Thursday, November 15, 2018

Thanks for the (tons of) memories!

The digital age of photography really got going between 2000 and 2010.  It is estimated that 1.2 trillion digital images were taken in 2017, with 85% of those being captured on cell phones.  The ease and quality with which pictures are now taken and shared makes the transition a no-brainer.
However, the past is trapped on prints and negatives, and in my case, slides.  Lots and lots of slides.
Paula's Rule #1 of Hoarding Avoidance is that if something hasn't been used in two years, it's outta here.  Personally, I make sure I move occasionally so that I'm not left on the curb.  For photography, that meant that the beloved slide projector and carousels, all 43 of them, had to go.
The treasured images were carefully stored where she couldn't find them, and bit by bit during the occasional stolen hour, I'm digitizing the slides with a scanner.
Doing so, occasional family classics surface.  I mean, does this guy have great hair or what?  And how about the lapels?  Cute girl, however.
Milestones in our family history are documented, and shouldn't be lost.
OK, mostly shouldn't be lost.  (Who's that kid's mother?!)
And who let her ride the trike down the stairs?
I hung this one in an exam room, and told women that their kid would look like this if they didn't take their prenatal vitamins.  Oh, stop it; she's pushing on a screen, people!
Fond memories surface, along with an occasional sniffle.
Yes, they filled the bathtub on Christmas morning to test out Malibu Barbie.  She sank.
I've also been nominated and sustained as the caretaker of my Dad's slides, Kodachromes some of which date from the 1940's.  So, I'm the good-looking guy on the left with the glasses.  GQ tried to buy this picture for a cover, but you know, some things are just too personal.  
Most of the memories are happy ones, and I'm glad she didn't throw them out.
We hope you've got some good memories saved too, and that you don't still have about 4,500 left to run through the scanner.
Dave & Paula.

1 comment:

Patti said...

We feel your pain but rejoice that our slides have been scanned. What a treasure trove! Thank you for sharing a few. I got a little misty-eyed myself.