By Paul Dunwell, writing for EasyFrame
© Copyright EasyFrame 2020
What this article is about
Christmas and New Year are done and dusted. Twelfth Night has come and gone. The paper chains, baubles and tinsel ought to be back in the attic before they become an irritation. Now the fun is over you may feel a bit deflated (though, if you're like most people, your waistline won't be). But you took all those photos over the break, and some are really worth framing. Isn't this the time to add to your New Year's resolutions and get your best shots onto the walls before you lose them?
Tinsel fades. Protect your other memories
Most of us have a faith in technology that is perhaps misplaced. We heap photos onto phones, tablets, laptops and PCs with abandon, thinking they're safe. Maybe we put them in the Cloud too. Surely nothing could happen to them there? In reality nothing is safe. There have been much-publicised cases of celebrities whose private photos were stolen from the Cloud.
Wikipedia explains at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICloud_leaks_of_celebrity_photos that this was done by 'spear phishing'. 'Time' has a fascinating article about 100 celebrities having photos stolen: see https://time.com/3246562/hackers-jennifer-lawrence-cloud-data/.
It's not only celebrities who are at risk. For a technical explanation of how such breaches happen, read https://computer.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/files-safe-in-the-cloud.htm. I promise some of the risks will never have occurred to you.
As it happens, one of my pals discovered only this week that somebody had hacked his phone. He has lost all sorts of data critical to his work, much of it photographs of his clients. He's mortified.
Where prints will always beat a screen
Security risks aside, digital media can be fantastic. But a screen has its limitations:
- It's usually smaller than a frame, so it may leave you squinting.
- It uses power.
- The image isn't there permanently, because the screen is needed for other things and the device gets switched off.
- Any device is subject to wear and tear and to sudden failure. We have all broken a phone screen, dropped a phone down the loo or out of a canoe, or watched a device give up the ghost the moment it's out of warranty.
By contrast, you can print your images, protect them in a decent frame that will survive just about anything, put them on the wall and leave them there until you fancy a change. Even then they can be stored for posterity, or brought out again when you miss them, or the people in them.
Be the family's cultural custodian
The best of your seasonal and winter pictures shouldn't be left on the phone. Need more convincing? Think of those whose presence will be missed at future Christmases. Consider yourself the family's cultural custodian. Catalogue the records of snowman-building, ice-skating, sledging, winter walks, frost on cobwebs and chilly sunsets. Then get the best onto your walls.
Memories on your walls are not just for you
One of the real benefits of framed memories is that you can share them with visitors, whether strangers or younger generations of your family. A good picture will always be worth many thousands of words.
Overcoming post-festive inertia
You can always frame things yourself. But do you have the energy? Some very good suppliers will take your order online and print your images better than a domestic printer could, because theirs work at higher resolutions. They then mount, frame and deliver to your doorstep before you've had time to drive to a DIY store and walk round it. Three days is a standard turnaround from order to delivery. If you have a busy life, DIY framing has an opportunity cost.
A wintry summary
There is every reason not to leave your best images on a phone, tablet or PC, and to get them printed, mounted and framed for your home or workplace. However irritating you find tinsel, losing great pictures from a device they should never have been left on is far, far worse.
You'll want to frame the best. Any good framers will show you a range of solutions and advise on what suits the work and where it will hang. EasyFrame is on 01234 856 501 and sales@EasyFrame.co.uk, and they'll always chat even if you don't want to buy!
