We’ve been trying to sort through stuff we really don’t need any more. One of the disadvantages of having lots of space is that it gets filled up—and too easily falls off the clean up priority because “out of sight is out of mind.”
When I came in with a box labeled “Old Prints” the other day, I should have known it would be a time sink: hours later, Katharine and I were still at the table surrounded by piles of prints, postcards and letters—but also a half-filled garbage can between us.
In the 80s and 90s, a second set of prints cost hardly anything more, so most of the envelopes are thick. We can whittle some of these down: many sets have flawed shots (exposure and focus problems); some are related to projects long completed; a few are just dull…
However, the biggest problem is that almost none are dated! With digital cameras, the date stamp is automatically in the file, so our pictures since 2001 are all very accurately dated. When I scan images—either from slides, negatives or prints—I alter the date to as close as possible to when it would have been taken. This lets me see the older images on a timeline in tools like Picasa or Photoshop Elements.
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| So whose surprise 40th birthday was that? Everyone hid their cars in the back, so she didn't have a clue until the doors opened with a big crowd in the barn. Scanned from a Polaroid instant print; 5 May 1992. |
Sometimes there are clues: an obvious event like a specific birthday party, or a handwritten note on one print in a set. More frequently, we need to deduce the date: a new calico kitten at a Christmas tree indicates it must have been 1996, because we got Tigger when Persia disappeared in December…
The box was significantly reduced though, and we were inspired to go through some more boxes to downsize some more. However, I just know it will mean a big chunk of time with the scanner!
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| An even earlier print: Eric with the car we bought to tour Australia; on a backroad en route to Canberra in May 1984. Original print ©1984, Katharine Fletcher |
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