Saturday March 27th, 2010 - From Old Brownie Cameras to the Pixel Picture Possibilities of Today

Picture taking, and how these pictures are stored, has changed over the years. We went from old Brownie cameras with the look down into the picture viewer and push the button on the side very carefully to SLR cameras that could take pictures with a variety of lenses in any light condition, even underwater. Then came the digital camera with its pixels and memory card taking the place of the endless rolls of film that we turned into prints. These photos were then placed in photo albums, boxes, on mantelpieces or hung on cherished photo walls in our homes.

So what happens to those memories that are stored on film and in print when the machinery that produces them no longer exists? What is the expression, digitize or die? Scan all the photos, turning the bits of shadows and light into pixels of colour that can be read and stored by today’s computers. But who has the time, or perhaps even the knowledge to do this?

Robin Fry must have asked similar questions. His solution was to form a company called Digital Memory Lane that would help people who were time or technologically challenged to put their celluloid memories into digital form. A former worker for the Department of Defence and an avid photographer, at the age of 63 Fry found himself out of work and wondering what he would do next.

An admitted technophile, which is a bit unusual for one of his generation, Fry took a course in how to be successfully self-employed and launched his business, aiming to help preserve historical data for museums, historical societies as well as the average person who has most of their memories in non-digital form. Fry’s one time hobby might well play an important part in preserving an important part of Canadian history, one celluloid print at a time.

Robin Fry can be reached at 604-788-7738 or by email at info@digitalmemorylane.ca His website address is www.digitalmemorylane.ca