Blog

05
Aug

Reflecting on how we would feel if family photos didn’t exist

Posted by | · · · · · · · | Featured Family Stories | No Comments on Reflecting on how we would feel if family photos didn’t exist

There is so much of my grandmother’s life that I’d love to share with the world, an Instagram caption would never be enough. Whether it’s learning more of our Pittsburgh roots or what life was like growing up during the Great Depression, which is something that is not often spoken about. . One of our […]

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03
Aug

The Most Nostalgic and Treasured Family Photos are Usually the Simple Ones

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My mother in England in the late 1980s, photographed by her elder sister, who had moved there from India a few years prior. . I have been privy to the childhoods of my mother, her two sisters and their children through the thousands of photographs in my family’s archive. . A majority of them are […]

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20
Jul

A Professional Genealogist’s Tips for Uncovering Family History in Old Photos

Posted by | · · · · · · · | Family Photo Resources | 2 Comments on A Professional Genealogist’s Tips for Uncovering Family History in Old Photos

In my 25 years of doing family trees, I’ve found no greater joy than coming across a story or a photo of an ancestor, either my own or in someone else’s tree. Photographs make our loved ones seem more real, while stories written by or about them share a small piece of their life journey […]

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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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06
Jul

Family Photos Remind us that life is beautiful in simple terms

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My wife and son back when he was a real little kid – funny how certain family photos carry a kind of talismanic charge in the context of a family life. . Roland Barthes spoke of the punctum a photograph can carry/evoke. This photo filled with the emotions of those young days in the life […]

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05
Jul

What Questions are you asking your grandparents now that will help you remember them later?

Posted by | · · · · · · | Featured Family Stories | No Comments on What Questions are you asking your grandparents now that will help you remember them later?

What do you remember about your grandparents? What are you asking them now (and writing down!) to remember them when they’re gone? . I remember how funny they could be. My grandfather had a joke for everyone he met. He called the grandkids “little monsters,” in the most endearing way. He loved popcorn, peanuts and […]

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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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26
Jun

Who Else Wants Some Good News about those Boxes of Deteriorating Family Photos?

Posted by | · · · · · · · · · | Family Photo Resources | No Comments on Who Else Wants Some Good News about those Boxes of Deteriorating Family Photos?

It’s a unique mix of magic and anxiety. It’s a moment of truth. It’s a feeling unlike any other. It’s an experience called NOSTALGIA. When we discover old family photos, we are given a passport to a place called memory. This experience is powerful – everyone can relate to it. Have you ever opened a closet in your parents’ […]

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19
Jun

The inspiring story of how a little boy’s question sparked a photo scanning app with millions of downloads

Posted by | · · · · · | Family Photo Resources | 5 Comments on The inspiring story of how a little boy’s question sparked a photo scanning app with millions of downloads

Dad, where are your old photos?  On a warm summer afternoon, a 6 year-old boy in Tel Aviv, Israel asked his father, “Dad, I’d like to see what you looked like as a kid. Can you show me some pictures?” At once Yair was filled with nostalgia, but also dread. Although he knew old photos of him […]

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15
Jun

This Vintage Family Portrait Reminds Me to Remember That My Stories Started Before Me

Posted by | · · · · · | Featured Family Stories | No Comments on This Vintage Family Portrait Reminds Me to Remember That My Stories Started Before Me

Always remember this: your story started before you. . This is a portrait of my paternal family, circa 1920s. My great granddad is in the black suit. . They had just started a new life in America, after traveling here from Barbados. They came seeking life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. . I often […]

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