WHAT I BELIEVE IN

Photos, documents, and memorabilia tell your story.
They are the mosaics of your life. They are threads that weave stories across generations.

WHAT I KNOW

These stories are your legacy.
If you preserve them, thereʼs no greater gift you can give to yourself,
your loved ones, and to future generations.

What if you donʼt know where to start?
Thatʼs where I can help.

3 REASONS WHY YOU NEED AN ARCHIVED PHOTO HISTORY

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You can’t just grab your photo album anymore.

Consider this: What would happen if you were to face an impending natural disaster — a raging fire is out of control and you have to evacuate NOW; rising water from a swollen creek has made it to your front door; violent tornadoes are on the way. As you prepare to escape, what would you take with you besides your family and pets?

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You won’t fall victim to “The Digital Dark Age.”

The Digital Dark Age describes a future devoid of written or visual records because of the difficulty or impossibility to read historical documents or view visual images. The threat is real: For centuries, we have relied on paper-printed books, images and records to carry forward our history and culture to future generations.

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Your history can come to life — one personal story at a time.

Todayʼs photos, and the stories they tell, are as important as those of your ancestors. When you preserve your life stories, there is no more meaningful gift you can give to your family and to future generations. As I began writing this item, the entire world was experiencing what historians are likely to say was one of the century’s most momentous events: The 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE STORIES

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How My Family History Happened

In April 2016, I discovered an unusually heavy cardboard box buried under a 20-year accumulation of “stuff” in a bedroom closet of the rarely used summerhouse in our 1876 Annville, Pennsylvania farmhouse. It must have come into my possession after my father died in October 2004, when we also received a steel file cabinet that contained files that he had deemed to be important enough to keep when he retired after 37 years as an officer in the U.S. Army. I was dumbstruck to discover that the box contained some 1,500 35mm color slides that, unbeknownst to me, my dad began shooting in 1946, when he was assigned to serve in post-war Japan.

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Preserving the “Seven Ages of Childhood”

As a professional photographer, I often heard clients say “I wish I had more portraits of my child growing up.” In the 1990s, mindful of this issue, Professional Photographers of America (PPA) developed a program to help parents recognize the most important milestones for professional photographs to be made, insuring that a child’s development is documented as he or she grows from a tiny infant through young adulthood. Called “The 7 Ages of Childhood,” many pros still use these guidelines, which were suggested by child-development specialists who considered the physical, psychological and emotional changes that occur during childhood.

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The Story of Mary Kendall Saunders

One of the most interesting chapters in my family history is the poignant story of my Aunt Mary Kendall Sanders, who died before I was born, but with whom I feel a deep connection; my beloved grandmother, Julia Kendall, often spoke to me about her. Mary and I had a lot in common it seems: She made quilts for the family, and quilting is my hobby; her hobby was pinhole camera photography, and my business is photography. Mary grew up with her five siblings in rural Arkansas, on a farm that can be described, without exaggeration, as located “in the middle of nowhere.” When she married Walter Sanders, the couple worked the land alongside my grandparents and began to raise a family.

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I CAN HELP YOU BRING YOUR HISTORY TO LIFE.

Collect, organize, and share your stories and memories with friends and family on your computer, phone, and tablet.

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Need to reach me in a hurry?
Try the phone first. I hate texting; it’s ruining the English language. I can solve problems much faster on the phone, and my mind works much better in the morning :-). I'm in Pennsylvania, which is in the Eastern Time Zone.

Reach me at 717-644-8115.

Check out the Contact forms.
If you know what kind of help you need, go to the Contact page and chose a contact form option. Complete the applicable form so that I can save time in helping you with your needs.

© 2020 Save Your Photo History