Find Joy in Your Photos Again - Simple Steps to Regain Control
Photographs are intended to bring us joy. Instead most people feel anything but joy when it comes to their photographs. Most people feel challenged, frustrated, and overwhelmed by their photographs! The average person has shoeboxes and dresser drawers full of photos that are a jumbled mess. Many people have years and years' worth of photos that have never even made it out of the film developer's envelopes! Even worse, some people have even stopped taking pictures because they feel so guilty about their already out-of-control photo "collection." If you're feeling overwhelmed by your photos, then start by taking these simple steps to find the joy in your photographs once again: 1. Practice Photo Safety If you were to ask someone to name their most prized possessions, they would likely tell you that their photographs and keepsakes were most important.
And yet, most people are unknowingly damaging these very items that they consider most valuable! How about you? Are you damaging your precious photographs? If you have any photographs in shoeboxes, magnetic albums, manila folders, plastic baggies or standard film developing envelopes, then your answer is YES! If you have ever written on the back of your photographs with a ballpoint pen, then your answer is YES! That is because all of these items expose your photographs to the three biggest hazards: Acid, Lignin and PVC. Here's a quick explanation of these hazards:
- Acid: A chemical substance that can weaken paper and cloth, causing it to brown and become brittle.
- Lignin: An organic substance that is present in wood pulp. It becomes more and more acidic as it deteriorates. (The yellowing effect of a newspaper is an example of lignin.)
- PVC: (also known as polyvinyl chloride) A chemically active plastic that, when combined with moisture in the air can emit hydrochloric acid.
Just remember that acid, lignin and PVC will damage photographs! Whenever you purchase photo albums and scrapbooking supplies, be sure that they are acid-free, lignin-free and PVC free. You also need to protect your photographs from hazards in the environment, such as excessive heat, light and humidity. For ultimate safety, you should store your photo collection in a windowless closet away from water pipes and heat sources. This may seem like extra work, but practicing photo safety should the first step in any of your photo organizing projects. The greatest organizing systems are useless if your photographs are destroyed in the process! 2.
Gather everything in one place. It's hard to organize your photographs if you don't know where they are! Having everything in one place will bring an immediate sense of peace, and it will make it easier for your family to enjoy your precious photographs. There's a security benefit, too! If the unthinkable happens and you need to evacuate your house, you will be able to quickly gather your treasured items. 3. Don't get hung up on the "big picture".
If you're like most people, then just thinking about your massive photo collection is enough to discourage you from taking action. You see years and years' worth of photos and think you could never get them all organized, so why bother? Get rid of that "all or nothing" mentality! Set mini-goals so that you can feel a sense of accomplishment. Focusing on one theme (such as holiday or vacation photos) will be a lot more manageable than trying to tackle the entire photo collection at one time. Don't sabotage yourself by thinking you need to set aside an entire day for your organizing. Take advantage of small blocks of time ? even 15 minutes ? and take some action.
Small progress is still progress! 4. Purge your photos! Photographs hold so much meaning and significance for us, and most of us consider our photographs to be among our most prized possessions. Because of this, many of us would never dream of throwing away a photograph. It sounds dreadful doesn't it? But guess what? You don't have to keep every picture! Don't be afraid to sift through your collection and free yourself of those photographs that don't stir your emotions. For starters, release anything that is dark, blurry, or otherwise unattractive.
If you insist upon keeping every photograph, then your truly special photographs will be lost in the mass of other photographs. Keep those photos that inspire you, and release the rest. Purging your photographs is one simple thing you can do to dramatically simplify your organizing. 5. Develop a system for handling just-developed pictures.
We realize that you probably have oodles and oodles of older photographs that need organizing. So, you may think it odd that we're focusing on handling just-developed pictures. The simple reason for that is that you need to feel a sense of achievement, and this will give you an easy starting point. It may take you a while to go back and organize your older photographs, but at the very least you'll feel in control of your pictures from here on out. The system that you create should be simple, so that you'll use it every time.
6. Capture your memories that go along with your photographs. Your photographs will hold more meaning, for you and your loved ones, if they know the story behind them. As you begin to get your photographs in order, you may be interested in discovering the joy of scrapbooking! Scrapbooking is the art of safely and creatively showcasing photos and memorabilia in albums using archival, acid-free albums and products. Pages are embellished with stickers, artwork, and journaling.
Scrapbooking is the fastest growing segment of the craft industry, with good reason. "Scrapbooking is truly a magical activity with immeasurable benefits. It allows us to record our family stories and reflect on life's greatest treasures". Whether or not you plan to scrapbook, be sure to take the time to capture those magical moments in life. You know, those times in life when something wonderful happens and everything seems right with the world .
. . or you're amazed by your child's words of wisdom. Capture those special moments as they happen. Copyright 2003-2004, by The Sentimental Playground.
Article may be reprinted with permission. Please contact info@organizedphotos.com.
Christine Sutton and her business partner, Tracey DuBois, have helped countless people organize, protect, and enjoy their precious photographs. They co-founded www.organizedphotos.com, a website that offers a fun approach to photo safety, organizing solutions, a FREE Photo Organizing Idea Kit and more!info@organizedphotos.com
?Faces of the World?, InsideOut Travel Magazine?s Photo Contest
If you're traveling this holiday season, be sure to load up on film or memory cards because InsideOut Travel Magazine wants your travel shots.The magazine's first travel photo contest took place in June 2004 and it was such a big hit that they're hosting a second one. Some of the best submitted photos were shown in a slide show at one of our Travelers Happy Hour in San Francisco. Winning pictures can be seen at http://www.insideoutmag.com/0704/photowinners.htm"People showed a lot of interest in the photos, it was great because it became a real photo community event" said photo editor Alex Robinson. For InsideOut Travel's second photo contest, Robinson has chosen the theme "Faces of the World."
"I'm looking for portraits and candids of regular people from all over the world in their natural daily life," he said. "I want fellow travelers to show us the faces and expressions of people from all walks...
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Dating and Rating Website for People Tired of Monthly Fees
Shane Coffey the creator of UrateUdate.com got divorced on May 5, 2004. He Started looking for that perfect someone on the dating sites and realized a few things. One, he really didn't need a doctor to tell him how to get his perfect mate. Two, he did not need to pay a monthly fee to get that perfect mate. Three, he was tired of signing up "for free" on most sights to find out that later he could not contact anyone, say anything or meet his perfect mate without paying an "arm and a leg".
Four, he was tired of recieving e-mails all the time trying to get him to purchase "this and that". Or being harrassed to make the plunge, and finally start paying. So Shane set out to create a website where there are no ads, no doctors, site members pay a one time fee and they do not have to worry about being spammed constantly with please pay e-mails.As an incentive and to help people searching for a significant other UrateUdate.com is offering a one time fee of just $39.99 to the first 100...
Dating and Rating Website for People Tired of Monthly Fees
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Digital Photography and the Printed World
Photo collections ? for traditional photographers the phrase conjures thoughts of bound albums and mounds of shoeboxes, stuffed to capacity with 5 x 7 inch pictures. For today's ever growing ranks of digital photographers however, it brings to mind thoughts of a stamp-sized memory card, a pocket hard drive, or CDs and DVDs. Welcome to the world of digital photography, which is fundamentally changing the way we capture and preserve images.
Digital photography today is a rapidly growing consumer pastime with many advantages versus traditional film-based cameras, including the ability to immediately review, erase, annotate or categorize images, speed and ease of operation, and quality at the high end of the digital photography scale. Although some film cameras can operate without batteries, minus the flash, most consumers are unconcerned with use in wet or poor weather environments and are drawn to digital cameras by all of the advantages that they offer.
Because...
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Used Copiers
The high prices of new copiers often prompt many businesses to consider purchasing used copiers. This might turn out to be a good idea. Properly refurbished copiers can be a dependable part of a business establishment for a long time. Now, what are "properly refurbished copiers?" It is certainly more than just cleaning the outside and making sure it still works. Apart from a thorough cleaning of inside and out, "properly refurbished" copiers must have all worn parts replaced, and be inspected for any potential problems.
Remember, "multifunctional" copiers that can function as printer, scanner, and fax machines also are suitable for home offices only. Multi-person offices should avoid them, as per-copy prices are much higher and they're not built to handle a business copy volume.
Another vital factor you must take into consideration is the "mileage" on the machines you are planning to buy. Copiers possess built-in counters that track total usage. After...
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Digigear, Inc. Introduces 3D Picture Frame: EZ3D Photo Print
Irwindale, CA (ContentDesk) July 15, 2006 -- DigiGear, Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative products for the exploding digital photography marketplace, is launching its most exciting product to date, EZ3D Photo Print. This product gives anyone the ability to take any digital photo and turn it into a stunning 3D photo in three EZ steps and in just minutes.Previously, in order to make 3D photos, you would have to use special cameras, 3D glasses or other complicated means in order to make a 3D photo. Well that has all changed with the introduction of EZ3D Photo Print. It is a product that is a perfect addition to the exploding print-at-home market. Plus, the product is so easy to use that all age groups can take advantage of it, including, Moms, Dads, kids, and even seniors.
It is a product that spans all generations. EZ3D Photo Print comes complete with everything you need to get started. (However, you will need a Windows based computer, and photo-quality printer, and photo...
Digigear, Inc. Introduces 3D Picture Frame: EZ3D Photo Print
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