Press Article from OPUSalbums.com

Are you going to let your most cherished memories rot?

or Make your Photos Visible

By Daniel Roberts, OPUSalbums

Summary

We look forward to going back over our photographic memories.  Our photo album collection is the most accessible.  Boxes of transparencies, photo prints, videos are not – and will be ignored.  The same applies to the digital age.  Photos left on computers, CD’s and online services are as invisible and subject to commercial failure and technological obsolescence.  Only an easy computer printed photo album is secure.  With modern software and supplies it is so easy and effective

Article text

We spend our lives building up a file of memories – some good – some bad – some to be relished – some to be learned from.  In photography we have found a technique for recording them so that we can go back over them ten, twenty, forty years later.   In retirement, when one may have more time to reminisce and less strength to go on adventure, what better pastime can there be than going back over our photos and thinking “That was when …” – “I’d forgotten about him – I wonder what’s he doing now..”, or “Wasn’t she an amazing lady”.

That presupposes one thing.  That those photos are readily available and capable of being read.

Go back 40 years.  Chances are that you have some regular photo albums, a few shoe boxes full of uncatalogued photos, several dozen canisters of transparencies (for that projector that has long since gone) – and a few hundred little plastic boxes full of the transparencies that they came back from Kodak in.  I am not going to talk about those unreadable super-8 films and a pile of VHS video tapes. 

May I suggest that there is only one of the above media that you are going to look at regularly – the photo album.  Why – because they are visible and accessible.  The shoeboxes of prints probably come next – a poor second.

Is history repeating itself?  The number of photos taken has risen exponentially.  Indeed we spend some of our most cherished moments viewing that unforgettable moment through a viewfinder or LCD.  Then what?  View the thumbnails – select the good ones – and what next?

• Leave them on the computer.  Sort of visible for a time – but awaiting a hard disk failure.
• Transfer them to CD/DVD – invisible (therefore as inaccessible as the old trannies) – and who knows when your computer will no longer be able to read a CD.  (In my loft I have a box full of 5¼” floppy disks full of valuable information).
• Upload them to Flikr or another on-line service.  These services come and go with monotonous regularity.  Do you really think they will be round in 40 years time?  Those memories – not only inaccessible – but LOST!

So – what’s the answer?  Back to the old photo album.  And using your computer it’s so much easier. 

Take your photos – select the best and assemble into a story.

Edit the photos if necessary – and lay them out into pages (we recommend Fotoslate4) – and add text.

Print them at home on your own inkjet printer (quicker and more flexible than an outside photo book service).

You have a neat, accessible permanent book, which you can label and file to look at whenever you like.   Quick – easy and effective. 

URL: http://www.opusalbums.com/dontletmemoriesrot

For more information please contact

Daniel Roberts

OPUSalbums.com

PO Box 561

Rochester, Kent, ME1 9DF

England

Or c/o Booksmart Inc, Rochester, NY

Tel +44 845 408 9427, +1 408 627 4077

e-mail Daniel@opusalbums.com

About OPUSalbums.com 

www.opusalbums.com

OPUSalbums.com is a leading supplier of print-your-own photo albums, creative and digital photographic papers.  It also supports a wide range of photo album, editing and supportive software and backs its offerings with a resource of guidance, tips and ideas, second to none.  Based in Rochester England and Rochester NY, USA we are able to support professional, amateur and hobbyist photographers worldwide.

About Daniel Roberts

Daniel Roberts is a leading figure in the imaging supplies industry.  Formerly director of planning at Memorex, he has been involved in inkjet cartridges and paper since 1990, having introduced inkjet refill kits to Europe and later running Europe’s largest master distributor of compatible inkjet cartridges.   Currently a senior consultant with Excelsis Enterprises and Managing Director of Incartek he consults to the industry and to the wider community on company strategy, M&A’s and market development.  His company owns a number of web businesses including OPUSalbums.com, U-PRINTIT.co.uk, Photo4.biz

Graphics attached (Download by clicking on text or picture)

Higher resolution pictures available on request mailto:daniel@opusalbums.com

©  Daniel Roberts, OPUSalbums January 2008

May be reproduced, e-mailed to your friends or quoted freely so long as the author and company is acknowledged and, where possible, a link provided to www.opusalbums.com

Keywords

Photo album, transparencies, photo prints, super-8, 35mm, technological obsolescence, 5.25” floppy, trannies, flikr, Kodak, opusalbums, accessible photos, memories, visible photos, accessible photos