 |
“She would live for his letters and he would live for her picture.”
Jenna Bush Hager said this recently on the Today Show about her grandparents, Pres. George H. Bush and Barbara Bush, when they were much younger, and nowadays too. Watch the video here:
She goes on… “Now, in the age of technology, many first proclaim their love via text and email, which has in many ways killed the handwritten note.”
The Bushes wrote love letters to one another in the early years of their relationship, and they continue to do so, over 60 years later.
Politics aside, I couldn’t help but think about how true this is of photos today. The destiny of communication via text and email is so parallel to the destiny of images we capture on our digital cameras and phones. What will we have to hold onto if all those thoughts, and all those images of special events – images that never became printed photos – drift away into nothingness?
Like the handwritten note, are we killing the printed photo in this new age of technology?
Recently on a trip to the local zoo I must have taken three dozen pictures in a two-hour time-span. Why so many? I can look at them later and delete the ones that aren’t “good” – that’s the beauty of digital photography! But will I print the good ones?
My children will love holding and looking and photos of themselves in the Amazon Rain Forest with that curious yellow and black bird! (Next blog will talk about the benefit to children of having printed photos as they grow up. Stay tuned!) I also have echoing in my head that my parents would like ANY photos of my children I’d be willing to share, as they live 1000 miles away.
JMC’s philosophy is this: make sure to print your favorite photos. With the quality of paper (and other media) used these days, photos last longer, and there are so many different ways to display them, on canvas, metal, tile, mugs, mouse pads – just about anything.
The rest? How about a photo book? You can find tools online to make amazing books. The company that makes them for us is reliable and produces a beautiful product. Find out more at http://jmcpds.com/photobooks.html. Even quicker, buy a photo-safe album at a craft or department store and slide those pictures in.
Don’t forget to print a few to share with your relatives and friends.
Finally, always make sure to organize and store in a safe place (like a CD) the “keepers” so that your children and grandchildren will have something to enjoy for years to come.
Like George Bush, hold onto those pictures; keep them alive, hold them in your hand, and live for them.
