What to do with all of those photos?

Back in the day we all used cameras that required film.  My decisions were 35mm film or cartridges, then either Kodak or Fuji and which ISO I wanted.  That was it.  You then when out, took your photos brought them to get developed – always got the doubles – and hoped you got the shot(s).  Once the prints were in hand, the only decision now was if the photo album was going to have frilly edges or not.

As cameras entered the digital age, there left much to be desired.  They were clunky, the images were grainy, and once you filled the memory card, what were you going to do with it?  During this time, we traveled with two cameras, a digital one and another one which we called – the real camera.  Yes, we took the same picture with both cameras.  It was a complicated time.

As time went on, the digital cameras got better and are now everywhere including in our family and today we travel with our beloved Sony A7 III and love it.  It’s our workhorse and is trusted to get the shot.  The downside is when we come home from one of our trips we don’t have just a few rolls of film to go through for an album, we usually take 1000 photos per week when we’re travelling! 

What do we do with all those photos?  It depends. 

When Janelle creates a photobook, it is just for us and our family.  They are family memories with stories meant to be retold over dinners and gatherings.  She spends countless hours culling through our photos, reading her daily journal entries, pairing up each series of photos with their tales.  The books are thick and rich with content, each one around 100 pages.

Social media is different in that the stories are published for family, friends and Facebook friends (you know, the classmate you haven’t seen since Jr. High).  Attention spans are short and fleeting, you need to grab their attention before they scroll by.  More than 20 photos are pushing it, and certainly no long-winded stories.  Short, flashy, and with some witty humour sprinkled in to keep them coming back.

What do you do with all your digital images?  Do they reside on your phone to never see the light of day?