Posted on 08/16/2018 10:12:48 AM PDT by goodnesswins
OK...I'm going through boxes and boxes of family pictures...from the mid 1800s to the present. I'm trying to organize them, and scanning many. Got to wondering, what will my grandchildren want to see 30 years hence? Will they only have access to internet photos, or will they appreciate a "book" of photos? Or maybe some time of internet "book"....your suggestions appreciated.
At the same time I'm also going through trunks with old clothing, tablecloths, silver, etc....taking pictures of some, trying to decide what to save, what to give away, etc.
I'm heading to Pilates, but look forward to returning and seeing your thoughts.
our grandchildren will keep trying to zoom out or into the photos by pinching the pictures... they are truly going to be laughed at.
If you want to preserve real photographs for posterity, get them laminated. Without some environment protection they will degrade over time and with handling.
Definitely make a book
Americans’ trust and faith in technology is often blind, unquestioning and highly overrated. Even if we continue to worship the technology gods, the people, organizations, systems operating them WILL fail and disappoint you.
Once your grandchildren are grown some will appreciate your effort, some won’t. I have family photos going back to the 19th century which I value, some siblings and cousins have no interest, others do. It’s history, it’s family. Put forth the effort to save them and definitely label them if you know who they are and any other details you know of the individual. Someone will appreciate it. If your family is large enough one of your descendents will be bitten by the genealogy bug and will find the treasure trove you put together invaluable.
I think that there will always be some segment of the population that will value old things - and being able to handle a photo that was taken over 100 years earlier is a big thrill. I have been doing my family genealogy for about 23 years, and I’ve collected a LOT of photos over that time. To me, the most interesting ones are a circa 1878 photo (which is a copy made in 1951 by my great grandmother) with my GG GM as a teenager, plus one of her brothers, plus their parents (people born in the late 1830s or early 1840s). I have another from 1893 (2 of my great grandparents with the 3 kids they had at the time), one from 1913 (with my grandmother as an 18-month-old with her infant brother and parents) and one from late 1938 or early 1939 (a 4-generation shot). My kids know who they are because of what I do, and I am quite sure that they will pass on the interest to the next generation.
Old photos and a love of studying the past have to be nurtured and passed on...few do that, especially in this era of “new is great and old sucks,” without being gently pushed.
Scan all the photos and add a description, then make a disc or thumb drive for each person and ask if any are interested in having the originals. That’s what I did over a few months with a few hundred family photos that were in my possession.
No one wanted the originals.
“If you want to preserve real photographs for posterity, get them laminated. Without some environment protection they will degrade over time and with handling.”
Can't get kids to embrace the glorious communist future if people cling to memories of the past.
It's only since the 60s that I've seen widespread cultural teaching to ‘reject your parents’ morals, politics, and beliefs." Destroy the art and music of old, reject conventional wisdom and lessons of history, smash the patriarchy, smash the state...
Mao taught the children of the world 'well'.
Programmer here. I suggest both getting them laminated and converting them to digital. Once converted to digital make multiple copies on both USB and DVD and distribute them out to family members living in different areas. Put one copy of each in your safety deposit box at your bank so you can assure it’ll be kept at room temperature forever.
Uploading them to Facebook might be nice, but don’t count Facebook as the eternal photo storage forever accessible by family members. It wasn’t too long ago that people would have thought that about myspace. :) So for all we know Facebook might be a faded fad within a few years.
Why have them laminated? Nothing beats holding family treasures within your own hands. Why put them to both USB and DVD? Both storage mediums have their drawbacks, including long term use. A DVD can handle temperature changes better than a USB stick. But in a normal climate a USB stick won’t degrade as fast as a DVD (give a DVD maybe 15 or 20 years). Why give multiple copies to family members living in different areas? The April 2011 tornado that hit Alabama is Exhibit A for why to do that.
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My grandchildren have been using their eyes, just like my grand parents did.
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The attention span for looking at photos is pretty low, whether holding in your hand or digital...……………………
photos used to be rare and have meaning, now they are common and artificial.
For my photos, I just digitized them, added descriptions and organized the digitized photos in folders, so I ended up with twenty or thirty folders on each thumb drive I made. And I’m sure there is a good selection of photo album software that could be found if you wanted to investigate that.
I think PRINTING for purposes of putting into a book will become more popular.
I have a lifetime of photos I just started going through, and making printouts of things I want to make into scrap books.
Color printers will become popular again.
I’ve been doing that a lot lately because of age and health and a desire to get things organized for my children and grandchildren. It’s a worthwhile endeavor that grounds you I think.
An aside, please allow me this one comment. Today is the 20th anniversary of my signing on with FR and I just couldn’t help from wanting to mark that in some way. I quit posting in April 2017 and haven’t posted since then but since my membership wasn’t cancelled I wanted to drop by and make a comment of passing. Your thread about family photos seemed appropriate. Thank you for your indulgence.
“No one wanted the originals.”
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You threw them out?
What I recommend is anyone undergoing a project such as being discussed is to first, scan the images with the best quality scanner s/he can get his hands on so they have all the pics stored digitally - and keep them in several places, in case one medium is lost/destroyed.
Then check with someone who knows what they’re talking about when it comes to storing the original photos, so as to keep them in best condition in storage.
Nope, still have them, and they'll still be here when I'm gone. But many people don't want more stuff to store, and younger folks seem to be perfectly satisfied with digitized copies of old family photos that are of varied interest to them. Some really like one disc or thumb drive as opposed to boxes or albums of originals.
Love your post!
My paternal grandmother was the family genealogist. She had photos and meticulously written notes about our ancestors going back to Scotland. Alas, she developed Alheimer’s and, in a fit of depression, destroyed most of it.
My best advice is to share everything, and now. Having family members hold copies of historical family documents, even if they don’t share your passion, ensures that those who do can know their heritage.
The funny thing is that when the “next thing” comes along, the upcoming generation will have to convert-move the images over to whatever that medium/storage it might be!
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