“Photography is a form of time travel.” (Neil deGrasse Tyson)
Breakfast at my parents’ house this morning to share photos from our France trip with them had me reminiscing about some of our earlier trips together as a family. I went to pull out some old photos to show Holden and learned that my mom had thrown away some of the originals that weren’t in albums. (They’ve taken the term “empty nest” quite literally these days…) I flew into a panic and gathered up as many albums as I could carry, promising my mom that I would start scanning them for a digital archive.
And so begins “Sunday Scans” — my new weekend activity where I scan old family photos in an attempt to organize them and preserve our history. We were fortunate to travel often when I was growing up, thanks to my dad’s job with American Airlines. Some trips are cloudy memories in my head now, so I wanted to spend time reliving them through pictures. My love of photography started early, and I was curious to revisit some of the amateurish kodak moments (mainly shot on disposable cameras).
It’s been nearly 20 years since we spent our summer vacation in Copenhagen, Denmark visiting family friends who were living there temporarily. I remember a few vivid memories such as the Little Mermaid statue and riding the Tivoli Gardens carousel. I also recall complaining to my mom because I was tired of touring so many castles. What a brat I was! Looking back at the photos as I lined them up on the scanner, I saw old sights through a new lens. The colorful buildings and intricate sailboats… the ornate gold accents underneath the fountain. Things I was too young to appreciate and am now too old to remember without the aid of pictures.
Oh my gosh, such pretty photos! I hope you get to go back and recreate these shots, too. Just see how different it is now!
Thank you, Denise! I’d love to go back now that I’m old enough to appreciate all the history and sights.
These pictures are so pretty! I think it’s a great idea to scan old family photos.
Xo,
Marienne || Genara Denis Jewelry
http://www.genaradenis.com/blog
Hi Steph!
First off, I LOVE that you review travel pictures with you family. What a lovely new tradition that I want to start incorporating into my family as well! Also, just the other day I too was going through email, old laptop and USBs looking for pictures from visiting our extended family in Germany and Switzerland along with my time spent in Paris studying abroad. I couldn’t locate any of them!
Next step is asking my mom and dad to look through old pictures and files at their home to see if they can find any and then I too will start to digitally save. Any recommendations on scanning and the best way to store?
Thanks for sharing!
Em
http://www.fortuitousfoodies.com/
Hi Em! I’ve been using a canon pixma printer (I’ll look up the exact model for you) and you can scan multiple photos at a time (as many as you can fit on the scanner bed). I think in addition to storing them on an external hard drive, I’ll also organize them and upload them to a pixieset gallery so my mom and other family members can view/download/print them if they want! Will keep you posted on the progress.