Blog

18
Jul

A Polaroid Sparks Fun Memories of Growing up in the Bronx

Posted by | · · · · · · · | Featured Family Stories | No Comments on A Polaroid Sparks Fun Memories of Growing up in the Bronx

I just found this Polaroid of my family’s house in the Bronx with my grandmother and my uncle Gypsy on the porch. So many memories here, some of my best. . I was just telling someone about the time we had a cookout in the fenced-in area with a TV facing out of the bottom […]

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12
Jul

Photo Organizing 101: How to Use Photomechanic to create a smart file management system

Posted by | · · · · · · · · · | Family Photo Resources | 4 Comments on Photo Organizing 101: How to Use Photomechanic to create a smart file management system

Picture this: your mom asks you to text her a photo of yourself from your childhood. You vaguely recall scanning a print, maybe even a few favorites. But when it comes to finding the actual files, you’re stumped. And the more you search, the more you feel like pulling out your hair! Digitizing analog photos or backing […]

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03
Jul

This Vintage Snapshot of my matriarchs is elegant and exotic

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My mother would have turned 75 this week. Here she is on the beach in Panama with my grandmother, who we called Omi, when the family was stationed there. . I thought it was so exotic that her school on the Navy base had a pool, where she learned how to swim. I remember watching […]

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10
Jun

A Portrait of my mother as a young woman

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This lovely lady is 91 years young today! . Every year on her birthday she would be presented with a peony from this garden. . On her necklace is a basketball shaped charm, a gift from her steady fella at the time, captain of the team. When this snapshot was taken, she was 16 years […]

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05
Jun

How a Funeral Led to One of the Largest Scanning Services in the World

Posted by | · · · · · · · · | Family Photo Resources | No Comments on How a Funeral Led to One of the Largest Scanning Services in the World

On our quest to save family photos, we run into kindred spirits. We meet like-minded people who are passionate about preserving photos and the stories they tell. They inspire us; they challenge us; they keep us going. And often, their stories surprise us! That’s why we were thrilled to connect with the founders of ScanCafe, who shared […]

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31
Mar

A Remarkable Family Archive Reveals a Love of Wilderness and Adventure

Posted by | · · · · · · · · · | Featured Family Stories | No Comments on A Remarkable Family Archive Reveals a Love of Wilderness and Adventure

My grandparents were adventurous spirits. Their best times were spent in the high country of the Pacific Northwest. Shown here, my grandmother Mary Pearson, stands in the majestic Cascades of Washington. At 20 years old, she was wise and passionate. She absorbed the stillness and cool mountain air, photographed by her newlywed husband (my grandfather) […]

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04
Feb

The Photo Lover’s Guide to RootsTech, the Biggest and Best Family History Conference in the World

Posted by | · · · · · | Family Photo Resources | 2 Comments on The Photo Lover’s Guide to RootsTech, the Biggest and Best Family History Conference in the World

Thomas & Dianne Jones If you’re anything like me, you love photography, storytelling and family history. We are archivists, collectors, organizers, photographers, librarians, historians and genealogists. Above all, we are memory-keepers. We believe photos tell stories. And we believe those stories are worth saving and sharing. That’s why we love gatherings that bring us all together […]

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16
Jan

A Snapshot of Courage for MLK and a Vintage Family Photo of a Man Bravely Spoke Truth to Power

Posted by | · · · · · · | Featured Family Stories | No Comments on A Snapshot of Courage for MLK and a Vintage Family Photo of a Man Bravely Spoke Truth to Power

My grandfather once opened his home to a young MLK; he was jailed for it. When he delivered sermons calling for equality, the Birmingham police lined his pews to intimidate. He delivered his message just the same. He kept a secret journal on police bombings of the city’s black upper class, from 1945 to 1955; […]

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18
Mar

She Lost Her Family. Now She’s Finding Them by Creating Collages from Old Family Photos.

Posted by | · · · · · · | Family Photo Resources | No Comments on She Lost Her Family. Now She’s Finding Them by Creating Collages from Old Family Photos.

Stories are the lifeblood of family history. They keep us connected to those who represent our past, and they bond us to those who fill our present-day lives. But what happens when family stories are missing key chapters? What if some family stories are tragically broken? For one documentary photographer, family photos are keys to reconciling her fractured past with […]

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28
Dec

You can take the girl out of New York, but you can’t take New York out of the girl!

Posted by | · · · · · · · · · | Featured Family Stories | No Comments on You can take the girl out of New York, but you can’t take New York out of the girl!

Missing my mom. This is mom in the summer of ’57 on the Staten Island ferry. It was her first time going back to visit her parents in NY after getting married and moving to Cleveland. I lost my mom in 2006. She always looked forward to her yearly visits back to NYC to see […]

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