Monday, July 30, 2012

Photo selection

In some ways, getting photos printed was easier prior to digital cameras.  We mailed the entire roll of film to a processor, waited for the postal carrier a week or two and then selected the photos out of the results, throwing out the blurry ones.  Because of the expense we took fewer photos.

These days, we can record hundreds of photos, slip the memory card into PC and go about picking the very best of the lot.  That, however, is so time consuming.

Tonight, because of a good print offer at Walgreens, I set out to make my selections from photos I've taken since May.  (I ordered January through April when Walgreens last had a good deal)  I'm going into Appleton tomorrow for a meeting, so I can pick up the prints on the way.  Sounds  easy, but it took me over two hours to select, edit and order.

Son Chris always wonders why I just don't save the photos on a CD or memory card so I can look at them on my computer.  There are a couple of problems with this.

First,  technology changes.  I've gone through large floppy disks to smaller disks to CDs to memory cards.  Who can say where the technology will go?  I no longer can look at photos I saved on disks.  Printed out photos will still be useful a hundred years from now.

Second, I could and do look at photos on my computers, there is something charming about browsing through the 39 photo albums on my shelf.

I carefully label all the  photos and add some of my columns, the ones I think my grandson might find interesting. Pieces of memorabilia go in there, too.  The entire year's album will be finished on New Year's Eve.



I began putting these together decades ago and will continue to do them this way until I die.  What Chris does with them then is up to him. I expect most of my archive will be thrown out.  It is his right and I won't be around to care.  

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