Many of our memories are best preserved in our collection of pictures. Of course, it used to be very important to preserve not only the picture but also the negative so that other prints could be made. Now young people don’t even know what a negative is! How can I safely preserve my digital memories?

First, don’t be shy about taking plenty of pictures. With massive memory storage capabilities today, we don’t have to worry about the expense of taking an overexposed picture or fumbling with rolls of film. I recently purchased a 4 gig card for a new camera, in anticipation of a trip to visit friends and relatives. When I got home, it still said I could take another 10,000 pictures without running out of memory!

After collecting your photos, don’t be shy about deleting ones you don’t want for whatever reason. Don’t feel you have to keep every picture. On the other hand, don’t be shy about keeping one that is special, though it isn’t your best shot. It doesn’t cost any more to keep it.

Computer programs allow you to set up electronic photo albums and catalog the pictures in whatever way you want. Take the time to write captions for even the most familiar scenes. I have many colored slides taken by my parents in Europe but I don’t how of what they are taken. If they had labeled them clearly, they would be much more useful.

You may feel you are finished with your project. But take a second to think about the fragility of your memories. Without paper copies, they could be gone in a second! Or if you have them on floppies, the media may be obsolete and they are as good as erased! Floppies are also vulnerable to magnetic fields.

Formerly we thought CDs were more secure. Since nothing needed to touch the surface, nothing wore out. However, scratches, breaks, heat damage could all destroy your memories.

The answer is to store your photos in more than one place and in more than one location. If you store them on a CD, for example, make extra copies and store them in a safety deposit box, in another home, or, at least, in another place at your home. Back up hard drives and, if possible, do so on a network that guarantees they are in several locations around the country or world. As media changes, backup your memories on the new media. If all your pictures were on 5 ¼ floppy disks, you might not ever be able to see them!

Today we have the ability to take massive numbers of pictures and to share them around the world without once printing them. Just don’t allow those memories to be lost by not labeling them or by neglecting their preservation.

Following these tips should benefit you. But if you’re more interested in a professional handling your photography, consider the services of Expressions Photography, who are skilled in Virginia Beach Photography. See their website portfolio for results.