Damaged old family photo
A recent article in the NY Times shared photos tossed up on the shore in Staten Island after Hurricane Sandy left behind destruction beyond what many of us can imagine. The author of the article writes of the photos on the sand, “Freeze-frame pieces of private lives, they were once displayed on a bookshelf, or pinned to a corkboard or kept safe and secret in a box under the bed.” Many people feel their photos are safe in that box or on the computer until we can get to them, at some time in the future. And then disaster strikes unexpectedly and it is too late. It doesn’t have to be that way. Those photos, even printed photos, can be backed up and protected off site so they can be reprinted.
So many people lost their homes, their belongs and many lost loved ones. Adding to the heartbreak is the loss of the memories those photos represent. Natural disasters such as this happen so quickly we often don’t have time to grab anything except those we love. We can protect the memories and the stories represented in our photos.
When is the right time to protect your photos? When is it too late?
Susan Berland is a Certified Personal Photo Organizer in Marin, Sonoma and the San Francisco Bay Area and a member of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers. She specializes in organizing print and digital photos and memorabilia, and creates keepsake albums, displays and gifts so their family stories are documented. Her passion is helping gay and lesbian families tell their family stories so their children have something tangible for the future to show who their family is and that they mattered.
