Fighting clutter

January is the perfect time to conquer clutter because there isn't much else to do. It often seems as if the clutter is winning. Not only is it taking over our small house, but it also has taken over our computer. Before I know it there are over 500 messages in my e-mail inbox that have to be deleted or filed under a category. If I don't keep up with that it takes hours to do. When it comes to computers I'm a packrat. I don't want to delete anything, unless I make a copy first.
Last weekend, my husband informed me that there were only 3 GB of free space on our hard drive left and I had to delete my photos. I reluctantly did, but not before I made sure that I had two copies: one on our external hard drive and one on my portable hard drive. Did I mention I'm a packrat? I acquired a portable hard drive a while ago after hearing stories about external hard drives that crashed. Of course, in a few years I will a. probably realize that many of my photos are not as great as they once seemed and that I got much better ones now; or b. our external hard drive will be full too.

Walking down memory lane

Like most serious photographers we have hundreds and hundreds of 35mm slides stashed away in our closet. We haven't looked at them in years, except for those that I had scanned into our computer years ago. However, when we bought a new computer it didn't have a connection for our trusty little scanner anymore and my scanning project came to a shrieking halt. What to do with all those slides? I would love to convert them into saleable photos and recently learned that I could get them scanned onto DVDs.
Now I am looking at all those slides, trying to decide which ones to get scanned first. It is a walk down memory lane. As I am glancing over images of city sights, fall foliage, a locked bicycle with missing wheels, a dead mouse (don't ask), flowers, waterfalls, rocks, churches, signs, palaces, street cars, covered bridges, etc. I realize that these photos are snapshots of our lives. How many of us write a journal every day? Not too many, I guess. Yet, most of us would remember a funny or sad incident connected with our photos. Whether it was that trip to Norway where I froze in July (and then ate enormous soft serves), the hike in Ohiopyle where I tripped over a root, our quest for covered bridges, our blossoming love for wildflowers, or shop signs in Germany--all of these are highlights of our lives and our photos recharge our memories about them. They are indeed photo journals.

A Fresh Start

Last week, we woke up to see this winter wonderland outside our windows. Knowing it wouldn't last long before a breeze would drop the snow off the branches, I grabbed my camera and took a few photos after breakfast. In case you're wondering why our arbor is lying on the ground, it was felled by a gust of wind around Thanksgiving.
The New Year is off to a busy, if not frigid start. Meetings that discontinued during the holiday season are resuming and everyone is making resolutions. My resolutions consist of writing, photography, and networking. The order is determined by the weather--meaning, I won't do any bird photography this week since my fingers are freezing inside the house. That means buying a better pair of gloves is high on my to-do list. Therefore, I am planning on decluttering my filing cabinet and the house, so when the weather does get better I can go out and enjoy it.
Happy New Year!