[Leica] from the shoebox

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Sonny showed:
Subject: [Leica] from the shoebox
>I had a wonderful moment recently.  I  opened a big box from my parents 
>home
> and found some  pictures.
>
> http://www.sonc.com/grandparents/<<<<<

Hi Sonny,

Magical moment "happy snaps." They all were in those days :-) your ancestors 
shown in these pictures were good old fashion folks and pictures were as 
much of a miracle to them as many of us look at digital cameras and printers 
today. :-)

Those of us with the good fortune to find a family shoebox of pictures, in 
many cases a gold mine of wonderful moments of where and who we came from 
show wonderful times of their lives as hard as it may have been working and 
surviving. But they damn well did because they were a different breed to 
many of the whiners we hear from these days who want everything done for 
them. (Sorry getting off track)

Where list members wring their hands about not having negatives and other 
worries about digital output should put those fears away. Edit the work, 
select the cream and make prints!!! Put them in an album or "shoebox"  with 
the full intention long after they become dead and dust under ground, 
hopefully some member of their family in the future will be just as excited 
as we are when we find a "shoebox" full of old prints.

In our family we've found several albums from before WW1 all shot in the UK 
brought to Canada by my dad or mom. Faded for sure, but still prints to see. 
Did we find any negatives?  Not a one any where!

But we have prints, if others in the family want a print I flatbed scan with 
an Epson Perfection 4990 and beautiful reproductions looking better than the 
original in the album.

So those making waves about digital and no negatives forget it! Relax and 
make the best quality prints you can on the best archival paper you can get 
your hands on. Then make your shoebox prints!:-)

Instead of whining about technology and no negs " all this will fade" one 
should be far more concerned about making prints for those of the future 
because the longer you sit around at the key board whining about fading, no 
negs etc, the greater the chance you'll bite the bullet and you wont leave 
anything at all! :-(

And that my friends is the greatest danger we face instead of whinnying 
about no negs.

So get yer butt ends in motion, make prints and think about the legacy 
you're leaving for future generations!

Besides who the hell will care a hundred years from now? ;-) Yeah I know 
every living family member at that time. ;-)

ted