Nothing to See Here...

Micah is really growing up fast and is always amusing Judy and me with his questions and the words he uses. Katie continues to amaze us with the words she puts together into sentences. They both are changing on a daily basis and it reminds me to take more pictures and value the ones I already have. I often flip through the old pictures and find it astounding how they have changed.

Backup, backup, backup! That is how many copies of your electronic photos I recommend you keep for backup purpose. Please, please don't feel comfortable with your pictures on your computer. Keep them on your computer, yes, but also burn them to CD or DVD. Then copy them to a second computer or external hard drive. I heard a statistic today that says that 60% of electronic photos are accidentally deleted or lost. That doesn't sound right, but if you have ever lost just 1 folder of digital photos, you understand the heartache.

If you are interested in a solution that requires little to no time, let me know. I'm not selling anything, just want to offer help. I have lost photos before and also suffer with laziness when it comes to just doing what you know you HAVE TO do before losing those valueable photos.

Easy photo fun! Here's a few ideas for EASY things you can do with your treasured photo memories.

1. Video collage: Okay, I know what you are thinking. "Yeah, a video collage of my photos sounds like a lot of work and a lot of time! I just don't have the tools to do something like that." I'll give you partial credit on your response. Yes, it does take a LITTLE time, but no, it does not take a LOT of time. As far as tools, here's a great start. Every computer I have ever sat down at with Windows XP seems to have this program called Windows Movie Maker. Now, you're probably like me and have never noticed it. Go look.. I'll wait... START, Programs, Windows Movie Maker. This program is not some fancy smancy, answer to your movie producing career. This is a simple program that allows you to take photos and/or videos and put them together with transitions. It also gives you the ability to set it to music and add a title at the beginning. It really makes a sharp video (Click Here to see an example)! When you get real fancy (like me) you can add little videos from your digital camera along with the still photos. When you actually sit down and import a few photos, you are going to see how quickly you can make a neat-looking Video Collage.
2. Traditional photo album: Well, DUH.. Print a few of your favorite photos, cut them up, paste them into a photo album. There's a whole movement associated with this, so I won't go into many details. The idea is simple, though. The one thing I want to say about this one is this... Seems like a lot of time would be required to make a nice photo album. That's true...... if you wait 10 years before you decide to go through the photos and start an album. Don't do that. Instead, take 1 day a year to pick a dozen or so photos from the year and make one or two pages in an album. By the time 5 years rolls by, you will be amazed at how nice the album is and how many memories you have captured in this book.
3. Delete those 'other' photos: You know what I'm talking about. You took about 30 digital pictures at that birthday party, but to be honest, only about 10 of them are even worth keeping. So, delete the others. I find this more challenging than the other two ideas. But, if you trim your collection to something more manageable, it will become more meaningful. And think about this... Have you looked at photos from 20 years ago? If you have, you know all the memories come alive with a dozen quality photos of an event. No need for 300 photos of the first-born son's first birthday party.

So, that's it. A few little ideas that I have been thinking about. The biggest factor for me is always the 'just do it' part. So, just do it.

No New Posting Strategy..

Okay, so the 'New Posting Strategy' is useless. I failed to think of all the details. I can not email from work, because of the gigantic legal disclaimer at the bottom of all outbound emails. Just for fun, here's a slightly modified version of what you would have seen at the bottom of my posts. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be distracting.. hehe..

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