Elvis' Turntable

While I'm recovering from the flu, please enjoy this anachrofantastic turntable, photographed by my favorite living photographer.

Elvis Presley's Turntable
Memphis, Tennessee, 2001
Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz
American Music

all photographs ©Annie Leibovitz

Source: Andrew Smith Gallery

How to Organize Photos: Avoiding Project Burnout

The curse of the half-finished project.


Photo by Ben Kelly, pope24, some rights reserved

You made your New Year's Resolutions. You started your photo organizing project with tons of enthusiasm. Oh, yes, you told yourself. This year is going to be different.

But now it's February, Valentine's Day has come and gone, and...well...

Here are some tips to keep your photo organizing project from fizzling out before you finish.

1. Set realistic goals.
If you place the bar too high, you're setting yourself up for failure. Pick realistic goals. Remember the baby steps. I've talked about this in more detail before. Here's a link to that article.

2. Make photo organizing as fun as possible.

This technique not only works, it makes the whole project more fun. I call that a win-win situation. One of the simplest ways to increase the fun factor is to play your favorite music. Even better if the music goes with the photos you're working on.

Another win-win is to invite someone to join you. Make it a regular date and you've added an extra layer of "get it done." Just think of it as a quilting bee for photos. You know, like a photo bee! ::grin::

Miriam Midkiff's awesome Scanfest uses this same idea to help folks complete large scanning projects. This completely free event happens once a month. Follow this link to learn more about Scanfest.

3. Hire a photo coach.

I don't talk about this often, but you can hire The Practical Archivist for coaching via phone or email. If you live within driving distance of Madison, Wisconsin, we can arrange one-on-one help in the comfort of your own home. Email me if you'd like to set something up: sally -at- jacobsarchival -dot- com.

But, really...as long as you've got a solid preservation plan for your family photos, any personal organizer or coach can help you stay on track. Just don't rely on a "clutter buster" for safe photo storage boxes, OK?

4. Use tech tools as your personal trainer.

If all you need is a regular reminder to stay on track, there are plenty of free tools to choose from. Here are three to get you started:

Future Me - write yourself a letter to be delivered at a later date.

GottaKeepUp.com - Get reminders at work, home, or on the go.

rminder.com - Enter your reminder and receive a voice or text message to your phone to remind you. You can sync these reminders with iCal, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar and more.

But be careful! Technology can just as easily enable bad procrastination habits, as I warned you earlier.

Good luck.

Keep at it.

You can do this!

"Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps."

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Keep the Littlest Ones Away from the Family Archives...

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I love this hilarious video of a wee one and the simple joy of tearing paper. It reminds me of the days when my kids were tiny and the wrapping paper was more interesting than the gift. Awww.

But it's also an easy-to-remember lesson about why the smallest members of the family shouldn't be allowed near irreplaceable family treasures.

Paper Vs. Plastic: Which One Is Better?

If you're tackling a family photo project, you'll need to think about what kind of storage supplies will work best for you.

Basically, you have two choices when choosing an album or photo storage box:

1. Paper.
2. Plastic.

The good news is you can find high quality archival storage products made out of either material.

But the bad news is there are plenty of junky materials out there.

A cheap photo storage box can cause more damage than it prevents.

Whether you choose paper or plastic, the safest supplies are the ones that have passed an independent test called the Photographic Activity Test. Click through to learn more about the test and why the term "archival" is meaningless when applied to consumer products.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both plastic and paper.

Plastic is good at protecting your treasures from fingerprints and spills.

Photo and documents that get handled all the time will be well served by putting them clear enclosures such as polypropelene and polyethelene. You (or third cousin who refuses to wear gloves) can see the images without touching them. Encapsulation is a good choice for fragile or torn paper that you can't afford to have repaired by a conservator.

But for storage, I prefer paper. Here's why:

Paper breathes.

Here in America we tend to put a lot of faith in the protective power of plastic. One visit to a grocery store here in the States will illustrate that fact very clearly. Everything from candy to beef to tomatoes is sold shrink-wrapped in plastic. I've traveled enough to know that this isn't the case in the rest of the world.

When it comes to archival storage, the fact that plastic doesn't breathe can actually cause more problems than it prevents.

Now, don't get me wrong -- plastic is great for keeping bad things out like moisture and fingerprints.

But...

Photographs, film and tape are all made from materials that change over time. When these materials change, they can leach chemicals or give off gases that will loop back and inflict self damage if they are "sealed in their own juices" as my preservation instructor used to say.

Here's a striking visual example of what I'm talking about.


If this tape had been stored in plastic instead of cardboard, the acids and offgassing that burned brown stains into the box would have stayed inside and attacked the tape instead.


Photo of paper bags by tanakawho, some rights reserved.
Photo of tape case by Richard Hess.

*Note! That Richard Hess link will take you to his post that explains in more detail what's going on in the photo, and why he thinks tape has escaped the vinegar syndrome that has plagued film.
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A scary reminder to back up your data...

MAJOR OOPS!

Wired News - AP News

• Software error at Charter Communications deletes 14,000 email accounts.


• No chance of recovery


• (except for data backed up by customers)

"There is no way to retrieve the messages, photos and other attachments that were erased from inboxes and archive folders across the country on Monday, said Anita Lamont, a spokeswoman for the suburban St. Louis-based company." (Read the whole article on Wired News.)

Promise me you'll back up your emails this weekend, OK?

How to Organize Photos: Warning! This Advice May Shock You

Contrary to popular belief, archivists do not keep everything.

Whaaat? An archivist? Throwing things out?

Yep.

I spent more time learning the art of archival appraisal than any other skill while in grad school. And by appraisal, I mean deciding what to keep and what to toss -- based on what items have enduring value.



But aren't archivists the keepers of our shared history?

Yes, but...

Here is the undeniable reality: If historical societies kept every single item that landed on their doorstep....every cancelled check... every unidentified photograph... every duplicate map… there wouldn't be any room left for new collections. And that won’t work in the long run, will it? Hardly.

One of my archival professors likes to use this memorable rhyme: When in doubt, throw it out.

Does that mean we should toss treasures willy nilly? No! It means if you can't think of a good reason to keep it, then it needs to go. Sometimes that means go into the trash. Sometimes that means go somewhere else (your kids, for example).

Too Many Photos Leads to Overwhelm. Overwhelm Kills Motivation.

Are you feeling so overwhelmed by your photos that you can't get started on your photo organizing project? You are not alone.

Here's what Mary had to say last year when I offered photo organizing tips here at The Practical Archivist Blog:

Sally, this is great - super helpful! All of my photos are in drugstore envelopes, including the ones from my honeymoon...6 years ago. Even some of our wedding photos are still in boxes.

I have avoided the task because it truly never occurred to me that it was okay to throw away my family photographs.

With this new information in hand, the idea of putting together a photo album, etc. sounds like fun because I'll actually *like* the finished product. Because I was NOT excited about putting together an album of indistinguishable landscapes, people standing in front of things, and people eating.

The Problem Gets Bigger Over Time

I’m a mom, so I understand how difficult it can be to part with sentimental treasures like baby pictures, finger paintings, pinch pots and teeny tiny little clothes. But if you refuse to make choices and instead keep everything, you'll have an uncontrollable mess on your hands. A mess which will only get worse the longer you ignore it.

Harsh Truth: Your grandkids are not going to want all of your vacation slides. I learned this when my husband and I inherited several photo collections from loved ones who passed on. I was happy to keep photos of relatives having fun on vacation, but I certainly didn't need their photos of the Eiffel Tower.

You can choose to leave them everything or you can make some careful selections now. If you leave it up to the next generation you've lost a wonderful opportunity to share your favorites.

Deciding What To Keep

Here are some helpful guidelines:

1. Respect Age.

In family collections, age and scarcity tend to go hand in hand. For example, the only known photograph of your great great aunt Rose? Or your grandparents' wedding? Those are keepers. They are worth the investment of high quality archival photo storage boxes and folders. These are also the ones you should scan first.

2. People Pictures.

When my husband and I were rescuing photos from our grandparents' magnetic albums, it became obvious that certain photos weren't worth saving. Generally speaking, what we decided to keep was pictures of our grandparents and other family members. What we skipped was vacation snapshots of mountains and buildings, and unidentified people who were strangers to us. We gave as many as we could to other family members in the hopes that those "orphan photos" could be identified.

3. Sentimental Value.

One of the wonderful things about working with family photo collections (as opposed to working in a historical society) is that sentimental value reigns supreme. Future generations will want to have your favorites.

And if you take a few moments to write down why you love a particular photograph...well, now we're talking about a real treasure.

Find The Keepers -- Even If You Can't Bear To Throw Anything Away

Sifting through your collection and selecting your most valuable photographs is important, even if you hold onto every last one. You'll find it much easier to decide what to scan, for example. You'll also know which photos should be removed from a sticky magnetic album and which ones can stay in that harsh environment.

You can even start flagging photographs for inclusion in your memoirs or family history book.

More on this topic:

• What to Keep? What to Toss?
• The Unclutterer and Photo Scanning Mills
• Kitchen vs. Cellar: A Fine Wine Analogy

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