p.1 #1 · Mom threw away all the family negatives, ouch
My parents who are approaching 80 years old are moving and clearing out their house. So my mom tells me a few days go that she threw away all the family negatives dating back to who knows when, at least the 1960s. But she says it's okay, we still have the prints, which are likely 3.5" x 5" and you can imagine how old. I just cringed. Thought I'd give people a heads up so they can take some preemptive actions if they don't want to have the same experience.
p.1 #2 · Mom threw away all the family negatives, ouch
That's too bad, did they already get picked up by the trash collector and no way to get them back? Some people as they grow older really start to try to simplify their life/possessions. I know my wife's parents are much less sentimental than my parents and get rid of a lot more items. This is a good reminder to mention the importance of the originals b4 it's too late.
p.1 #3 · Mom threw away all the family negatives, ouch
Yeah, it would have been picked up by now. I should have thought about that when she told me, possibly it wouldn't have been too late. My parents are actually pretty sentimental, but my mom said she figured there was no use at all for the negatives.
p.1 #5 · Mom threw away all the family negatives, ouch
All my family shots, even a print of some 19th century relative are on paper. B&W shots my Dad photographed in the 30s look great as do the Polaroids from the 60s. I never plan to enlarge any negatives. I have a color photo of Eisenhower on the White House lawn that I shot when I was like 9. It still looks good. I'm going to compile a couple of albums of original prints from the hundreds available. I wouldn't worry about the negs so much. The memories on prints won't fade away for a long time.
p.1 #6 · Mom threw away all the family negatives, ouch
The memories on prints won't fade away for a long time.
This. And if you scan the prints that you really want to keep, you will have saved the history for future generations in a format that they'll appreciate a lot more than a crappy old negative.
p.1 #7 · Mom threw away all the family negatives, ouch
When I want to preserve a photo, I simply take a photo of it with my D700. I crop and rotate as necessary, then save the digital file. Yes, you can scan photos but this method is so simple. I place the photo(s) on a clean surface with ample natural light from the window, mount a 50mm or 85mm lens and shoot away. I've done it for friends and family members. Here's a photo of me in my James Dean pose at around age 15... 57 years ago...
p.1 #8 · Mom threw away all the family negatives, ouch
Awesome styles, I love the hair, glasses and clothes. Thanks for the perspective everyone. The most important thing is the memories. There are a lot of nice photos of early days backpacking the Wind River mountains when i was a kid that would be nice and detailed, but now only exist as somewhat faded 3.5"x 5", that I thought would have been nice to have the negatives for. But as has been mentioned, just because I thought it would be nice to do doesn't mean I ever would have gotten around to doing it. I like the idea of taking photos of the prints seeing as now they only exist as one copy.
