Michael Woodland
Owner, Dan's Camera City
More photos are taken now than ever before, thanks to the smartphones and tablets we carry with us around the clock. We know we want to capture the sights and experiences of life, but where do these treasured memories end up? Michael Woodland, owner of Dan's Camera City in Allentown, has a wealth of information for us on pictorial practices, from taking and sharing a good photo to safeguarding the albums of our ancestors.
Take Smart Snaps
Cameras have traditionally come out during special occasions—the birthday party, the reunion—but Woodland points out the value in the everyday. “It's cool to look back on family photos of ancestors doing mundane things,” he says. “Just sitting by a table or standing by the car seems boring, but looking back, it gives a sense of time and place in the world.”
Along with holidays, take a moment to document the scene of your kids playing in the backyard or heading to the pool, spur-of-the-moment shots that show personality. The variety and routine in daily activities will be a blast from the past down the road.
Scan for Safekeeping
Boxes of old slide carousels, heaps of dusty albums, VHS footage of you and your cousins destroying a piñata—it's all deteriorating as we speak. It's the nature of the physical world. Luckily, the technology exists to scan pictures and slides, convert footage from old media, digitize it and stop deterioration in its tracks.
One option is Dan's Camera City's Shoebox Scan service, so called because they'll scan a shoebox of up to 1,600 photos onto a DVD for a set price, a good way to knock a big collection of photos out in one convenient move. This type of scanning service is offered by other companies, but Woodland cautions to shop carefully. “Ask where the work is done, and whether you're going to get your original back,” he says. “Sometimes services ship your original overseas. They may send back only digital files. Some people find their photos come back damaged or end up lost instead of saved.”
Best Forms of Backup
Depending on the devices you own and how you plan to use your images, there are various avenues for stashing digitized footage and pictures. Dan's Camera City recommends burning your media to a DVD, and they've begun recommending keeping your files on an external hard drive. “Prices have dropped to be very inexpensive,” Woodland says of external drives, “and a lot of devices allow you to create your own cloud.”
This means a hard drive with all your photos on it can connect to Wi-Fi and be reached from anywhere through your phone or tablet to pull up photos or videos and share them instantly. Even your Smart TV can tap in and make a slideshow super simple.
Storage and Restoration
“Light and moisture,” Woodland says, “are the enemies of all analog mediums.”
Keep your photos cool, dry and shielded from light. Look for products labeled archival and acid-free. Ironically, most photo albums manufactured over the years have been made with destructive chemicals and glues.
Once you dig into your family's old photo collection, you may find that rough handling, sun, moisture, glue or mold has damaged one-of-a-kind photographs. Photo restoration is more feasible and affordable than ever, from under $20 to about $70, so don't give up on those spotted, discolored or pen-scribbled photos of the late and great. Again, Woodland cautions to make sure you're not sending your one and only original overseas.
Prints, Please!
Whether it's this year's best off the iPhone or the disorganized box of old albums, your photo collection shouldn't languish out of sight. Woodland suggests scheduling time every quarter (or as needed) to sift through and sort your pictures thus far, evaluating on a Wow vs. Keeper basis. Some just leap out at us, stirring warm memories or evoking a sense of continuity with our heritage—these Wows deserve attention. Getting one printed as an 8 x10 in a frame, on a piece of slate, a mug or putting a collection into a photo book gives precious images a presence in our homes. “Especially with kids,” Woodland says, “it helps them know where they come from, what they're part of.”
1439 W. Fairmont St., Allentown | 610.434.2313 | danscamera.com
