PhotoWise Calgary

Category: Calgary Photo Organizer

Articles featuring the Photo Organizer of PhotoWise Creative Photo Solutions in Calgary, Alberta from the ‘Your Memories Matter’ blog

  • How to Protect Your Photos from Loss, Theft or Damage

    How to Protect Your Photos from Loss, Theft or Damage

    Protecting Printed Photos From Loss, Theft Or Damage

    First and foremost, I’d like to send my warmest wishes for a speedy return to safety and comfort for everyone who has been affected by the recent hurricanes and earthquakes. I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been to have to hunker down and ride out severe storms that took lives and destroyed homes.

    I’m proud that Canada is stepping up to aid in the relief efforts. You can do your part to help by donating to the Canadian Red Cross online. It’s hard to tell, of course, how long it will take for normalcy to be restored, but I do know that the more we help, the easier the transition will be.

    The importance of saving your memories.

    Keeping safe during a natural disaster is always of paramount importance. However, I can’t help but think about how many memories storms like Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma have robbed from people. Naturally, in the midst of the many possessions we keep in our homes are our photos.  Photos, of course, capture moments in our lives that are meant to be cherished forever.  Our memories can only hold on to so much information without photos to help us recall those special times.

    Recent events serve as a reminder to digitize your photos in case of an unforeseen event that could destroy them forever. Once your photos are scanned, they can be both saved and backed up as digital files as well as reprinted. Essentially, scanning your old photos gives them renewed and longer lives – and helps protect them against being lost forever in the event of loss, theft or damage.photo albums to be scanned

    PhotoWise can help you protect your photos.

    Here at the PhotoWise studio we offer top-of-the-line photo scanning services.  Our equipment includes a variety of professional high-resolution and high-speed scanning machines and custom software applications. Each photo is checked for quality and scanned by hand. We want you to enjoy your photos for generations to come!

    Turn your old photos into canvas prints, put them in published photo books or print enlargements as gifts for your family members and friends. You have many options!

    Of course, a natural disaster isn’t particularly necessary in order for your old photos to be destroyed. In many cases, pictures that have been tucked away in shoeboxes or sticky albums for years deteriorate due to acidic environments, dust, mould and even insect infestations.  Don’t allow your precious memories to fade due to the passing of time and/or unforeseen circumstances…

    Please don’t hesitate to contact me today to find out how we can help organize, digitize and restore your family photos to bring new life to them and preserve your precious memories forever!

  • Why Is Photo Preservation So Important?

    Why Is Photo Preservation So Important?

    Why Is Photo Preservation So Important?

    How good are our memories, really? Yes, we can recall many different occasions that we’ve enjoyed throughout the years. As a result, we often tell stories as fun as the time Dad caught that huge fish at the lake or as heart-warming as the moment we fell in love with our significant others. Each time we tell these stories, however, they’re told in a slightly different way. That’s because our memories are only so good. As my mother always says “I have a good memory – but it’s short!”

    I’m such a big advocate for taking photos because there is no clearer way to recall the past than to capture it through images. I’ve long believed in the power of the camera, and, as a result, I spent a great deal of my childhood ensuring that I never left home without mine. I believe that preserving memories is an incredibly important facet of life and this is why preserving my photos – and helping others to do the same – is so important to me.person sorting photos on a table

    It helps you to hold on to precious memories.

    There are so many cherished moments in life that are remembered best because someone was there with a camera to capture the joy. Sometimes the mental images and memories of things in the past can become faded or mixed up in our minds. But, as the old saying goes, “the camera never lies”. Pictures can help you to recall special memories with pinpoint accuracy.

    Gretchen Rubin of The Huffington Post believes that photographs can act as a diary. “I’m always trying to figure out ways to keep hold of memories,” she writes, “My one-sentence journal, for instance. I try to use photographs to record the little moments that are so precious but also so easily forgotten. One thing I wish I could tell my younger self: take photos of everyday life, not special occasions; later, that’s what will be interesting to you.”

    It helps you to remember and relive cherished moments in time.

    We’re all guilty of holding on to certain possessions longer than necessary. Who among us didn’t have at least one of our stuffed animals still hanging around as we entered our thirties? Pictures also allow us to preserve the memories of particular items that we used to hold dear, and can often take the place of those cherished items themselves. Rubin points out that photos can often replace the things that are captured within the images.

    “After my friend’s beloved father died, she wanted to keep his enormous desk, as a memento-but she really didn’t have space for it,” she explains, “She took a photo of it, and then was able to let go of the desk. Strangely, too, a photograph of something can sometimes be more beautiful than the thing itself.”

    At PhotoWise, we’re dedicated to helping our clients preserve their photos because we know that it allows them to preserve their cherished memories. I would consider it an honour to help you organize your family photos so that they can be digitized and preserved in a way that will honour your memories for generations!

  • Shoeboxes Are For Storing Shoes, Not Photos

    Shoeboxes Are For Storing Shoes, Not Photos

    Shoeboxes Are For Storing Shoes, Not Photos

    I’m not exactly sure how the trend started – but shoeboxes are notoriously used to store old photos. Arguably, more popular than photo albums themselves, shoeboxes can be found in closets and basements all across Canada – filled with photographs. My own mother kept her small stash of old family photos in this way (until I found out about it… 😉 )

    Why is that? Who exactly told everyone that shoeboxes were ideal for photo storage? Although shoeboxes, based on their sizes and shapes, seem like convenient storage units for old pictures, they can be a photograph’s worst enemy.

    Why are shoeboxes poor choices for photo storage?

    First, it’s important to know that the chemicals inside the ‘cardboard’ material is dangerous to photographs.  Second let’s consider ventilation – Shoeboxes certainly don’t provide much of it. And when photos are cooped up in these rectangular prisons, they often become victim to moisture damage and mould growth. This is especially true if those shoeboxes are kept in dark, dingy basements where mould tends to find their homes. It’s important not to store photos in basements, attics or garages where temperatures and humidity fluctuate with the changing of each season.

    To be completely fair, I shouldn’t be blaming the shoebox for photo damage as much as I should be blaming the locations where shoeboxes are generally kept. As mentioned, these popular photo storage containers are most often stacked in areas of the home that make them susceptible to damage caused by temperature and humidity changes.

    “Keep in mind that shoe boxes are not water-resistant,” reminds LifeStorage.com, “Consider using them for organizing your photos, but storing them in a archival water-resistant container or in a place where you know they will never come in contact with water.”

    The site also points out that “an ideal container for storing printed pictures would have a sealed, water-resistant exterior, such as plastic, and soft but stiff dividers to separate prints on the inside.” Such a storage idea begs the question: How can you possibly enjoy your photos if they shoebox filled with old photosare locked up in sealed containers?

    I’m a firm believer that photos deserve a great deal more respect.

    Pictures are taken for a reason. The images capture special moments in the lives of the photographers and their loved ones, and because of that, should be showcased in ways that can help for family members and friends to relive those special memories. The shoebox storage approach only serves to bury those memories and deteriorate the quality of the prints. It’s a better idea to store your original photo collection in archival storage products AFTER having scanned them so that the photographs can be viewed and enjoyed – which was their intended purpose after all!

    In my opinion, a photograph is the ultimate way to capture and document the most important parts of our lives. What good are the photos if they are tucked away and kept out of sight? I founded PhotoWise, in part, because I know how overwhelming it can be for people to locate, sort and organize the countless photos they have stored in shoeboxes throughout their homes. It’s my mission to relieve my clients of that stress and I provide them with peace of mind – knowing that these disorganized and risky storing procedures can be corrected.

    Does it sound like you could use my help?

    Don’t hesitate to contact me to today to get the ball rolling on organizing all of your precious photos and doing away with the whole stuff-‘em-in-a-shoebox routine!

  • A Yearbook To Celebrate Your Family

    A Yearbook To Celebrate Your Family

    Year-In-Review: One Of The Best Ways To Celebrate Your Family

    Happy New Year everyone! I would like to offer you my best wishes and hopes that it will be a year that will provide you with many wonderful new memories!

    Here at PhotoWise, we’re big on preserving memories, and that’s why we offer a number of unique and special custom services that enable you to beautifully preserve your family photos and stories. (Including the family yearbook photo book!)

    We’ve just come off another wonderful holiday season and I’m willing to bet that you posed for family and friends to take photographs – as well as took a bunch of shots yourself.  After all, the holiday seasons are the biggest “photo taking” times of the year. (Those mobile phone cameras are so darn handy aren’t they?!)

    But what happens to all of those holiday photos after they’re taken?

    In years of past, the photos would usually end up in sticky photo albums, cut and glued into scrapbooks, or stored in shoeboxes. Today, they are mainly stored digitally on computers or mobile devices – spread throughout the many smartphones of the people who took the pictures. In some cases, a few of them end up on Facebook and social media but there’s never really any tangible account of the celebrations you enjoyed in each holiday season. All too often, the memories of those happy faces, activities and traditions become hazy as the photos get lost in their respective social media timelines or dropped into a miscellaneous (and eventually misplaced) folder on your computer.

    How can we help you to preserve your cherished holiday memories?

    We recommend the creation of an annual Family Yearbook!  Each year, around this time, we help our clients to collect their favourite photos from the previous year so that they can be edited, organized and exquisitely displayed in a one-of-a-kind hardcover custom photobook.  The family ‘year-in-review’ photobook is a big favourite in our family – everyone wants to turn the pages and reminisce about ‘that time when ….’ and laugh about the ‘out-take’ page that we add at the back for laughs.

    These professionally-designed yearbooks take away the frustration that often accompanies the thought of having to find the time and energy to preserve and organize your treasured photos all by yourself. In addition, the Family Yearbooks we create for our clients are excellent ways to establish priceless family heirlooms that can be passed down from generation to generation.

    Family Yearbooks are excellent ways to preserve your family traditions!  family yearbook photobook

    With our help, you can publish a professionally-bound family heirloom on a yearly basis. Our Family Yearbooks are custom-made to showcase your families traditions and celebrations.

    At PhotoWise, we pride ourselves on relieving our clients of the stress that comes with locating, sorting and organizing all of the photos that you have collected over the years. Allow us to offer you one of the greatest ways to celebrate your family, year in and year out!