Photographs

Lst week I bought a negative scanner. What prompted me to do this was the pile of negatives that I had found in my mother's apartment which seemed to have no corresponding photos attached.

The device is incredibly easy to use. You put the negatives in a plastic tray, slide it into the device, center the image, and click. The negative appears in a viewer where it can be cropped or touched up using a very simple program (Photshop is too overwhelming for me).

While there are no big surprises yet there are some very charming photos from about 20 - 25 years ago. It seemed like a pretty happy time with everyone in good health and good spirits. I suppose that you don't generally photograph the bad times but it's good to see us at the beach, around the dinner table, and on vacation. It also made me wonder if we were documenting our current lives adequately. I certainly don't remember to bring my camera enough places so perhaps this is the time to start.

This also makes me wonder about the permancy of these images. Most folks, I think, just toss the negatives when they lose the prints. Here's my plea:

If you don't want the negatives...send them to me!

I'll make it my life mission to preserve them and organize them in some coherent fashion that will only make sense to me.

Seriously, though, I think it is important to chronicle our lives and we need to keep and refresh these images. Digital will provide a new challenge. Since most of the images are not getting printed how can we ensure that they make the transition from one computer to another and from one storage technology to another?

Another thing that has happened that has piqued my interest in this subject is a web site from the summer camp that I went to, Camp Kindervelt. People have been submitting photos for the site and last week someone posted a picture of me! It was a bit of a shock but in writing back to the person who posted it I discovered a whole bunch of people who had never lost touch with one another.

Here's the photo:

Scary, isn't it?