Held Captive

If the pictures in your camera or your cell phone could talk what would they say?
Most of them would scream LET ME OUT!!!

You enjoyed whatever you took the picture of enough to stop and capture it, now LET IT OUT!!
I am not talking about showing everyone that tiny little picture on that tiny little screen, I mean really let them out.  Get them onto your computer or another storage device for safe keeping.  After you release them from captivity it will be a good time to go through them and trash all the pictures of your feet or fingers, and print (YES on paper) your favorites for a photo album. Not into paper? Turn them into a digital scrapbook. 

I know you think your precious pics will always be there to share with everyone, but the truth is they might not. Electronics short out and fail, phones get dropped, sweet tea gets spilled on them, (don't ask) so make sure you are prepared.   I have heard horror stories of years of special pictures being stored on cell phones destroyed and lost in an instant.   OH MY!

SD cards, SIM cards, internal storage and cell phones don't last forever.  All of these things are effected by environmental conditions and your devices power source, one accidental drop or one good power surge and ZAP...no more pictures.  Don't get me wrong I am certainly not saying you shouldn't keep pics on your phone (I would die without mine) I am just saying BACK THEM UP!

How?
If it is an SD card (or similar) from your camera, power off  your camera, remove it and copy those precious pics to your computer hard drive or USB drive.  Reinsert, turn that baby back on and VIOLA! you are good to go.
The SIM cards and other little gems that come in your cell phone can come out and be copied on a  computer or flash drive as well. 
**Be sure to follow your device manufactures directions when removing all storage media, especially those tiny little cards.  If you damage the little gold connectors, you may ruin the card and the chance of your pictures being held captive forever on that little card are pretty high.

If you don't have removable storage look at the manual that came with your device. Maybe you can back it up with a USB cable directly to your computer.
If it is a smart phone with no removable storage be sure to do regular backups to the CLOUD or other off site storage place.  One of my favorite gallery type storage place is called SMUGMUG. They help you showcase your photo's and you can even give friends and family a link to your galleries and they can order prints of your pictures! Perfect for grandparents and long distance families.
    
There are places who specialize in retrieving data off of those damaged devices (think Abby from CSI) but trust me you don't want to pay for that service.  OUCH!! A few minutes and a  $10 USB drive  is a much cheaper way to go.  If you do not have a computer, find a friend with one or go to your public library to see if they have a computer with card slots available.
What a great way to start the year!  With organized and safe pictures

LET MY PICTURES GO!!
They want out...you know they do  *wink*

In the mean time keep snappin'
Jeanne



If you would like to see some USB drives available Click here  This will take you to Amazon.com and what they have listed.  If you don't want to "click here", WalMart, Target, Best Buy all sells great flash drive options.  This time of year they are usually a part of  the Get Organized Now sales. 

Making people cry

I enjoy making people cry.   O. K. wait, let me rephrase or at the very least explain
Yesterday I got to meet with Pam, the mother of Nathan. I recently did lifestyle Senior pictures of Nathan at the ball field where he grew up playing. I had sent Pam a few of the photo's I liked as I processed them, but yesterday she got to see all of them. I am happy to announce she got a little teary looking at a few of them.  

Nothing makes my heart sing like being able to touch someone through a photograph I have taken.
It is why I chose lifestyle, location photography. Lifestyle photo's make it more than just a picture, they make it a memory of not only the photos themselves but of the time spent in a special place taking them.


Nathan is a great guy. He lettered in Baseball at John Tyler High School so his letterman's jacket and of course class ring needed to be a focal point ( I LOVE props)



I let him choose the location of the photo shoot, and must say I was thrilled when he chose the baseball fields. We had a great time doing different shots in different parts of the park.






Towards the end I asked him if there was any specific picture he wanted that we hadn't done, he put his arm around his mom and said "this".    It is no surprise that this made me choke up a bit, like I said he is a very special young man.



Thank you Nathan and Pam. I had a great day with you at the park. Thank you for letting me be a part of your memory.


Love the truck!


If you would like to see more of this photo session. www.brickroadphoto.smugmug.com, click on the Jacobs Gallery
Keep snappin'
Jeanne

Christmas Cards

Christmas Cards! Just typing that made me {{shudder}}. I love Christmas but by the time it is over I have had enough of all things holly and jolly.

Not sure what to do with those Christmas cards and letters hanging around from this season? I have to admit I usually don't keep the cards unless they have a letter written inside. This year instead of turning them into landfill, I decided to organize and repurpose.

Here is how my Christmas card organizing went
FIRST: I save all of the Christmas letters especially the handwritten ones. They go in my Christmas box until next year. Before I write Christmas cards the following year I re-read them. It makes the card sending process next year so much more personal. Then they get pitched and replaced with the curent years letters.

SECOND: I LOVE photo's!! (surprise) I adore the photo Christmas cards people send. My sister Colleen has done a "year in pictures" Christmas letter for several years. I must say it is one of my favorites. I usually scan it in and create a digital copy so I can see it anytime of the year I want to. yay!
ANYWAY..... This year I put all of the photo cards together, including one of the cards we sent. Then printed one of my favorite pictures of the season and put the current year on it, placed it on top of the photo cards and punched a hole and tied them together.
I discoverd when going through some old photo Christmas Cards that several have no date on them. NOTE TO SELF: ALWAYS include a date on those treasures!
If you have a lot of cards you may want to use a metal binder ring. For me the ribbon worked just fine.

THIRD: I found this awesome big tag punch at Hobby Lobby. I took the Christmas Cards that would have usually been trashed and used the punch to strategically punch gift tags for next year! VIOLA!! Saved from the landfill and beautiful gift tags for free! Since there is no writing on the backside, it is the perfect place and size to "address" your gift.

Another use for the tag punch....

Find special pictures of your gift recipients, print a copy and punch out a wonderful, personalized gift tag! No writing needed, they just find their picture under the tree. Even my anti-cutesy guys thought they were cool!

I ADORE this tag punch and can't wait to find more uses for it!

Keep Snappin'
Jeanne

Spring!!

Hi all!!
Since most of NE Texas woke up to 30 something temps and sleet...brrrrr... I thought this might be a good time to let you know that it is exactly two months before the Azalea Trails in Tyler open! EEEEEeeee!!! I am so excited!

A sure sign of spring and an AMAZING backdrop provided by Mother Nature (and some very committed gardeners) for stunning spring and Easter photo's!!
I can't wait!!!!








Start planning your spring and Easter portraits now.
COME ON SPRING!!

Keep snappin'
Jeanne

~~All of the photos on this blog are protected by copyright and are the property of Jeanne May and Brick Road Photo. Thank you for not reproducing them without permission.~~ www.brickroadphoto.com

Exciting!

Wow! Exciting things are going to happen this year! I have opened a new online photo gallery. The very cool part is that it is connected to a wonderful professional quality lab. The perfect way to order photo books, prints, canvas prints and all sorts of goodies!
This year will also bring blog posts full of photo ideas. With tips on how to take them, but mostly ideas of what to do with them AFTER you have those memories in hand!
You can link to the gallery from my website www.brickroadphoto.com.
OR go to www.brickroadphoto.smugmug.com



I am looking forward to an exciting year helping you create some memories !
Jeanne

~~All of the photos on this blog are protected by copyright and are the property of Jeanne May and Brick Road Photo. Thank you for not reproducing them without permission.~~ www.brickroadphoto.com