WHAT I BELIEVE IN
Photos, documents, and memorabilia tell your story.
They are the mosaics of your life. They are threads that weave stories across generations.
WHAT I KNOW
These stories are your legacy.
If you preserve them, thereʼs no greater gift you can give to yourself,
your loved ones, and to future generations.
What if you donʼt know where to start?
Thatʼs where I can help.
3 REASONS WHY YOU NEED AN ARCHIVED PHOTO HISTORY
You can’t just grab your photo album anymore.
Consider this: What would happen if you were to face an impending natural disaster — a raging fire is out of control and you have to evacuate NOW; rising water from a swollen creek has made it to your front door; violent tornadoes are on the way. As you prepare to escape, what would you take with you besides your family and pets?
You can't just grab your photo album anymore.
Consider this: What would happen if you were to face an impending natural disaster — a raging fire is out of control, and you have to evacuate NOW; rising water from a swollen creek has made it to your front door; violent tornadoes are on the way. As you prepare to escape, what would you take with you besides your family and pets? Nine out of ten people would say their family photos. But where are they? Theyʼre EVERYWHERE. You wonʼt have time to hunt up old hard drives, long-forgotten photo albums and scrapbooks, favorite framed portraits. And the CDs in a closet, snapshots stuffed in drawers, wedding videos that are . . . somewhere. What about the old trunk in the attic? Youʼve never had time to rummage through it since a loved-one passed on. With a FOREVER® storage account that costs less than the price of a single hard drive, your priceless photos and documents are the last thing you'll worry about. They are safe and secure, with no monthly payments — EVER. You purchase the storage space, so you own it. You control who sees what, and you decide how to pass it on to the next generation.
You won’t fall victim to “The Digital Dark Age.”
The Digital Dark Age describes a future devoid of written or visual records because of the difficulty or impossibility to read historical documents or view visual images. The threat is real: For centuries, we have relied on paper-printed books, images and records to carry forward our history and culture to future generations.
You won't fall victim to “The Digital Dark Age.”
The Digital Dark Age describes a possible future devoid of written or visual records because of the difficulty or impossibility to read historical documents or view visual images. The threat is real because, unlike paper-printed books, images and records that we have relied upon for centuries to carry forward our history and culture to future generations, these priceless commodities are now routinely stored in digital formats that can be easily damaged and are subject to obsolescence. Whatʼs more, very few consumers, and even professional photographers, understand that the Internet, where so many images find their home, is a frighteningly fragile place where anyoneʼs digital lifeʼs work can disappear without warning.
Consider this stunning quote by Ancestry.com: “Paper archives can survive centuries of benign neglect. Digital archives require careful management if they are to last more than a few years.”
Genealogists were the first to suggest this astonishing irony:
The most photographed generation in history, children born after 2000, are in danger of becoming the first “lost generation,” unless their digital files are printed on paper, in books or stored online under optimum archival protocols.
As early as 2015, Internet experts were expressing concern about the stability of digital files. The February 13, 2015, issue of “The Telegraph” newspaper in London reported that Internet pioneer and Google Vice President Vint Cerf said it is time to start preserving the vast quantities of digital data before they are lost forever.
Speaking at a conference in San Jose, California, Mr. Cerf likened the problem to the Dark Ages, the period in Britain between the 5th and 8th centuries where little is known, following the collapse of the Roman Empire.
Your history can come to life — one personal story at a time.
Todayʼs photos, and the stories they tell, are as important as those of your ancestors. When you preserve your life stories, there is no more meaningful gift you can give to your family and to future generations. As I began writing this item, the entire world was experiencing what historians are likely to say was one of the century’s most momentous events: The 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.
Your history will come to life — one personal story at a time.
Todayʼs photos, and the stories they tell, are as important as those of your ancestors. When you preserve your life stories, there is no more meaningful gift you can give to your family and to future generations. As I began writing this website, the entire world was living through what future historians are likely to describe as one of the Centuryʼs most momentous events: The 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.
One hundred years from now, our ancestors will learn about it in history books, just as we learned about the Spanish Flu, also known as the 1918 Flu Pandemic. This horrific global event lasted from the spring of 1918 through the spring or early summer of 1919. It infected 500 million people — about a third of the world’s population at the time. The death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 million to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.
By the time COVID-19 was ruled a Pandemic on March 11, 2020, everyone, everywhere — men, women, and children; families, businesses, and industries; local, state, and national governments; public and private organizations and charities — all began to feel its effects. Some were catastrophic: Loss of life, flourishing economies collapsed or gravely damaged; massive unemployment; hospitals and first responders pushed to the brink; shortages of critically needed medical devices and personal protective masks, gowns, gloves, and face shields; upticks in depression and suicides. Others were merely severe disruptions in daily life: Nationwide quarantines and lockdowns; forced school and university closings; travel restrictions and cancellation of professional and amateur sporting events, including the 2020 Olympics; more than a few public demonstrations of citizen outrage at state governors whom some residents felt were guilty of government overreach in their quarantine restrictions.
Through it all, individuals, families, and communities found ways to cope — some better than others. To date, the most successful are those who turned to the virtues of creativity, humor, compassion, and willingness to fill needs where they found them, often aided by the connectivity of the Internet. So many heart-touching stories — some sad, and many uplifting — have already reached eyes and ears around the world. But how many have been written down, and, better yet, illustrated with photos that enhance the stories?
EVERYONE has a story to tell about how the 2020 Pandemic changed their lives. These are the tiny, shining mosaics that will merge to reveal the history of the 2020 Pandemic.
If you donʼt tell your story, then history will be diminished.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE STORIES
How My Family History Happened
In April 2016, I discovered an unusually heavy cardboard box buried under a 20-year accumulation of “stuff” in a bedroom closet of the rarely used summerhouse in our 1876 Annville, Pennsylvania farmhouse. It must have come into my possession after my father died in October 2004, when we also received a steel file cabinet that contained files that he had deemed to be important enough to keep when he retired after 37 years as an officer in the U.S. Army. I was dumbstruck to discover that the box contained some 1,500 35mm color slides that, unbeknownst to me, my dad began shooting in 1946, when he was assigned to serve in post-war Japan.
Read more...
Preserving the “Seven Ages of Childhood”
As a professional photographer, I often heard clients say “I wish I had more portraits of my child growing up.” In the 1990s, mindful of this issue, Professional Photographers of America (PPA) developed a program to help parents recognize the most important milestones for professional photographs to be made, insuring that a child’s development is documented as he or she grows from a tiny infant through young adulthood. Called “The 7 Ages of Childhood,” many pros still use these guidelines, which were suggested by child-development specialists who considered the physical, psychological and emotional changes that occur during childhood.
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The Story of Mary Kendall Saunders
One of the most interesting chapters in my family history is the poignant story of my Aunt Mary Kendall Sanders, who died before I was born, but with whom I feel a deep connection; my beloved grandmother, Julia Kendall, often spoke to me about her. Mary and I had a lot in common it seems: She made quilts for the family, and quilting is my hobby; her hobby was pinhole camera photography, and my business is photography. Mary grew up with her five siblings in rural Arkansas, on a farm that can be described, without exaggeration, as located “in the middle of nowhere.” When she married Walter Sanders, the couple worked the land alongside my grandparents and began to raise a family.
Read more...I CAN HELP YOU BRING YOUR HISTORY TO LIFE.
Collect, organize, and share your stories and memories with friends and family on your computer, phone, and tablet.
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Try the phone first. I hate texting; it’s ruining the English language. I can solve problems much faster on the phone, and my mind works much better in the morning :-). I'm in Pennsylvania, which is in the Eastern Time Zone.
Reach me at 717-644-8115.
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