As a genealogist, I place a high value on family photos. They are important threads in the fabric of any family, which allow us to reach back in history, and touch the lives of our ancestors. This past week, my sister and I were fortunate to visit our Mom back in Illinois where we grew up. I admit it, I grumbled some at the suggestion of dragging out slides with screen and projector. After all, Kodak announced the demise of Kodachrome film just last week.
It turned out to be a great experience. With the passage of time, the images have taken on new and different meaning. As we viewed them, we laughed til we cried. So many shared memories were contained in those images.
The danger is that the identity of our ancestors in those images can be lost. In addition, as technology changes, the format becomes obsolete. We are looking into scanning our slides and storing the images, possibly in DVD format, for maximum storage and durability, until the next technology change.
It is so easy to throw photos in a shoe box and forget about them. Time spent organizing, labeling, watching, sharing, and preserving precious photos is time well spent, which will, no doubt, be appreciated by our descendants.
Joyce B. Lohse
2 July 2009
What a good idea to have old slides copied to other formats for preservation. I gleaned all the family photos from Dad’s carousels of slides but then didn’t know what to do with them. Thanks for the suggestion.
By: Cynthia Becker on July 28, 2009
at 8:18 am
Hello Cynthia –
It is a nice idea, although I have not yet figured out how to do it! If I figure out an easy method to transfer slide images to e-files, I will let you know, or write it up here to share with readers. I do know that the suggested format includes 3000 dpi so they can be enlarged without losing quality. Sounds like major storage via DVD perhaps.
Best wishes — Joyce
By: joyce4books on July 28, 2009
at 9:49 am