Pictures Matter

Don’t let them get away

Photos are important – people run back into burning homes for them

Someday you’re going to want the photo you took today…

… it may not be today

• Tomorrow you might want to send one to your Mother

• In 2025 you may want it for her Sweet Sixteen party

• In 2030 it could be part of the slide show for her wedding

• In 2086 you’ll need it to put together the 80th Birthday presentation

… will you be able to find it?

• Maybe it never made it off the memory card

• Maybe your computer’s hard drive will crash

• Maybe you’ll replace your computer and not copy what really matters

• Even if it’s still in existence, will you remember that it was file IMG_0483.jpg in folder C:/mypictures/2008July?

We’ve all got shoeboxes & albums

“If I never see another 300-print album it’ll be too soon…”

Anonymous consumer, observing a display of 300-print albums for sale

Film was easy

• Throw all the prints in a shoe box

• Leave the negatives in the envelope and scatter them all over

Film becomes the image

You can always see a negative

Digital doesn’t make an image

Digital cameras just make numbers – instructions for making a print.

Without a machine (computer)…

I’m a big believer in making photo prints…

…someday – when I have time

Someday never comes!

Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1972

For TODAY – what’s the safest way to preserve my photos?

The BIG memory card

is not your friend• You’re going to keep on shooting ‘til you fill it up

• Anything more than 640 mb won’t fit on a CD, so you’ll copy it to your computer – if you copy it at all!

• Anything more than 4.7 GB won’t fit on a DVD, so you’ll copy it to your computer – if you copy it at all!

Your memory card holds as many photos as a shoebox full of photos!

Memory Cards

are not safe storage

Memory Cards

are not safe storage

How about Hard Drives?

Where are mybaby pictures?

Your computer’s hard drive is no place for permanent storage!

MTBF

One acronym you need to know:

MeanTimeBeforeFailure

But my computer has TWO hard drives

• That is, two drive letters that are on the same hard disk

• …when that one hard disk fails, both drives fail!

Think of your computer’s hard drive as “Image Cental”

But don’t stop at Image Central

External USB or FirewireHard Drive

Online doesn’t mean forever

Online doesn’t mean forever

Will CDs last forever?

∞

• Less than forever

• Buy good CDs and store them safely

• Be careful how you label them

• Store a second copy off premises

• When they develop something better, copy everything over

How long will my CDs last?

Old systems die easy – and fast

Make a second copy and store it off premises!

Give a copy to the kids

What’s safest for the long term?

• Memory cards – NO!

• Hard drive only– NO!

• Online only– NO!

• Hard drive plus CD or DVD - BETTER

• Hard drive, CD & removable hard drive

• Hard drive, online, CD, removable drive

• PRINTS – they’ve stood test of time

All CDs and DVDs look just alike

Don’t be known as “the one who cut down the family tree”