readers react to ‘why we shoot home videos’ - elmo projector

In this space last week, I wrote an article about why I recorded my life with photos and videos. (
This is in response to the reader's suggestion that it is all a waste of time and money, because in reality no one will want to see it all. )
Your feedback, via electronic
Mail and New York Times
Com/pogue was deeply moved.
Something about the subject digs into the deepest source of emotion, hope, and death-not the topic that comes up in gadgets every day --review column.
This is a sample.
This made me cry.
You summed it up with bitter prose. so-
We record the mystery of life.
For our nature, it is as natural as breathing and our need for love.
I grew up in a family without this ambition.
Neither my mother nor my father had any interest in preserving our memory.
My mother had a faded photo in high school.
My father hated his family and never talked about them and he didn't have anything to say to me about his history.
What will I give to be able to start over
Live that part of my life with photos of my friends playing in hand, photos of my parents working in their victory garden, beautiful old buildings in my beautiful old town!
There are a few of your readers.
I know that if I find 10 hours of ancestor video I will sit there and watch 10 hours.
I might use fast-
I bit the forward button but I will look at it all.
I find it interesting to see what they think is worth saving for others.
I would also like to see what they are like if I inherit any of their features.
I only have a short video of which my little son is the subject.
He was killed in an accident in July 3.
He is five years old.
The very few things I have on the video are the ones I have to remind me of being precocious, living --
I used to be my son, and I will always be my son.
David, give me the video.
You never know how precious those moments of tape or disc space are.
If it weren't for the video we showed me on our first date, I might not be here at 22-year-
My old marriage.
When we sat down and watched his family video, I saw my husband playing Indian games in the woods when he was 7;
I saw his family and the house where he was born and raised.
In the half hour of our first date, I fell in love with the boy in the man I got married.
Watching that video tells me everything I want to know;
I still see him in his 80 s. year-old self.
I take hundreds of photos every year.
Killing and organizing them has always been something I will do one day.
Now, I'm confused about the daunting scale of the task, the uncertainty of the changing technology (
How long the CDs I created actually last)
Memories of My fading (
4 children, some parents, aunts, uncles and cousins seem to have significantly different memories of who, what, where and when)
I can hardly throw away any images.
I met the enemy and it was clear that I was the reason why so much family history would go away.
Starting with the Kodak Super 8 movie camera and moving to the Canon camera, I have faithfully covered all the memorable family events, from baptism to graduation, while shooting them.
About 25 years ago (I’m 77)
I suddenly realized that the movies and videos collected dust in the shoe box, but the photos were still asked and watched.
I sold the camera and never regretted it.
This is what I was told to do.
Make 1 minute video for each child or grandson's life every year and hand it over to them when they are 18 years old.
This article struck me more than any other article you wrote.
I agree with the shooting reason you gave me and I would like to add one or two of my own reasons.
I shot because things were going so fast that I wanted to be able to go back and relive the past events and reflect on the observations we had at the time, but then forgot.
You forget one of the rather important reasons for shooting the video: share it with people who can't watch the video in person, like grandparents who live all over the country.
People shoot videos for places
Not just time.
Reasons for change.
Why do I shoot a family video? For me.
I don't want anyone else to sit in the video time we recorded.
But when my daughter creates her own life outside, I have no doubt that I would like to spend an hour here and there looking at the past lifestyle.
Most of my childhood photos were lost in my parents' multiple divorces and international events.
I was wondering if it was a coincidence that most of my childhood was vague to me.
I hope I can get those pictures back.
For anyone who may be interested in the future, the video you shot today may be a valuable record.
Say it to that: "give you the seed of the tree that will never sit below.
I have never made a family movie, but I did a recording.
Almost every night, when I put my little daughter to bed, I review the highlights of what happened that day.
Then they will pray and then sleep.
I plan to play these recordings on my deathbed to remind myself how wonderful I am.
I also heard from Glen Reid, a programmer who wrote original iMovie at Apple 10 years ago: two opposing ideas that came to mind on this issue (
Believe me, I think more than most people). âx80x9c1.
Why not record video?
Like a backup, sometimes you may just need it, but nothing else will do if you need it.
Most of the time, it doesn't matter anyway, the tape ends up in the drawer.
But you can't go back and come back in time. âx80x9c2.
On the other hand, if you have to make a choice between being real and taking a video, you should choose to be there.
I have seen people many times.
Yes, found guilty)
The shooting experience is not the actual experience.
If you keep staring at your daughter's birthday party through the viewfinder, it may be as if you are not there.
Finally, a letter from reader Larry Eisenberg, who often cleverly sums up my column in the form of Limerick: family videos are fun to shoot, kids and companions are cute, so, all the measures to enjoy editing;
It doesn't make sense who will watch in the future!
"Comments are no longer accepted. A now-80-year-
He had a family movie when he was 7? From 1935?
How many people have family movie cameras in 1935?
Well said, but I think it's worth considering the opposite.
If you have too many records in your childhood, you will lose the memory explanation associated with your memory.
Some things are sweeter to remember, not on DVD.
How many people have movie cameras in 1935? My great-
A grandfather. We recently (
Okay, five years ago)
Make old home movies on dvd so it's easier to watch than set up old home movies
Old projector!
Not long ago, one may return home after a day of hunting and record this glorious day in a painting on the cave wall.
He really didn't know what made him do it, and then we didn't seem to know.
But it's worth doing. that's enough.
When I read the original blog, I read the point it was trying to build.
Having heard some comments from others, I really took this message home.
I always find that when people ask what you will save at home, that's my picture.
While memories are vivid in my mind, the photos allow others to connect and participate in the story, which ultimately reflects my identity as a person.
Also, you will see photos and historical clips in high school . . . . . . Without photos or videos, how will our children and our children really know who we are as a society.
I have been reading and watching digital art.
It is always changing. .
I can't grasp the fact that I like my SLR camera.
I'm sorry you had no pictures from childhood.
I hope you have a good time on your video, I have 30 videos of the first 10 years of my two boys.
When I bought my first mac five years ago.
It took me dozens of hours to go through most of the tape archives and make two 3 minute music videos for each boy.
I gave them to my wife for her birthday.
We play them on every son's birthday, and we marvel every year at what we forget from year to year.
In the current economic downturn, many people will turn to such projects . . . . . . Low cost (
Once you have the device)
Very satisfied.
Next question?
Now that the relevant camera is off, what about 30 tapes!
Thank you for this topic!
The necessary reading that WG Sebald provides for your cynics: ostriz.
Include the photo with the author in the artwork to be seen (
If not already)
As a masterpiece of memory and human nature.
Munane's working day was interrupted by a tech mass email that triggered a sharp reflection without memory, family and art, which is unusual. Cheers!
That's why I shot the family video. youtube. com/watch?
V = 06 hXRsKhcLsI can watch this all day! Answer to Mr.
The problem with Bock is: quite a few.
Strangely, one of my wife's family, I changed the original to super-
8, then digital.
As it is very expensive to pay photoshop for the conversion, we put the original on a piece of paper and take the new one from these images.
It works very well.
My family has a lot of photos, but few of my grandmothers who died 8 years before my birth.
Various family members commented on the similarities between me and her, which is not too obvious in static photos.
A few years ago, one of my aunts found a movie about the town they lived in, including footage of my grandmother waving a smile on the front steps of the town hall.
I can't tell you how important it is to me to see her in sports.
It's not a family movie, of course, but I really hope we have more footage of her.
And other relatives . . . . . . Suggestions for future tech articles "how to edit home videos and burn DVD discs.
They will be a natural follow-up to family video clips.
Recommended References, hardware/software alternatives, Blu-ray and standard disks, gold and aluminum substrates, single-layer and double-layer disks, and alternative conversion services movies to videostopics.
Continue to do a good job.
I think your emphasis on photos and videos is proportional to how much you value people in your life.
The video of my kids made me through a very difficult time in my life.
Like the dad who recorded the daughter's conversation every night, I still look at them from time to time.
Digital photos are the best ever.
When I only have photos on paper and in the album, I may look at them once a year or less.
But I have scanned my favorites from pre-
Numbers and put them on my iPhone, post them in the Web Gallery, use them as wallpaper on my computer, make fun digital cards on birthdays with childhood photos.
I can't really imagine my life without photos and videos from my family.
Yes, I have a bunch of VHS that need to be put on the DVD, but I know I will do that one day.
This is the masterpiece of love.
David, I can't help but comment on the importance of documenting our lives.
Fortunately for me, my mom, my grandparents, her sister and friends are very fascinated by the new technology, from taking silly, stage pictures of each other, through formal studios with special events to commemorate them.
When I was a child, I carefully studied my family images many times, a beautiful visual history that began in the 20 th century.
However, I didn't realize how important these images were until my mother died.
After the funeral I was sitting with my aunt Lill, we went through hundreds of pictures and Lill identified with countless expressions looking back at my face, I, the back of the photo indicates who these people and places are and how they relate to my family.
After losing my mother, I was very upset. However, this very quiet time with my favorite aunt put my family's memory into my mind, which is a kind
Recently, I found myself sharing this personal history with my nephews, brothers, their wives and cousins.
My brother is 70 years old, so at his birthday party, I copied the 50-year-old "This Is Your Life" show and created a photo diary of his family.
I suspect someone will sit in my love Labor, but they prove my mistake.
They were ecstatic with their great-grandfather, the motorcyclists, my uncle who mysteriously died in a fishing accident, and other people in my mother's life besides my father.
No wonder how beautiful she is!
With constant requests to go back "let's see it again", I can hardly finish the demo.
"The connection to the past that they didn't even know, and they didn't even stay on this blank until it showed them that night!
Today, I continue this tradition, ready to prepare a camera, ready to record our little history in the production process.
Sometimes we forget to cherish the purpose of technology because we love it.
It's like buying an LCD HDTV and staring at it when it's turned off.
Your column opens up a highly sensitive question. after all, we humans are shaped by our emotions.
How to bring the memories of the past into the current viewing standard?
My parents have tapes, photos (
With negatives.
Camera tape and a large number of slide conveyor belts.
The Elmo projector needs to be repaired.
Before converting the tape, I 'd at least like to see what's on these tape reels.
Any recommended location for repair or rental?
Would it be better to record the projected content with a modern camera and then edit?
As for negatives and slides, I 've seen Nikon Coolscans and some flat-screen scanners that take pictures as well.
Does anyone have experience with this device?
I want to edit with my Mac and iLife as everything goes.
For the past 5 years, JCI has been faithfully video for my family, making 5 hours of editing videos every year.
We often watch videos, especially music clips for each season, and my parents also like to watch them where they live far away.
I edited my footage about 6 months after shooting.
The tape will never be in the drawer.
I like editing.
I was very disappointed that Apple decided to stop their FireWire port for the simple reason that I could connect all my external hard drives and insert the camera at the end of it to import the lens.
I can't do this with USB 2. 0.
You're smart, David.
Write a column, and the feedback automatically writes the second column.
Hope editors don't take the chance to cut your meager salary by half.
Go ahead and I will continue to help you with your second column! ! !
Family photos from a long time ago are very important.
I regret that on the side of my family, my great photo --
When I was a child, my grandparents and my grandfather got lost in the flooded basement.
However, I have an interesting story to share about family photos: A friend of mine, a woman in her 70 s, with a great sense of humor, grew up in a very poor Irish family.
They never had the money to take pictures, not to mention having their own camera.
She always feels sad that there is no photo to pass on to her child.
A few years ago, at a garage auction, she saw a large carton full of pictures for $2. 50.
She bought the box and put it in the attic so that when she and her husband die, her child will frantically try to figure out who the person in the picture is!
I kept my son's album, and each one had five years.
When he sits down or feels unloved, it's useful for me to sit down with him and see the photos.
When we browse, without saying "I love you", the way his life records, every happiness, helps to improve him.
After the photo review, we can sit down and talk about his thoughts.
My son died 13 years ago when he was 35.
I miss him every day.
When Hurricane Katrina destroyed our house, in the ruins, I found a sealed plastic tote bag containing his childhood albums that survived without damage
Other less fortunate friends say they regret losing their personal photos the most.
I'm sorry I missed the "why did I shoot" project last week.
"I have to look through my email and read it --
However, in response to your response to those who did and commented: on January 1976, just a few months before my grandmother's death, I recorded an hour of audio conversation with her.
It was a Sunday afternoon.
I was cleaning up a small tape recorder that night to record the sermon I was going to preach.
She asked me what I was cleaning.
I showed it to her and the recording conversation started.
Less than 20 years later, when one of my sons wrote a paper about our family for a college English project, he quoted the tape.
The professor asked him to bring it to class and share it with his class.
He did it, and the people in the class were in awe of what happened to her at that time, which happened in her 90 + years of life, dating back to 1880: The first one she saw
Even before Chicago, the first electric street light in all Illinois came to our small hometown in South Illinois; etc.
I have a lot of photos of her, from the time she was in high school to the year she died;
But somehow they were pale when playing the tape of her voice.
Now my grandchildren can listen in her own words.
Span of five generations!
Think about what it might look like if it was a video recording. Shoot away. [
Now, I have a problem: in I will I shooting of 1000 35mm bed slide digital after I can do what to take back the remains of the in which of silver? ]
Memory is a lie, and in the past few years, memory has surged as a hobby for reasons cited here.
In fact, you can almost replace it with making movies or taking pictures --
The word is mentioned in almost every post.
I am 58 years old and have only a few photos of my childhood because over the years, many of them were lost when my mother moved.
I will cherish any photos of our family as I did then.
Over the years of my 25 year old son, I took too many pictures.
They are not as organized as I would like, but this is my next big project.
How do you recommend me to save them for his enjoyment?
Should I create the actual photo books or should I save them to some digital media?
What type of digital media would you recommend?
His memories of his childhood are still too fresh for him to really appreciate photos of grandparents and great people
Grandparents, not to mention recent grandparents, but I know that one day, when those loved ones are away, he will want them and he can contact them by phone as long as he wants. Wow!
I was shocked by the response of "Why did I shoot . . . . . . And deeply moved.
A surprise.
I'm a guy who avoids video and static images-taking.
Thanks to your readers, I have learned some valuable lessons.
Great changes have taken place in my opinion.
I will re-examine my own "shooting" from a completely different perspective ".
Thank you for your thoughts. provoking post!
My dad is 78 and he learned how to do all kinds of things on the computer so he can share with me-
He lives and works in remote South Africa.
First of all, he has to buy a home computer and then email us so we can communicate and then send us photos with a scanner and a digital camera.
Now he has been using photo stories to make CD and DVD "movies" or "make" or the trips they continue to share.
He also became one of the big family archivists responsible for recording family gatherings and sharing photos with allacross 10-
12 states and 3 continents.
Since 2000, David Boger's technical column has appeared on The Times four times a week.
He wrote The Times every week.
The email column "from David Boger's desk" produced a short, fun Web video for The New York Times.
Com, and post the entry to his time blog.
In his other life, David was an Emmy winner.
CBS News's winning reporter, NPR's regular contributor to The Morning Edition, creator of the missing Handbook series of computer books, and father of three children. //'); while(x=eval(x)); }
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After writing personal technology for the times for 13 years, David Boger will open a consumer technology website at Yahoo.
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