I’m a Memory Keeper, and so are You
Something they should teach in school.
Photo from Einarsen Family Archive.
Of all the life skills we learn in school, there are two daily tasks that should be part of every curriculum, but generally aren’t. Money and photography.
By comparison, the only time in years that I dredged my memory for chemistry facts was at last Tuesday’s trivia night.
Where I naturally spent money and took photos.
Like every other day.
Go figure.
And, coincidentally, those two things are all about creating assets, storing them safely away, and, if handled correctly, appreciating in value over time.
Time was, the family librarian was Mom and the photos were split between seven musty old albums and a few shoe boxes full of print envelopes. Life was simpler then.
Digital photography changed all that. And mobile devices like the iPhone changed it again. Today, most families take more photos in a year than our parents took in a lifetime. We create and post trillions of photos online every year and the number keeps growing.
Our schools spend years teaching us how to write an essay and to speak to an audience. But photos and videos, arguably the world’s primary, universal, and most powerful language gets zip.
Clearly we know how to take plenty of photos, so is it that big a deal?
I think so.
Twenty years from now photo and video skills will likely be a part of school curriculums. A component of those same writing and speaking classes of today. At the very least, our kids will have grown up living and breathing media creation, just like they navigate and learn new technology today.
Twenty years ago our parents were savoring those old prints and thumbing through albums with us, sharing tidbits about a life we can only revisit with their guidance or on the History Channel.
Which puts us squarely in the middle. And uniquely responsible for the hand-off between mediums - print and digital. How to convert them? Which ones to keep? Collecting stories and names. Where to put them?
More often than not, we are the designated memory keeper for our family. And we have the unique perspective of touching both worlds - the analog and the digital. Charged with the responsibility of preserving every important shred of the past and faced with the challenge of ensuring it’s accessible in the future.
Photo from Einarsen Family Archive.
As a professional photo manager, I see this every day with my clients’ collections. And it’s why I think that photography should be a required subject. Not the day to day point and click photography, but the below-the-waterline skills of collecting, editing, converting, and organizing. The tail that wags the dog. Because it’s not just about preserving, it’s about storytelling, and documenting, and delight, and memories.
But it’s too much, you say? Overwhelming?
I feel the same way about lawn care. But I’ve learned enough to be able to talk to landscapers and get what I want.
So here’s the thing.
The Photo Managers puts on Save Your Photos Month every September. You can see over 20 presentations by photo experts on all aspects of photo management for mobile, Mac or PC, as well as cloud services. Most talks are 15 minutes, offer resource links or downloads, and are available to access on demand. There are live panel discussions every Monday.
Some key topics are:
Creating a photo legacy collection
Decluttering your library
Privacy issues
Cloud Services
Future-proofing your photos
When children’s photo memories meet divorce
Photos and memory loss
Photo books
Using video
And more.
So now is your chance to sign up for Save Your Photos Month and get some schooling about photography. Whether you are eager to take on your own family photo project, find a professional like me to do the heavy lifting, or just ensure that the old, physical prints, videos, and film is converted to digital before it falls apart, make the time now to learn about this essential part of our lives.
I remember when my mother said she was going through our family photos and “cutting down” for the order of it all and to save us, no doubt, from wading through boxes of pictures. What treasures of her childhood (and mine) were lost in the process. And what I now understand is that they weren't just photos, but memories.
And, at the end of it all, that's the only thing we really have.
I’m a Memory Keeper, and so are you.