Living in a 'digital world', we sometimes forget (or weren't even around!!) when you inserted a roll of film into a camera, took pictures, put that film into an envelope, mailed it off and eagerly awaited the arrival of the envelope (or box in the case of SLIDES) to see what you captured . . . or didn't! Recently when my dad passed away, my brother and I (that's him above!) began going through boxes and boxes and bags of not just photos but SLIDES. My dad took a lot of slides! Wanting to find an easy, economical way to access the slides, I came across an app called SlideScan. There is a free version but for just 7.99/month you get the full version. With this app you can scan photos AND slides, save them, download them, share them . . . whatever you want!
In scanning these slides (I'll explain the simple process at the end of this post.) we discovered some very interesting things!
For example . . . apparently wallpaper on the ceiling was a 'thing'?? As well as coordinating paper and draperies. We also found it funny that my mom was only holding up my DAD's gifts and not hers haha! She was pregnant with my brother in these photos.
Now look at these next three collages of me and my brother. Can you find the common denominator in all of these photos???
We learned some interesting things about my parents' wedding as well . . . Just look at all those hats!
I was delighted to have found my mom's wedding gown and veil in the attic when we cleaned everything out and both are in excellent condition! Take note of the cake picture and read on . . .
We could not figure out why there were apparently TWO receptions. One in the basement of the church and one at this restaurant. Upon talking with my aunt we learned that back then you had a LUNCH with the wedding party in all of their clothes at a restaurant and THEN, you went visiting those who were 'shut in' and couldn't come to the wedding! Can you imagine!? What if you spilled ketchup on your dress at lunch?? The wedding ceremony took place at 7 p.m.! My aunt said several of the places they visited were FARMS and they had to tiptoe through the fields of mud and dirt to get to the houses!!
So at the church, they would have cake and punch for all who attended the ceremony. It was just not affordable to feed the crowd more than cake and peanuts.
We also marveled at the beautiful outfits my mom dressed us in! What she must have spent!
AND, what we noticed also is that in almost every picture of HER, she is wearing the same black suit dress . . . that explains it haha!
Even on Easter it was the same dress (Although she DID manage a new hat each year! I have the one in the lower right corner photo. My dad always bought her and I corsages every single Easter!
Now realize, these photos are all from SLIDES! And here's a really cool feature from SlideScan . . . you can colorize photos!
We came across LOTS of gems like this photo of my brother (we think taken in Atlantic City) on a piece of playground equipment from the days when playgrounds were playgrounds hahahaha! Can you even imagine?! How hot do you think that metal slide got on the beach??? And if each rung is 10" that thing has to be around 40 feet high!!!!
I get no reimbursement for this endorsement but I highly recommend you give this app a try if you have lots of pictures and especially slides you want to convert to digital.
The app directs you to a website where you have a 'white screen' on your computer. You simply hold the slide up in front of your screen, tap a button on the app on your phone and it scans the image. But wait, that's not all lol . . . It then straightens, crops and color adjusts the image before saving it!
One feature I found after scanning about 700 slides . . . you don't even have to tap the button to scan. If you enable your microphone, you just say "Go" and it scans!!
I did approximately 1000 slides and about 200 photos in two days and I probably spent about 3 hours each day! That's it!
What surprises have you found when looking at old photos??
What an amazing trip down memory lane. I've always enjoyed the "throwback" photos and do remember the camera roll films (which get ruined when exposed to light?) and the negatives. Glad you were able to find a cool app to help you preserve these photos!
ReplyDeleteOh Lauren to have all these wonderful slides to preserve and the memories along with them. How cute you were. Thanks for sharing this app with us. xoxo
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren. Not sure if my comment went through. This is awesome that you have all those slides of your family. You were a cutie. Thanks for sharing the app with all of us. xoxo Kris
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous post -- and not just because of the info on the app, which I think I need to do! But for sharing all these terrific images from your family's past. (The wallpaper on the ceiling is new to me!) The quality of these is crystal clear -- the original photographer was pretty spot-on, too! This is wonderfull -- best post I've seen today. In days!
ReplyDeleteOh Lauren, this post is wonderful, and these photos are treasures. I'm so glad you figured out how to scan photos and slides and download and save them. I laughed at the wallpaper thing, as my Mom plastered calico fabric in me and my sister's room, and another type of gold material in the bathroom. They had the most unusual ways of doing things, but it sure worked out for them, didn't it? And your doll! How sweet these photos are with you and your doll. And you're smiling in all the pictures! The story of your Mom's black dress changed with different accessories made me smile, as that's what my Mom would do also. Your grandpa's photo with six of his children is so special. Lauren, your post really hit home for me, because when my Mom passed, I was in charge of going through all the pictures and making piles to give to my brothers and sister. It's a big job, but somebody has to do it. ; ) Such a delightful post, my friend.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
That is so fantastic that you could do all of those photos!!! It's a great treasure to have those to go through and remember great times!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, what fabulous info, Lauren! I appreciate you telling us about it.
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing all the old photos and hearing about your parents wedding. You loved dolls, like I did! Your grandpa left with 12 children. My oh my, yes, what a godly man. Thank you for sharing all this.
Well, I've got quite a bit of catching up here. What wonderful pictures! My hubs bought a slide scanner a year or two ago and he really enjoyed converting both our family's slides (and later photos with a different scanner) into digital files. I don't know if I should tell him there's a computer app for this project. :) Your dollies sure were loved. I was a dolly girl, too, but I don't think I have a single picture of one me holding one. That wallpaper on the ceiling sure looks wild. I guess we had some on the ceiling of an alcove in our old house, but it wasn't quite that dramatic. Right there in the living room is pretty bold. :D Thanks for sharing your pictures from the past!
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