the tools you need to collect, curate and celebrate all of your treasured memories.

Take a brief 90 Second Look at Forever

Shelley Murray is an avid memory maker and memory keeper. She has always had a love for photos and scrapbook design. As an executive with Forever, she is passionate about sharing their unique mission with others. She has worn many hats at Forever over the last three years. But, her favorite is simply helping others learn how to organize, preserve and enjoy their photos.