Photography has changed so much since I started my interest in it in the 1970s. One of the big difference is the way we view images now. Gone are the photo albums, with photo prints stuck or mounted to the pages with little photo mount pockets. Digital devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones mean we have access to our shots when ever we wish to look at them. The cloud systems from Apple and Google (other cloud services are also available) mean we have a way of keeping them safe and as long as there is internet access, you can pop them onto a screen near you.
I miss the days of sharing an album of photos spread across the laps of me and my loved ones on a rainy Sunday afternoon in winter: A mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table and a toffee or two for us to suck as we pore over old photos of relatives and good times, sitting comfortably on the couch. Many of the digital devices can’t cut it in this department. It’s difficult to view photographs on those small screens if you are in a group of people. Save for the ability to view images on a large format computer monitor or flat screen TV, I still think the photo album is the best way of viewing your special moments in history (we call them Kodak moments in our house – who says advertising doesn’t work?)
I also think that photo albums are the best way of keeping your memories safe for decades to come too: I can think of a dozen technology types that have come and gone over the last 20 years that have been used to hold images (mainly movie images, to be fair, but the principal is the same for stills). Can you say with any certainty that you’ll be able to access your images held on your USB stick or the CD-rom in 20 years? How about in 5 years? With the Mark I eyeball a standard feature for Homosapians, you can guarantee that your photo albums will be viewable into the next century.
Albums have changed too: They don’t have to have the sticky pages with acetate covers to keep your photos in place. Modern albums like the one shown in the video below allow you to have the images directly printed onto the pages. Why? because then you can show image in different sizes – really important ones can have their own page, sized to fill it if you desire. Other images can be grouped together to show context for other photos. Annotation is easier too as you can place it on the page wherever it suits. Covers come printed or in the case below, in high quality leather. Album sizes can be small, 21cm square books or large like this 25 x 35cm example.
As well as a great way of sharing your smart phone images or any picture you have taken with a digital device, these modern, bespoke printed albums are perfect for displaying scanned photographs too. It’s the perfect way of preserving images that may otherwise be stored in old shoeboxes or biscuit tins under the stairs, gathering dust and sometimes subjected to environmental conditions that degrade the images. Scanning the photos is a way of elevating them again so they get seen and cherished in the future.
If you are thinking of presenting your images (digital or scanned photos) in a beautiful unique album that you can share with your loved ones, then please call us or email and we can tell you more about how we can help you.