Have you noticed that paper pictures are becoming artifacts? When was the last time you went to Walgreens to pick up your developed pictures? Heck, when was the last time you looked at your developed pictures? Remember squeezing together on the sofa to go through an album?
A more painful question: What is happening to those precious images that are trying to survive on paper? Fading? Stuck together? Waiting for the next generation to guess who’s who? Those are not the worst fates. My niece and nephew lost their entire documented childhood to a house fire.
I started digitizing my paper pictures in 1990. I had to save them from my scissor-happy scrapbooking mother. Later, I volunteered at the St. Augustine Historical Society, digitizing their old photos so they could sell copies on their website. And of course, every hurricane cone had me digitizing more of my treasures until they were all safely in the cloud above the storms. At this point, it’s kind of an automatic reflex for me to save the life of any undigitized photo.
Here is a picture of our dear volunteers that Lea Lent gave to me for preservation. And by preservation, I mean digitization. It seems incomprehensible that magnetic Morse code could be more durable than tangible paper, but here we are.
Recognize any faces? That’s Lea’s son on the far right.
Did this picture start out yellow? Well, it’s twin above was in the SPVCA clubhouse office, slightly less yellow. But they were taken in 1984, and I’m pretty sure we had perfect pictures back then. This and many more at the clubhouse are fading fast while hiding from the mildew monster.
I’m not the first digitarian in this club. Somebody compiled a whole CD of club photos going back to the 70’s. Was that you? As I find time, I keep working on capturing the rest of the pile.
The social committee has given me permission to run a TV slideshow of past club pictures during the 2nd Friday social this month. Come on out and check it out. Let’s hear those stories.
If you want to digitize your own photos, bring them to the free computer class on Mondays. Just give me advanced notice so I can bring my scanner. Time permitting, I’ll also show you how to “erase” the blemishes and “correct” the color. It’ll be just like old times.
This article was originally published in the South Ponte Vedra Civic Association newsletter on 5/1/2022.