You’re the archive creator
Photography is by far one of the best hobbies in my option, one of the things that makes it stand out to me is the ability for images to last the test of time through history. Go through any vintage store or the drawer or boxes of photos usually found at a family members house and there will be an absolute treasure trove. This is where the photographer in the family becomes the person in charge of creating the family archive.
I have been that person in my family for over 15 years now and that has absolutely not slowed down since my daughter was born. This is a long journey of not just new life though as there are lots of images of family members no longer with us. I can think of no greater honour than to have had the opportunity to build out an archive of images that my family can have to remember them.
This archive is also incredible for the photos I have been taking of my daughter since she was born. The ability to look back even now in the two years she has been around we have the ability to look back and moments that feel like a lifetime ago.
Part of the family archive is also about how these images are presented, not just captured. Printing is one of the big one that I think a lot of photographers will say they need to do a lot more of, I know I am absolutely part of this cohort. We have digital frames in our house and other family members on the same system which has been brilliant for sharing images and keeping a rolling update of the latest goings on with images.
I have always looked at other photographers that have long running projects as something I have always aspired to have a project to be able to come back and continue with over time. Looking back this has been a false assumption that I don't have one already. The family archive is exactly that project, but perhaps it's just not for a more general consumption compared to other projects more readily available in the wild. This has been something I have been grappling with a lot especially since our daughter was born. The thought of taking so many photos but not being shared with others was always something that initially gave me a sense of dread from the content machine. In hindsight this has been the wrong way to look at it, I have shifted to thinking that these things are built for purpose regardless of audience is more than worth doing.
One thing I have been trying to work on and get better at is taking those images out of just a Lightroom catalog and into more physical prints, and even digital areas that my family can access them. I don't know where I am going to store all those physical photos in the house, but that's a question I can solve once they're here.
So if you've made it this far and you're still working out where you can build out your own family archive. I think you should start by take more photos, Looking back on the images I have taken I know that there are never too many images of family. So pick up the camera and fill those memory cards, and the on top of that print and catalogue photos to share with family. Start today, you can thank yourself later.
See you next month,
Tom
