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Photo Tips

Lost & Found

Finding Treasure My maternal grandmother is my earliest recollection of the impact of combining words and photos. I was so blessed by her “pen pal” style letters that periodically landed in my college mailbox. They always included a couple of photos from our last visit, or the latest treasures that bloomed in her garden. Whenever I saw my name written in her handwriting, waiting to be discovered in my mailbox, my heart would flutter with excitement. My Mama Dede was such a fun loving role model in my life. She had a laugh that would make anyone smile or join in- whether you were in on the joke, or not. Reminiscing brings it all back again… so much love. I am so blessed.  Partners in Crime Not only a master gardener, Mama Dede (known as Edith to her peers) was president of her gardening club in the town of Elizabeth City, NC.  She would design, organize, decorate and make the town bloom with her [...]

By |2023-05-24T16:45:19+00:00May 24, 2023|connection, declutter, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos, preservation|
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The REBL(TM) in Me

Ever have a time when you're smiling on the outside, but screaming on the inside? It was like a tropical storm in my head; Wind swirling around, large objects tossed around, smothering any sense of peace and adrenaline was at an all time high. Upset, hurt feelings, raw emotions raked the back of my mind. But they were there to prompt me to practice what I preach. HERE'S HOW IT STARTED Wednesday: A grumpy text message from a friend who wanted to unload on me... I decided to get my family going before reading more. Notifications waiting for me- The tuition check money was withdrawn TWICE rather than once.   I walked away and let the dog out. Headlines of collections for the family who's home had burned down, a sob stuck in my throat as I prepared food for the pets and put the kettle on for tea. Urgent interruptions from family members- not all important The technology that wouldn't cooperate Thursday: The dog [...]

By |2023-02-12T19:33:00+00:00February 12, 2023|capturing moments, finding help, online course, personal growth, Photo Tips, photos, preservation, Sharing Photos, Uncategorized|
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Finally- A Breakthrough

It happened when she decided to put her needs first. Then the clouds broke up and the sunlight poured in... Finally. Adversity; conflict, natural disaster, loss, and major changes give us choices. The people who take times like this and create something new and beautiful are the people that inspire me most in life.  Enter Janica.  A single mom of 3 kids, the oldest of 5 siblings. She's not afraid of carrying the kind of heavy loads that many shy away from. Janica LOVES her family above all else, and works 2+ jobs to support them.  They call her their 'ROCK', but she’s still human. Janica’s lost both of her parents in 2014, and she then took on the responsibility of her parents estate, their home, and managed to send her oldest off to college while balancing her own home and two jobs. Strength embodied. Pushing her grief down, to be strong for her family, she decided not to make any immediate decisions regarding the family [...]

By |2022-11-07T00:33:52+00:00November 7, 2022|declutter, Digital Peace, digitizing, finding help, gifts, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos, preservation, Sharing Photos|
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“I was about to slam my computer shut…

...because I couldn’t find my photos, and then your email popped up.” I opened this message from a subscriber of mine recently. I understood. This is what I deal with all the time. Not the first message like this  and it won’t be the last.  It happens all the time. It can feel like some kind of ‘Photo Gluttony’. There are simple fixes that have lasting success and I love to help them get back on track and feel immediate hope and prompt relief! And NO you don't have to stop taking photos... it's what comes NEXT, that needs some adjusting. :)  People take more photos today than they ever have before, in addition to old devices full of thousands of jpegs. They're important and they're in lock down, in all different places. People cannot manage memories trapped in all sorts of places- out of sight; out of reach. They struggle to find the ones they are looking for, let alone sharing and enjoying [...]

By |2022-09-26T20:11:03+00:00September 26, 2022|capturing moments, declutter, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos, Sharing Photos, special event|
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The Perpetual Worry Wheel

Are you stuck on the ‘worry wheel’ of emotions about losing your family photos to the next natural disaster?  Do you find yourself overwhelmed when it comes to managing and protecting your family’s stories? Insurance can never replace your lost or unprotected photos from the next hurricane or tornado. You can’t put a price tag on family memories no matter how amazing your home insurance policy is. If you’re afraid of losing all the precious memories you’ve created over the years, and don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. This is why it’s so important to have help organizing your family’s memories so they are not lost or forgotten and can weather any storm. After 2 decades of working directly with families protecting their treasured memories, I developed a system that I want to teach you. If you’re sick of worrying about losing memories and want to protect them, you may just need Digital Peace; A self paced online course (with live support)  [...]

By |2022-10-01T17:33:28+00:00September 7, 2022|Digital Peace, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, online course, Photo Tips, photos, Sharing Photos, Uncategorized|
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Don’t drag emotional truckloads with you

Did you know the average American car owner buys 9.4 cars in a lifetime? Imagine if you parked every car you ever owned in your driveway or garage? How much space would that occupy? And what if they can no longer be driven? Do you keep the broken down ones, bring them with you if you were to take a job or retire across the country? Of course not!  The added expense and logistical annoyances are too great to consider this. Trade in, sell or donate them and welcome the space for vehicles that serve you.  And yet it happens all the time with our captured memories; Our photos and memorabilia are completely irreplaceable if they were to be lost, so we literally drag 'emotional carloads' from one place to another until we either decide to UPDATE the formats, edit them down, or do the unthinkable; Toss them out! Some see little value in these captured moments, but let's be honest- That's not the [...]

By |2022-08-26T15:54:58+00:00August 22, 2022|capturing moments, community, connection, declutter, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos, Sharing Photos|
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Here’s Why Frustration Helps

I’ve been talking a bit about frustration this month: …Frustration not finding photos, …Frustration not having a system, …Frustration over wasted time, …Frustration that breeds frustration, But the truth of the matter is that this often perceived negative emotion serves great purposes.  The purpose I refer to is not to make us miserable, but to cause enough discomfort for us to consider looking for a solution, an improvement, or a chance to grow. It takes motivation to try something new, and a small irritation is often not enough for the average human to search for an improvement.  Sometimes our pains [frustrations] are the only things that push us to take a new action. Inspired action like this unlocks the blessings. If we don’t let it motivate us and choose to stay stuck we can slip into helpless and immobile states. That's when it's most important to seek out someone who can get us unstuck; That's when we need someone who can bring objectivity and [...]

By |2022-06-21T21:08:35+00:00June 21, 2022|finding help, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos|
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Is it Time to Tidy Up Your Camera Roll?

It's finally happened; What I said I would never do... I did it and likely you did too. We use our cell phones as our main cameras. Why not? It's with us all the time! It fits in pockets, the lenses are far more powerful than any point-and-shoot camera I ever owned. Honestly these photos are fantastic (many of them) so why not? Cell phones have made it easy to constantly take tons of photos for free. (That actually depends on the definition of free.) Here are some questions to answer to know if you may be in need of a little tidying up in your photo library. Do you have over 1,000 photos in your phone? Do you have too many frames to look through to find a good one? Do you take longer than a minute to find a given photo? Would you lose your photos entirely if you lost your phone right now? Do you take photos on your phone regularly? [...]

By |2022-05-31T17:24:31+00:00May 31, 2022|community, managing photos, Photo Tips, special event|
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Wait-“Replaceable & Duplicatable Albums”? Are you kidding, Kris?

NO, I'm not kidding. This is a thing. And if you never considered this, allow me to explain... If you've been around long enough to hear my story about a garage fire that threatened to take my home along with all of my photo, video memories away, you already know why I made it part of my mission to protect these tangible treasures. This is part of the insurance I love to deliver my clients. The ability to not only replace, but reproduce albums so they can be preserved and shared with more than those who have the originals in their hands. Here are some examples of when digitizing albums has been the go-to solution for some of my clients: Families who are re-organizing, splitting up or transitioning to more than one home. Giving reprinted, streamlined copies to grandchildren, relatives and loved ones, Sending digital printed copies to seniors moving into senior housing with smaller spaces, Downsizing individuals who simply don't have space in [...]

By |2022-05-20T17:04:10+00:00May 23, 2022|capturing moments, digitizing, Photo Tips, Uncategorized|
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6 Ways to Slice a Pie (manage your memories)

I love a good metaphor... Let's slice this pie and enjoy the sweet rewards!!! May people have an assortment of memory formats- whether films, slides, printed photos, films, video tapes, flash drives, all sorts of digital memory cards and it’s crazy how quickly they collect and grow in numbers. Clutter and overwhelm are frequent occurrences in these situations. When enough is enough and you really are sick and tired of the situation, there are strategic approaches to delegating some tasks to professionals while the owner/family are making decisions on what to keep and what excess may be tossed. My hope is that this gives you a much needed leg up in this process. This approach will keep you moving forward with the most efficiency and get you to the finish line in half the time.  This is what I do with/ for my private clients and occasionally  some get started in this method and decide to hand it all off to me. Others do [...]

By |2022-05-17T02:13:46+00:00May 16, 2022|digitizing, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos|
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