About us...

There is a popular phrase used on the internet these days:                        “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

    It’s used in response when someone tells an incredible story that no one believes unless the storyteller can back it up with photographic proof.  We now live in, arguably, the most visual era in human history. Even most kids now carry a phone that contains a camera so sophisticated and versatile, it would trump most photographic equipment available only to professionals less than 20 years ago.

    They use it not only to document the moments of their own lives, but to communicate their lives to others in a way that’s never been possible.

    We know that you and your family have photos too! Wouldn’t it feel great to not only protect those images forever, but to share them equally with your whole family, no matter where they live, PLUS preserve the names and stories associated with each image in a way that can never be lost?

 

I have worked with images for my entire career. Taking them. Digitizing them. Archiving prints and paper documents. I’ve used them to sell products, to tell stories, but most often to capture the insignificant and fleeting moments that comprise the whole of my life, and will one day be the lasting evidence that I was even here at all.  When all of the people that ever knew you personally pass on from this life; when all your descendants have to know you and your values by are your words and images – what do you want those words and images to be? When people proudly tell your story, what story do you want them to tell? Enduring happiness or triumph over hardship – nothing tells a story like images.

 

    Let’s say you have 60 years of family photos; maybe from both sides of your family combined! Perhaps you’ve considered making a project of sitting down and scanning them all yourself, but you’ve hesitated because maybe you’re unsure of the technology, or more likely, you simply don’t have the literal WEEKS of time required to develop a system then scan them on your own.

 

I decided to found Family Photo Vault for my love of images. Mine, yours, EVERYONE’S - but especially the feelings they hold.

   

     I knew that waiting even 5 years to begin archiving my own family’s photographic history would mean possibly losing key relatives and their abilities to identify the names and faces of my recent ancestors. Those ancestors carried cameras much heavier than the one in my pocket now, and spent real money not only for the film to capture moments of their lives in snapshots and portraits, but to have those moments printed, and transported, and stored. All so that I could hold each of them in my hand, peer into their eyes and smiles, and see not only who they were, but where I came from. I feel like I owe them the honor of protecting those images so that those who come after me can enjoy the same connection to the past while charting their courses further into the future.

    That’s why I’ve made it my mission to STOP MEMORY LOSS! We have untold millions of photo prints in closets, garages, basements, attics – all withering, yellowing, fading… quickly decaying. As each day passes, we also lose the owners of those photos who know the names of who’s in all those pictures and the unique story held in each.

  The key to a successful future is commanding an understanding of the past. In a photo, you may find a laugh, a glimpse of a great love story, or you may even see a piece of yourself looking back. You may also hear of a family mistake or failure you can avoid repeating, or uncover a great idea that’s waited patiently decades for you to discover it and bring to life.  You won’t know until you look. Family Photo Vault is here to help you look.