Memories AND Prints

Growing up in the 80s, I remember my parents taking lots of photos of me and my brother. They didn’t have a professional camera. They didn’t have any elaborate lighting setups. They had no formal training. All they had was a simple film camera (Kodak Ektralite 10) and a desire to capture snap shots of us growing up. Back then, even as a poor, immigrant family, they were able to afford a camera to take photos us.

I also remember dropping off the rolls of film at the local Fotomat, a photo development drive through kiosk where you could drop off film and have photos printed. After we got the photos, we would look through them and then put them in our family album.

These days, technology has gotten so amazing. The cameras are so sophisticated and packed with great features. DSLR, Mirrorless, and Micro Four Thirds cameras all take great pictures. We can share photos with each other over our wifi enabled devices. Our phones have instant access to the thousands of photos we take. We share photos on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, so our family, friends, and followers can see them as well.

But when I think about it, I feel sad that we no longer print as many photos as we used to. Gone are the family albums. Gone are the family 4×6 photos we used to put up on our refrigerator door. They’ve been replaced with convenience. With backup, online storage. Everything is up on the cloud, right? But we can do something about it! We can print more of our photos, especially the ones that have special meanings. And hang them on our walls, inside a family photo album, or on the refrigerator door.

Hopefully my trip down memory lane doesn’t make you sad, but helps to remind you of the memories we can pass along to our families by simply printing a photo, canvas print, or creating a real family photo album.

Here are some photos of the Fotomat, camera, me and my brother, and some canvas prints I printed for a few clients. If you’re interested in a photo shoot or want to print some canvas prints, contact me!

I found this photo of a Fotomat! Wikimedia creative commons.

Yes, this is what a small, portable, film camera looked like back in the 1980s!

Me and my little brother growing up. Look at those shorts! Lol

The color and quality is so beautiful! The texture of the canvas gives the photo almost a painterly look and feel.

My vendor created corner edges that look perfect! 1.25 canvas depth.

The canvas prints also come with finished backing, ready to hang!