Safeguard Archives - Page 2 of 5

Jul 30 2016

Remember the Fire Drills from Your School Days?

This is a guest contribution by Debra Benbow of Big River Photo Solutions

Raise your hand if you’ve ever done a Photo Fire Drill. I don’t think most of us have even given it any thought, and I’m talking about myself, too. It has always been one of those “I need to do that sometime” tasks. Well, last summer I was put on the spot, and “sometime” was here!

We live in Central Washington State, and if you keep up with the news, you know we’ve had our share of wild fires…big wild fires that level entire forests, wildlands, and towns. It was June 2015, early in the season, and as I was driving home, I noticed smoke on one of the hills surrounding the Wenatchee Valley. I figured the fire fighters were on it, and it would be out in no time. Then the winds kicked up, and it started spreading very quickly. Evacuations were happening by the minute, and when it looked like we might be in the path of it, I decided it was time to gather all things photo related as well as important documents. Well, it was certainly an eye-opener! You see, I had been a Creative Memories Consultant since 1990, and you know what that means! Yep, I had dozens of 4-inch thick scrapbooks, boxes of loose photos and memorabilia, photos on walls, negatives, slides, and family video tapes. Then there were computers, EHD’s, and CD’s. I think you get the picture (no pun intended). It took me over an hour to gather everything into one place! I called my husband at work and told him he really needed to come home, just in case. He would be so proud of my efficiency! Everything was packed and ready to go into the truck. I guess you can imagine how devastated I was when he announced, “You really need to do something about all those pictures.” My defensive reaction was, “WHAT!!!! This is over forty-five years of our family’s memories! We are not leaving one thing behind!”

Once the danger had passed and I came to my senses, I realized that he was right. Not only did it take me over an hour to gather everything, but later I discovered I had even missed some very important things. It would have been a struggle to fit it all in our one small truck and one car. And, oh yeah, we needed room for the drivers and the cat! I know a couple of people who lost their homes in that same fire, and they literally had less than fifteen minutes notice to get out. Had I been in that situation, we would have lost it all.

I have made the commitment to scan all those albums, other loose photos, memorabilia, and important documents so I can back them up to my Forever account. It’s a huge job, and I’m still working diligently on it, but I’m making progress. I’m grateful that my experience last summer was only a fire drill and not the real thing.

The Five P’s of Immediate Evacuation

People and Pets — And other livestock too
Papers – Important documents and financial records
Prescriptions – Pills and eyeglasses
Pictures – Irreplaceable memories
Personal Computer – Information on hard drives and disks

For more information on disaster preparedness: http://www.justincasearizona.com/be-informed/natural-disasters/wildfires.asp

Debra Benbow is the owner of Big River Photo Solutions, LLC of Wenatchee, WA.

Her passion for photos began as a young child when she would spend hours looking through her family’s boxes of photos.

As a Creative Memories Consultant for over 25 years, she enjoyed helping people tell their stories and protect their photos. She started Big River Photo Solutions in 2013 and is a Certified Photo Organizer and member of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO). Debra specializes in scanning and photo organization.

She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband of forty-five years, is a Master Gardener, photographer, and mom to three grown children, and has five adorable grandchildren.

Jul 21 2016

Enjoy Your Photos Now

This is a guest contribution by Cheryl DiFrank of My Memory File

Over the 21 years that I have known my husband, he has given me several pieces of very nice jewelry. Some of them were expensive so I diligently hide them in my underwear drawer to keep them safe, and to eventually hand down to my children, because the pieces are so special and meaningful. But I hardly ever wear them. Some of them my children have never even seen. Unfortunately, I have never gotten in the habit of wearing diamonds to a PTA meeting or when I’m working from my home office. So I just keep them safe, knowing that they will make someone very happy one day.

The question is: Why do I hide such special things away when I could be enjoying them now, sharing their stories with my kids now? Wouldn’t they be more meaningful to my husband, myself and my children if they could see me wearing them now and knew the stories of when I received them?

Does the same thing happen to your photos? We take thousands of photos every year to preserve all these wonderful memories and stories. Hopefully we organize and backup all the photos to keep them safe for our children and grandchildren. But when was the last time you actually went back and looked at the photos you took from the last birthday party, or that fantastic vacation? Did you share the photos with your kids so you could all relive it together? Or, like the jewelry, do you just make sure the photos are safe and you’ll get around to looking at them later, and handing down a photo collection of yours and your children’s lives, many of which they have never even seen?

Often the only reason we even download the photos is to regain storage space on our phone or camera memory card, a message that we inevitably get just minutes before the recital or the birthday party. So then we hurriedly download months of photos while the rest of the family is waiting in the car, heading for the next photo-worthy event. Going back and leisurely looking at the photos ends up on the to-do list right between “organize sock drawer” and “teach the dog to use the toilet.” We think: The photos will be there. I can look at them when I retire. Hopefully I’ll remember who everyone is.

Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy the photos now? My kids love looking at photos of themselves when they were young. They love reliving old vacations and birthdays. And let’s face it, I like seeing photos of myself before the gray hairs appeared. So is there an easy way to view and enjoy your photos now? Yes! There are several! A couple that you can even do while you’re reading this. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Enjoy Your Photos

One caveat…. To really enjoy your photos (and not end up seeing 15 variations of the same shot, or all those pictures your daughter took of her brother’s tongue), the first step needs to be a certain amount of editing. If you are an average digital photographer, you cannot help but click the shutter at least three times every time you take a photo, just to make sure you got the shot, and just in case the first (or second, or third) one was out of focus. You need to edit down to the best shot of each sequence, take out the tongue photos and any other photos that are out of focus or just not worth keeping. Once you’ve gotten down to the selection of the best photos, consider your options to enjoy and share them.

Traditional Picture Frames

Traditional picture frames may seem very old-fashioned in our high-tech world. But I smile every time I walk by the photos sitting on the piano or hanging on the wall. I also like to change the photos in the frames periodically. My family notices when a photo in a frame has been changed, and they always comment on the event in the photo. Find inexpensive frames at stores like Marshalls, TJ Maxx or Home Goods and then it’s easy to print out a few photos from a fun event or from the previous year and swap out the photos in the frames.

A Computer Slideshow

There are several software and online options for making easy (or more complex) slideshows. In addition, both Mac and PC computers have resident software that allows you to make a simple slideshow in seconds. In iPhoto or Photos on a Mac, simply create an album and put all the photos you want to view into the album. Hit the play button to view your slideshow full screen. If you don’t use iPhoto or Photos, but have all your edited photos in a single folder or directory, just highlight/select all the photos you want to view in your slideshow and double-click one of them, or select File->Open to open them all in Preview, the Mac photo viewing software. Once the photos are open in Preview, select View->Slideshow to view a full-screen slideshow of the photos.

On a PC, open the folder of photos you want to view and double click on the first photo in the folder. It should open up in the resident photo viewing software on your computer (probably “Windows Viewer” or “Windows Live”). At the bottom of the screen you can use the right or left arrows to move through the photos or you can click on the small slide show icon in the bottom left, or click on the “slide show” button at the top of the screen. Both will start a full-screen slideshow. Roll your mouse down at the bottom of the screen to get a play or pause button to start or stop the show. To exit the slideshow, hit the “esc” key on your keyboard.

Digital Frame

The only downside to a slideshow on your computer is that for more than one person to view it, you need to crowd around your computer screen. A portable laptop can solve this problem but you might also consider a digital picture frame that displays a continual slideshow. There are lots of different digital frames but most can hold a memory card with over a thousand photos. There are also several wi-fi frames, where you can easily email photos from your phone to the frame without having to plug-in a memory card or camera. Place the frame where everyone can enjoy it as they walk by.

Photo book

If you have a little more time and want something that’s more tangible and permanent, a photo book is a great option. Photo books are created digitally, usually online, and then printed and sent to you. They are the current (and much improved) version of the old magnetic photo albums with the plastic overlay pages. There are seemingly endless websites to make photo books, many offering a wide variety of layouts and designs. One of my favorites is Shutterfly, which offers a number of layouts and tools that make it easy to put together a beautiful book.

Whenever you make any kind of photo album (digital photo book, or more traditional photo album) consider burning a DVD of all the photos in the book and placing the DVD in an adhesive pouch in the back of the book. (You can find plastic adhesive DVD envelopes at Staples or Amazon.) So when you or someone else are looking through the album and you find the perfect photo for Throwback Thursday, or need to collect photos for a wedding or anniversary party, you can easily find the photos on the DVD. The DVD also serves as an additional backup of the photos on your hard drive. *But always make sure to backup your photos in at least 2 places.

Warning: Please do not use Shutterfly or any other book making site as your “online/cloud” backup. It may seem like killing two birds with one stone – upload the photos to make the book and now they’re backed up on that site as well. However, most of the book printing sites do not make it easy to get your photos back if you need to. And isn’t that the point of a back up – the ability to get your photos back if your computer crashes or some other catastrophe wipes out all your photos. Do not depend on being able to get all your photos back easily from a book printing or even photo sharing site.

Photo Gifts

You’ve probably received (and most likely made) a photo holiday card. And maybe you’ve seen or purchased photo mugs and mousepads. But did you know that you can make personalized photo placemats, aprons, playing cards, blankets, shower curtains, coasters, puzzles, neckties, and much more. You can even customize a Rubik’s Cube with your photos on each side, instead of solid colors! What unique conversation pieces and fun ways to enjoy your photos every day.

Don’t forget why we take photos in the first place – to actually view and enjoy them. So enjoy them now. Make it a January tradition, or a holiday tradition, or any time, to review the photos from the last year and share them with your family. The photos will mean even more to you and your family when actually enjoying the photos becomes part of the story you are handing down.

Cheryl is the owner of My Memory File (mymemoryfile.com). Growing up with her professional photographer father, Cheryl has always known the power photos have to tell a story, to teach, to inspire and to connect people. For many years she owned a professional photo agency, managing the collections of over 400 professional photographers. When she started her own family it became even more clear how important it was to preserve her family’s story and be able to share it with her own children. Cheryl started helping individuals organize their own photo collections in order to preserve and share their own stories. She is passionate about making sure that her clients’ irreplaceable photos are organized in a way that keeps them safe and allows them to be viewed and shared, not just kept in a box or hidden on a hard drive. Whether it’s scanning the boxes of old prints in the attic, or organizing all the digital photos that are spread over computers, cameras, memory cards and phones, Cheryl can help get them all organized and in a format that is easy to access and enjoy.

Jun 30 2016

Do You Have a Photo Plan?

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

As we prepare for the annual Save Your Photos Month, we should begin thinking about where our photos are kept. Some think of getting old family photos out of dusty boxes in the attic so they can be scanned and preserved digitally. Others, like me, may be thinking about all the digital photos that are seemingly lost in our computer or locked away across camera cards. Saving our digital photos is just as important as saving our printed photos. These days, we have huge numbers of digital photos and they are often being forgotten about because there are just too many of them filling up our phones and computers. And because of this, they are “as good as” lost in our computers. Having a photo plan in place is important so we can not only take photos of special moments, but also get them back into our lives and enjoy them.

My photo plan includes gathering all my photos into one place, organizing them, telling the stories behind them, and then creating digital albums to share with friends and family and/or creating photo books so that we can relive the special moments all over again. The end result of this plan? I have peace of mind knowing that all of my photos are stored permanently and privately in their digital home of my Forever account. No matter what – even if my computer crashes or my hard drive fails, my photos will be safe. They will also outlive me so they can be = enjoyed by future generations of my family.

I have a personal example that I would like to share with you that illustrates the importance of my photo plan. While my family and I were on vacation a few weeks ago, we went on a fishing trip. I had my son and two young nephews in my boat and we caught 11 sharks! It was a thrilling experience that we don’t ever want to forget. During the trip, I took photos on my camera, my dad took photos on his camera and many of us were taking photos on cell phones as well. When the trip was over, I put my photo plan into action.

1^st– I gathered all the photos from all the cameras and phones and brought them together into one place by uploading them into my Forever account. Once they were in my account, I had peace of mind knowing they were permanently stored in the cloud.

2^nd– I created one album that included everyone’s photos. I cleaned them up by deleting all the photos that were unneeded: such as duplicates, those that were out of focus or just unnecessary in telling the story of our fishing trip. I went from over 100 photos down to around 50. And then I used Forever’s editing tools to improve some of the photos that needed enhancement.

3^rd-When we used to print out a roll of film, it was a good practice to write the date, people’s names and the description on the back of the photo. The same thing is true with digital photos. So, my next step was to use the tools in my account to record each of these details. The description or “story” behind the photo is the most important piece because it allows the photos to go from just a photo, to a memory.

4^th-My family is always asking me to send them photos. The captain and first mate on our boat, Richard and Kevin, asked me to send them photos as well. So right from my Forever album, I was able to click the share button and email the entire album to them.

5^th-The last and certainly the most fun part of my photo plan process is creating a photo project. I can do this right in my Forever account under the Projects tab. I decided to create a simple 8×8 softbound photo book. It would be less than $20 to print and I would print one for each of the little boys on my boat. I wanted it to be a fun book with lots of photos and stories of our big day so they would be able to remember the details many years from now. It was simple because the photos were all available in one place, and I simply needed to choose a layout and add some text. I also happened to use these photos to do a live training webinar while I was on vacation on how to create a photo book. Check out the recording here: Projects Instructional Webinar (40 minutes)

We just got the photo books in the mail this week, and my son has not set his down. Being able to pull these photos out of being trapped on my computer or lost way back in my photo roll on my phone is so valuable to my family. You can see some of the pages I created in this short “Capture the Moment” video. Nick Kelsh, the photo tips guy, helps me with some great photo editing tips and I share a few pages from the photo book. Capture the Moment with Nick and Shelley

Also, I know exactly where these photos are and I can grab them at a moment’s notice. They are all together in one album and I can pull up on the web or right from my mobile app. And then finally and most importantly, I have complete peace of mind knowing that all of my photos are saved and will live on in its permanent digital home of my Forever account. To learn more about what Forever can do to help you with this process check out this 90 second video. A look at FOREVER

So, as we move through the summer and get closer to Save Your Photos Month in September, I encourage you to think of a great memory you have had with loved ones and go find those photos. Get them in your hands and tell the story behind them. Then share them with others either via a digital album or a printed treasure.

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.

Jun 28 2016

Could Your Photos Be at Risk in Your Own Home?

This is a Guest Contribution by Meaghan Kahlo of Ephemera Photo Organizing

Personally valuable photo and family heritage collections may be at risk even in your own home. Although hard to imagine, photos can be at risk for a variety of reasons ranging from the obvious – home fires – to the not so obvious – the actual storage materials and location your photos are in today.

Are Your Photos At Risk?

Consider if your photos are at risk from any of the following:

Fire or Natural Disasters

This is likely the biggest risk many people would face. How quickly could you gather your valuable photos and documents if you had to evacuate due to a house fire, a wildfire, a hurricane, or a tornado? Do you live in an area that experiences floods or earthquakes?

The Elements

Over time the conditions in our homes could detrimentally affect photographic and paper materials. Is your home too damp or too dry? Do you have framed photos in direct sunlight? Are albums stored in front of heater exchanges?

Location

Do you have boxes of photos or albums that you store in the basement, garage, attic or even in an offsite storage unit? These items are at risk from extreme temperature fluctuations and unstable environments that again may be too damp or too dry. While it is tempting to store bulky boxes of photos and albums where we have the space, consider how devastating it would be if your memories were damaged from a flooded basement, or you opened a box stored in the attic to find your memories covered in mouse droppings.

Storage Materials

Even the boxes, folders and albums we store our photos in can pose risks. Materials that are not acid- or lignin-free or proven to be photo-safe can cause damage to paper, photographs and negatives. Sticky magnetic albums will leech acid onto prints via the glue-covered pages. Vinyl binders and envelopes from the processing lab will outgas harmful chemicals. Album pages can become brittle over time and crumble.

Digital Risk Factors

Digital images are at risk too for many reasons. Many people simply have so many digital images they cannot enjoy their photos or find photos when they need them. External hard drives full of photos and video can fail, be broken or stolen. Lost or forgotten passwords to online photo storage vendors result in forgotten and orphaned photos.

Ultimately, the risks posed to our precious family photos and documents could be greatly mitigated by some awareness of what our collections encompass and where we choose to keep them. Personal archivists and photo organizers are knowledgeable guides for protecting your photos from common risks and can help you identify specific risks in your home.

Meaghan Kahlo, owner of Ephemera Photo Organizing in Seattle, WA, began her professional life with graduate work in museum studies focused on collections management. Her enthusiasm for photography and historical preservation combined with a passion to organize and create order are the driving forces behind her business. Meaghan helps clients transform the ephemeral nature of digital and printed images into meaningful photo solutions for loved ones today and for generations to come tomorrow.

Jun 18 2016

Save Your Photos: Save Your Stories

This is a guest post by Bonnie Shay of Mariposa Creative Solutions.

One of my most difficult, yet most rewarding, photo projects was for a divorced couple and their adult children. The divorce was acrimonious and bitter (the husband had had an affair). My job was to help the ex-wife edit the family’s photo and video collection and provide her ex-husband with a copy of everything as required by their divorce decree. Although the family would never be one “unit” again, my goal beyond the divorce decree requirement was to provide each family member with a record of their family’s story as it once was.

Unfortunately, all divorces interrupt the family’s story. I speak with first- hand knowledge since I, too, am divorced. What was once one, is now two separate entities. Plans that were made when a couple was married no longer exist. Life as you knew it is fractured into separate pieces. This is especially true when there is animosity between the divorcing spouses. Oftentimes, looking at their family photo history is the last thing a divorcing couple wants to do.

Nevertheless, the family’s history still exists. The fact that the story has changed, however, should not minimize the significance of the past. It was important to embrace the positive aspects of the photo organizing project. Fortunately, I was able to accomplish this goal with my client. We focused on the gift that each family member would receive at the completion of our efforts. Namely, an external hard drive that was filled with their memories in photos and videos. Luckily, despite the bitter divorce proceedings, we were able to celebrate the family’s story. Although the family would never be “whole” again, each member could acknowledge their past while focusing on moving forward into the next chapter of their lives.

When I was a little girl, my idea of a fun activity was to organize my family’s kitchen pantry, cabinets and drawers. I discovered many years later that it wasn’t every girls’ idea of a good time. Who knew? But it planted the seed of an idea that underlies Mariposa Creative Solutions: that each of us loves and excels at different things and if we recognize that and do what we do best, we can make a difference in other people’s lives.

My clients often say that at the beginning of our work together they feel like some or all of their home is chaotic. The great filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola said, “Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos.” And so it goes whether you have built a family, a career, friendships or a beautiful garden, a certain amount of “chaos” has been part of the process while you’ve been living life.

And if you’re reading this, my guess is you’re not like me — one whose passion it is to make order. The important thing for you is to stop feeling bad about that. It’s about recognizing what you’re good at, what you enjoy, and how to relieve that which weighs on you.