Age Spots: Preserving Memory Lane

Recently at a family gathering, my sister Misty started going through family photographs. First it was just a fun way to tease my oldest in front of his girlfriend, but it soon turned into a fantastic walk down memory lane. There were lots of pictures: totes were filled with albums and pictures in the sleeves from the film developing. There were pictures on the computer, on the phone.

Hours later, and we were still knee-deep in pictures, newspaper clippings and family history. Then someone asked the ultimate question: what are you going to do with all those pictures? We looked around as we all wanted to answer, but no one really knew what to say. That got me thinking: what are we going to do with all these pictures?

Preserving family pictures and documents is really important to many people, but there is often a lack of knowledge about what is good or bad for these family legacies.

According to the National Archives website archives.gov, it is best to work in a large, clean area when preserving photographs. Make sure your hands are clean and free of lotion. When handling pictures and negatives, it is a good idea to use gloves because the natural oils in your hands can cause permanent stains on these items.

You can store pictures in acid-free pages and envelopes, or in sleeves made of plastics such as uncoated polyester, polypropylene and polyethylene. These will not stain or discolor the pictures. Place individually-housed prints, negatives and cased objects in acid-free, durable boxes. Keep the pictures or albums in an area that is cool, has low humidity and is not near water or food sources, to protect from animals and insects.

There, that was easy.

Another way to save pictures is to have them digitized. There are many different ways to accomplish this. I have seen many photographs on Facebook where someone has just taken a picture of a picture; I have done this myself. The downside is there is often a glare from the flash or lights in the room. Of course, there are apps for this � just check the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Many of these apps have features that remove the glare and allow you to save the images with a name or event so you can find them again later.

Scanning pictures or documents is another way to preserve and digitalize. Scanners today are faster and more affordable than ever. Just put the document or picture on the scanner and push a button; many allow you to name the file so you can find it later. Many scanners also are able to scan negatives and 35mm film. There are also scanning services that will scan your pictures and save them to the Cloud or on a DVD or other type of media for a fee.

I like the idea of having multiple copies of precious family memories � it makes it easier to share those memories with family and friends.

I have slowly begun the journey of digitizing and archiving my family photos. It will take me quite some time to finish. I am in no hurry, and I love having a chance to walk down memory lane with my sisters. I hope my children enjoy the results.