The Struggle is REAL PEOPLE!

I certainly hope that I'm not alone in this struggle!  As a society we take more photos than ever.  We almost always have a camera on us in the form of our cell phone.  I love the impromptu photo of gatherings with friends, my son and his friends being boys, a breathtaking sunset that deserves to be shared.  But what are we to do with all of these photos?  How do you begin to create a photo backup and organization system that is easy to use, and you can actually maintain it?

I got really tired of seeing this image.  And more than once I could not take photos without first deleting some photos to make room.  And heaven help if you want to take a few minutes of video documenting a moment in your life!  Or it stops recording right in the middle of your child's saxophone solo! (true story)

So I have chosen to use Forever's FREE mobile app and cloud storage instead of iCloud.  When I open the app, it automatically uploads all the photos on my phone to my Forever permanent storage account.  My husband also has the app on his phone and it's linked to our Forever storage account too. There is also an app for the iPad.  The app allows me to organize my photos into albums when I'm on the go and have a few minutes to kill. Because all my photos (and soon video) are backed up to Forever, I no longer need to take up iCloud storage with them, and I can free up space on my phone by deleting the photos that are safely backed up to Forever.

Once photos are backed up at Forever, they arrive in the inbox.  From there I can add them to albums, add tags and even write a lengthy description about the photo if I choose.  You could tell your entire family history using your Forever account.  The photos in my albums can become beautiful projects like wall canvases, photobooks, calendars, cards, mugs and so much more in Forever Projects! 

I am able to share my photos with family and friends that I have granted access to my photos.  They can easily add my photos to their own Forever account or download photos.  This makes it super easy to share photos with my family, close friends or teams/groups. 

I am have by no means gotten this beast tamed yet, but I'm slowly chipping away at the thousands of images and keeping the very best ones safe in my Forever account.  It will never cost me more money unless I decide to increase the amount of storage that I need.  No monthly fees.  If I don't use my account for 7 years, my account is still active and everything is just like I left it.  My photos, documents and soon videos are guaranteed safe for my lifetime plus 100 years thanks to the Forever Guarantee Fund.  Forever even has succession planning so that you can pass your account down to the next generation.

If you want to start getting your photos in order, enjoy them, share them and know that they are safe for many, many years to come, I encourage you to join me in this journey.  I'm creating a community of people that believe their photos matter, their family's story matters, and they want to do their part to be sure it's all documented for future generations to not only learn from, but enjoy.  Come on over and join us on Facebook.  Share your photos, struggles, ideas and mostly, join the fun!

 

What makes FOREVER different than other photo storage/sharing sites?

I recognize that are lots of free websites that allow you to store and share your photos and create projects with those photos.  Watch this video to see what makes Forever different.  I'm proud to be a part of this company and help others preserve their photos and family history for future generations.  The Forever guarantee secures my photos/videos for my lifetime + 100 years!  For as little as $5/month (that's like 17 cents/day) you can have "photo peace of mind."

Sign up for a FREE account today and check it out.  The FREE FOREVER APP makes sure that your phone photos are backed up automatically to your Forever account.  I love this because I can free up space on my phone knowing my photos are secure on my Forever website, AND I don't have to remember to take photos off my phone for backup, or deal with the message that I don't have enough iCloud storage to hold all my photos!  The Forever app takes care of backup for me!  And with the app loaded on my hubby's phone, his photos are automatically backed up too!  Love, love, love! 

I think my favorite feature of Forever is the sharing capabilities.  "Friends & family" on Forever are your closest friends that you want to give TRUE ACCESS to your photos, not just acquaintances like some of our social media friends. When family members or friends "share" their Forever albums with you, you are able to copy their entire album right into YOUR Forever account if you'd like.  Or you can choose individual photos that you'd like to add to your account.  Just imagine how GREAT this type of sharing is for those FAMILY HERITAGE PHOTOS that perhaps only Great Aunt Alma has a copy of?  Forever's white-glove photo scanning (or digitization of slides, movies, etc) allows those family photos to be digitized and shared with family anywhere around the world!

Here's a box of mini video tapes from my son's toddler years and photos from a family trip to Disney World in 1983 that I recently shipped to Forever to have them convert to digital files that will make it possible for me to edit and share videos.  Forever takes the hassle of out getting the job done!

If you'd like to know more about Forever's services, leave a comment or contact me (click on "view my complete profile) to learn more.

Are Your Photos Really Safe?

Imagine that your home were on fire, or a natural disaster were impending (remember Hurricanes Sandy & Katrina, and recent flash flooding events).  What if you had to gather all your photos and important documents quickly and evacuate.  Go ahead.  Try a "photo fire drill" to really learn just how many places around your home you have photos stashed.  

I was shocked, and realized that in an actual emergency, I probably wouldn't be able to grab them all.  Sure I could grab the external hard drives, but those can crash and files can become corrupted and unreadable.  And it's not just one hard drive, but several of them!

Well, I'm beginning to breath a little easier now that I've found the company, Forever, to safeguard my most precious photos. I was so impressed with what Forever is offering that I became an Ambassador for them.  I'm excited to let others know about the services that Forever offers, and how Forever can help them get all their photos in one place where they are secure, well FOREVER! 

Here's a video showing just how different Forever is from other online cloud storage companies.  The pricing has been simplified from what is shown in the video, but the information about the company and the care they take in safeguarding their members photos is the same.  Check it out.  Then sign up for a free trial account today and play around with it!

If you've been looking for a safe & secure way to store and share your photos among family, please give Forever a look.  Get 30% OFF through Memorial Day when you use the promo code Memorial 2015.  You can even enjoy a free membership to give it a try before you buy!

Forever offers scanning services (they can scan anything or will digitize it by taking photographs if it doesn't fit on their large flatbed scanners), VHS video conversion, and yes, you can even turn your photos and scanned items into photo albums.  You'll enjoy the mobile app that lets you easily send your favorite photos to your secure online Forever storage.

Your Photos Deserve More

When I ask people if they are interested in getting their photos into an album that lets them enjoy their photos without need of a computer, or flipping through their phone, I often get the "I don't have kids" response.  NEWS FLASH - you don't need kids to need a photo album!

I don't know anyone that doesn't take photos.  They take photos of their pets, their vacations, and their hobbies/ interests. They even take photos of their food just to post it on social media!  (It's okay to admit it.  So have I.)

We enjoy attending car shows as a family activity. My teenage son is NUTS about cars!  

So I've started making an album of those car show outings. So what photos do you have that deserve to be slid into an album that becomes a conversation starter on your coffee table?  

Your photos were taken to help you relive those moments. Not to spend their days stuck on your computer or phone.  I love seeing people's eyes light up as they flip through page after page of precious memories. I'm here to help you experience that joy.

~Your Photo Fairy

Where Photos Go to Die

This is the first entry in what could be an overwhelming journey.  Maybe you've had the same experience.  YOU'RE DROWNING IN DIGITAL PHOTOS!!!

We've all been there.  You've purchased a new computer, but knowing there are lots of files on the old computer that need to move to the new computer, you don't immediately tackle all of it.  Thus my story begins when our very first computer purchased in 1990 sat on a desk in the basement after we replaced it in 1999.  Don't get me wrong.  I was pretty sure that I had moved all the photos from the old PC to the new one.  But I wanted to make double sure - now that it's 2012, and this PC groans more than I do when it wakes up.  I was sure that PC death was eminent for this device. 

So naturally, I thought it would be as simple as plugging in the portable external hard drive and just moving the My Picture folders to the EHD and then to the new computer.  NOT SO!!  Guess what?  Yep.  The USB port on the back of the old PC was NOT the same size.  The only other option was 3.5" floppy discs - my kid didn't even know what one of those was when I showed it to him.  NEWS FLASH - TECHNOLOGY CHANGES RAPIDLY!!!

Now keep in mind that the photos on the old PC were mostly taken on film for which I had also gotten a CD with the photos so that I could store a backup on the computer too.  Who knows where the CDs went once the photos were on the computer.  And negatives?  No way was I going to retrieve all the photos from those.  Even I still have them all filed in box.  Somewhere.  Maybe you just buy more and more memory cards and never take your photos off the old ones.  WILL YOU BE ABLE TO GET THE PHOTOS OFF MEMORY CARDS in the future?

Memory Cards

So my sweet husband removed the hard drive from the old PC and took it to the office with him.  A guy there had a device to get the data off the old hard drive and onto an EHD that I could use to move the photos onto the newer PC.  In case you've lost track of time, the "new" PC was purchased in 1999.  Now in 2012, IT sounds as if it could come to a grinding halt every time it's started.  So the journey to get ALL my digital photos organized once and for all begins.

So the good news in all of this is that Panstoria has made yet more improvements to our photo organization & editing software, Historian.  Now the software has facial recognition & more.  So I pledge to spend at least 15 minutes each day tagging & sorting my photos while watching mind numbing TV, so that I can easily retrieve, enjoy and share my photos with others.  Historian will even search your PC or pull in photos from online accounts like Facebook.  You can purchase and download Historian by clicking the image in my sidebar.

So I hope you'll check back from time to time to see how this project is going & perhaps be inspired to finally tackle your own PHOTO OVERLOAD.  I'm here to help you each step of the way.  The first step is the hardest.  But just imagine how great it would feel to know that all of your photos, videos & even audio files are organized, and safely backed up.  Because we all know that with a hard drive crash, it's not IF it will crash, but WHEN.   Make the time to take care of your digital photos.  Because we all know that we will never "find" time.  We have to "make" time for the people & things that are most important to us.  And you know what, you'll be surprised at the power of looking at old photos.  Especially with your kids or grandkids.  Let the photo rescue & storytelling begin.  See you back here soon!

Learning to Fish

I'll start with a little background.  I began fishing at an early age with my grandfather.  There was a catfish pond on his farm, and anyone with a bit of patience could drop a line in the pond using a cane pole and pull out a fish eventually.  I didn't care if I caught any fish, I just enjoyed hanging out with Pappaw.

Years later I graduated to a rod & reel with instruction from my dad.  After just flinging my line in the water, this whole "casting" thing was a royal pain.  Inevitably I failed to take my thumb off the lever at precisely the right time and wound up with a tangled mess of line.  With practice, much practice, I finally learned to put the line at least in the general vicinity of where I wanted it.  By this time, as long as I could work on my tan, I'd sit in a boat and fish all day.

This summer my dear husband began teaching not only me, but also our 10 year old son, how to fly fish.  So far the kiddo has had better luck catching fish than I have had as evidenced by this photo.

So what does learning to fish have to do with photos, jpgs, scrapbooks or Creative Memories?  Stay with me here.  When you are new to a fishing spot, often you employ a guide to show you where the fish are, what bait to use and what techniques have worked in the past.

I hope you'll consider me to be your photo guide.  I understand your frustration of being overwhelmed with photos on memory cards, CDs, DVDs, hard drives, photo sites and maybe even still on undeveloped rolls of film!  I'm here to help you find a solution that fits not only your budget, but meets your needs and makes enjoying your photos a whole lot easier.