We are children of a digital age. Amazing things come with that fact. If you are thinking about an old friend, you can text them in one second to say, "I love and miss you," and bring a smile to their face. If you are thousands of miles away and you need to see your mom... you can Skype or Facetime and feel like you are in the same room... even if it's just to show her the dress you are wearing. If you need to know who played that role in The Breakfast Club.... Siri is moments away.
As far as photography goes, the editing software is incredible. Whether you're taking photos with your phone or a high end DSLR... you get to use filters and enhance... and pick and choose which you like and want to post on Instagram and Facebook or wherever else!
But where do they go... these memories? We share them on social media... and they live on our computers and phones. And yes... we can show our friends instant moments from our lives, seconds after the moment transpires.
But will we be able to share them with our grandkids? Not if they aren't printed, we won't! I'm writing this blog today because I'm guilty of the same thing... not printing my photos on a regular basis. There's something so special about sitting around a dining room table with my mom, dad and brother, looking through albums... yes ALBUMS of photos of my grandparents and my family growing up over the years. It's extraordinary to take out a box of photos and hold a piece of paper that my grandmother held in her hand.
It's not the same sitting around a computer. It's just not. And technology fails...computers crash...all too often... and then what? All those moments, gone! It's a heartbreaking thought.
So, today I urge you... to go through your phone. Go through your computer. Back up your photo files in more than one place. Export them to Shutterfly or Blurb or Simple Prints or Artisan State. Make prints. Frame some. Make books of your photos. Save your memories in a place that you can share them easily, not just in a text message, but around a dining room table in twenty years.
This photo is from the App, Photofunia. It's a collage of a few photos of the wonderful weddings we went to this summer. I'm going to print them right now!
