Just to be upfront, I consider myself to be an evangelist for photography, family history and memory making. I believe that a powerful connection can be made with our personal histories through photos; a connection that is more powerful than any written or spoken words alone can achieve. Hearing your grandmother say that you look just like her youngest brother is nothing compared to seeing the proof of that resemblance in a photo. The photos that we take today can have that same kind of impact on some future relative, likely in ways that we can’t imagine.

For most of us, taking pictures is fun. We really enjoy snapping pictures and we do try to keep in mind that we are telling our own stories through images. For some, an event isn’t complete until there is a picture taken to preserve and memorialize the moment. Photography should be that fun, that carefree, and at the same time that important. Picture taking is the best tool we have to record our times.

Every photo is an historical record; by their very nature photos always capture and preserve a moment that has come and gone. Some of those moments are just for fun while others mark an occasion or an event. No matter what subject is captured in a photo it is always frozen in a moment that can’t be recreated. Photos certainly outlive the slice of time that they depict, what is in doubt is if they will outlive our own generation. Digital imaging has made us rather cavalier about the preservation part of the photographer’s job.

Digital photography liberated camera owners from the expense of film and developing. After investing in a camera, a memory card, and a handful of batteries there are seemingly no other costs. With film photography we had to pay to have the exposed film turned into prints that we could actually see.

Digital changed photography forever, now we can see our images seconds after exposure using the camera’s LCD screen or on our computer monitors. There is no expensive developing involved so prints aren’t made very often. By following this model I think we have set ourselves up for a big problem.

Unfortunately photographic prints got lumped in with the expense of shooting film. When we went digital we quickly forgot to separate the desirable outcome of having prints from the cost of film developing in our minds.

The ease of sharing pictures electronically meant we no longer had to wait until ‘twin print Tuesday’ to share copies of our images with family and friends. But that sidesteps one of the most relevant and pressing reasons to create a photographic print – preservation and continuation of our family histories.

I am not a ‘Flat Earther’ when it comes to technology. I love the options that I have at my disposal because of the internet, a computer and the clever, creative programming and thought of countless engineers. I have a Flick’r account, I use Facebook, Google + and Twitter. I have many gigabytes of image files on my computer’s various hard drives. But I still make photographic prints too.

I make prints because I remember all too well my investments in technology over the years. I recall my IBM PC Jr. and it’s 5 ¼” floppy disks, my later Zip-Drive and my 3.5” diskettes. I think about my 8-track tapes, cassette tapes and even my LP collection. I get angry over the investment I lost in Betamax tapes even as I purchase Blu-Ray versions of movies that I already own on VHS. I love technology and I swim in it daily, I am simply very aware that for technology to progress some other older technology likely dies.

Given these very real changes in technology, what can we assume will happen to Facebook, Flick’r and Twitter? There are already reasons to not entrust your images 100% to internet services (see this blog entry on Cloud Storage).

In fact we need to question the longevity of the very digital image files themselves. When was the last time someone sent you a TARGA image file type? This was the flower of 1984 imaging technology back when image quality was tied directly to CRT screens; today it’s a relic that can’t be opened by many image viewing programs. Almost any of today’s camera RAW files could fall victim to the same fate. Each camera brand, and in many cases each camera model, uses a specialty RAW file type that 40 years from now may not have a reader available.

So, why do I make photographic prints of my digital image files? Because any print I made in the year that I purchased my Betamax tape player can still be viewed and enjoyed. Because the image files I had uploaded and shared through Yahoo! Pictures were lost when they shuttered their business, but the 4X6’s I made from those files are still in my photo albums.

I make prints because in my opinion there is a very different emotional connection that comes from holding a physical picture in your hands compared to observing that same image on a computer monitor or cell phone screen.

We need to enjoy our photography; it’s fun and makes an event feel even more special when someone whips out a camera to take a shot. Using digital cameras has liberated us from the endless develop and print cycle of film. We can document our lives and our worlds like no other generation before us.

We also need to be sure that we are doing our part to ensure that we preserve the best or most important images that we capture. We need to keep in mind that we aren’t just sharing our pictures with a friend 200 miles away with an email; we should also take steps to preserve our pictures in order to share them with a family member that hasn’t even been born yet.

I am an evangelist for photography, family history and memory making. I think that this stuff is important and I know that I’m not alone. Do I print every picture that I should? No, not always, but I try. For years I have incorporated this quote in my email signature line, as much a reminder to myself as an invitation to others:

“A picture says a thousand words, but a memory card is mute! Shoot. Print. Share.”

Photography offers a bewildering array of accessories, lenses, other gadgets. It is easy to get lost in endless searching for the next product that will make your picture taking experience easier, your pictures better, and your sharing more enjoyable. At Porter’s, we have some advice to offer that we believe can guide photographers through the maze of offerings, zeroing in on the key accessories that form the foundation of a good camera kit.

No matter if you shoot with the lowliest compact camera or the most elaborate professional rig, there are core accessories that should be available to every photographer. Some enhance shooting capabilities, but the most basic are focused on camera safety and protection.

The first two accessories that should be at the top of a photographer’s list are a durable camera bag or case and a comfortable neck strap. These two items will do more to keep your camera functioning over time than any other products we could mention.

A camera bag or case is of course a great way to transport your camera from point A to B. However for the majority of us our cameras will spend a significant amount of time sitting on a shelf waiting to be used. A camera bag or case protects a camera from the most basic enemies in your home – dust and excessive humidity changes – both of which can damage a camera’s mechanical functions over time.

Of course a camera bag is also the ideal transportation solution for a camera. A bag minimizes damage from incidental bangs and bumps during transport. We suggest a bag large enough to house all of the photographer’s gear. It should store the camera, memory cards, chargers, spare batteries, filters, any spare lenses and other accessories. If you have a lot of stuff maybe a large bag or case is augmented with a smaller day-bag used to carry only a few items at a time.

Next on the list is a good neck strap. You may like neck straps or you may think that they look geeky, but neck straps aren’t foremost a fashion statement. Neck straps simply keep you from dropping your camera. The number one cause of camera damage is impact, and a neck strap offers some insurance drop protection. A neck strap is also a theft deterrent, you are less likely to set down your camera and have it ‘walk away’ if it is constantly around your neck. We suggest a strap that is first comfortable to wear for an extended time, second something fashionable.

After the camera is safe and secure we look to make our shooting experience and our images better. While there are several key accessories that can accomplish this, next on our priority list is a tripod. There are several practical reasons to make a camera support the third most important accessory.

Stability and steadiness are the most obvious characteristics of a tripod mounted camera, but there is one huge benefit for the family photographer that cannot be overlooked. A tripod allows the family photographer to get into the picture too. Whether using a remote camera release or the old fashioned ‘set the self timer and hurry to get in the shot’ method, a tripod is essential to the shot. For family history and memories this is a critical but too often overlooked need.  Your family wants you in the pictures too.

By the way, a tripod doesn’t need to be big and cumbersome. Depending on the cameras size and weight, small and portable tabletop tripods can certainly fill this function.

These three key pieces of equipment each have a different purpose. They are important and useful and we strongly suggest that they should be purchased at the same time as the camera. If that isn’t practical to purchase these items all at once consider making them your top requested gift ideas for birthdays and holidays.

The next pair of necessary accessories can be summed up under the label “uninterrupted shooting”. Though not truly consumables, things like batteries and memory cards either get filled or depleted and without a spare the photographer is out of business.

At least one spare charged battery (or set of batteries if your camera uses AA) can often save the day. Battery power indicators on cameras could be categorized as a best guess of remaining battery power. I cannot tell you how often my camera showed a charge of three out of four bars on the battery and within 20 shots the meter had plummeted to only one bar. Having a spare charged battery has saved the day more times than I care to remember.

Having at least one spare memory card is also an insurance policy of sorts. Not only do cards get filled to capacity with images they can also suddenly decide to not work anymore; either way the day’s photography is done unless another card is available. Memory cards are cheap and easily managed. We suggest having two cards and a carrying / organizing card case to keep track of them. Going on a long trip? Think about three or four memory cards. (See this older blog entry ‘Memory Card Evagilism’ for discussion and tips on memory cards)

By the way, generic non-branded memory cards are the ones we see most often for crash recovery. Stick to brands like Promaster, Lexar, Sandisk and to a lesser degree Kingston and Vectra for the highest reliability.

Camera bag, neck strap, tripod, spare battery, and spare memory cards. Not a terribly long list of core equipment but a vital one. Make sure that your camera kit always has these items in its inventory and you will be better prepared, have more successful shoots, and a much more complete collection of pictures.