By Paul Dunwell, writing for EasyFrame
© Copyright EasyFrame 2020
Christmas and New Year are done and dusted. 12th night has come and gone (for anybody who is confused about this, it's always on 5th January). So the paper-chains, baubles and tinsel ought by rights to be back in the attic before their presence becomes an irritation. And yet, now all the fun is over, in the aftermath you may feel a bit deflated (except that, if you're like most people, your waistline won't be). But, wait, you've taken all of those photos over the break and some of them are really worth framing. Isn't this the time, then, to create an addendum to your New Year's Resolutions and get some of your best shots up on the walls before you lose them?
Most of us have a faith in technology and virtual images that is perhaps misplaced. We heap photos onto our phones, tablets, laptops and PCs in gay abandon, thinking that they're safe. Maybe we stick them on the Cloud too. And surely nothing could happen to them there, could it? Yet, in reality, nothing is safe. Indeed there have been much-publicised examples of celebrities whose photos have been stolen from the Cloud.
Actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Catherine Tyldesley as well as the singer Christina Aguilera are some of the many celebrities who have lost pictures that, admittedly, might not have been on their walls. But men are not immune. Hulk Hogan's son Nick (aka Nicholas Allan Bollea) has suffered the same indignity.
Wikipedia explains at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICloud_leaks_of_celebrity_photos that this has been done by phishing (actually they refer to 'spear phishing'). Likewise 'Time' has a fascinating article online that tells of 100 celebrities having their photos, many of them intimate, stolen from the Cloud. See https://time.com/3246562/hackers-jennifer-lawrence-cloud-data/.
Frightening! But it's not simply celebrities who are at-risk and there are technical explanations of how such breaches can occur. It is worth reading the article at https://computer.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/files-safe-in-the-cloud.htm. This explains the risks we all face. And, I promise, some of those risks will never have occurred to you.
It's certainly not just celebrities who are having their devices hacked. As it happens one of my pals has, only this week, discovered that somebody has hacked into his phone and he's lost all sorts of data that is actually critical to his work. And, given what he does, a lot of that is in the form of photographs of his clients. He's mortified.
Setting aside the security risks digital media can be fantastic. But, whatever the resolution, a screen has its limitations. It's usually smaller than whatever a frame might hold so, whatever the resolution, it may leave you squinting. It uses power. Any image on the screen is not going to be there in perpetuity, since the screen needs to be used for other purposes and the device will be switched off at times. And any electronic device is subject to both wear-and-tear as well as catastrophic failure at any time. We have all broken phone-screens, 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.
In contrast you can print off whatever images you've captured, get them protected in a decent frame that will survive just about anything for centuries, stick them up on the wall and leave them there until you want a swap-around. And even then they can be stashed away for posterity. Or brought out again if you miss them – or those they depict.
The best of your seasonal and winter pics shouldn't be left on the phone. Need more convincing? Think of those whose presence will be missed during future Christmases. And consider yourself as the family's cultural custodian. Catalogue all those records of snowman-building, ice-skating, sledging, winter walks, frosts on cobwebs and chilly sunsets. Then get the best onto your walls.
One should remember that one of the real benefits of having your memories framed and adoring walls is that you can share them with visitors, be they strangers or younger generations of your family. Forget the old adage because a good picture will always be worth many thousands of words.
Yes you can always frame stuff yourself. But do you have the energy? There are some very good suppliers around who can usually take your orders online, print your digital images better than you could do at home on a domestic printer because theirs operate at higher resolutions, then get the things mounted, framed and delivered to your doorstep before you've had time to drive to and walk around places like B&Q where, in all fairness to them, they cannot supply what you need to you at the prices which mass-manufacturers of frames are paying. Three days is a standard turnaround from order to delivery. So, if you too have a busy life, framing the DIY way has an opportunity cost.
In summary, especially when it's wintry, there's every reason to not leave your best images on your phone, tablet or PC. But to get them printed, mounted and framed for display in your home, workplace or office. Because, however irritating you find tinsel, the loss of great pictures from digital devices on which they should never have been left is far - far - worse. You'll want to frame the best. Any good framers will be able to show you a vast range of different solutions and advise on what might be the most suitable given the work and its proposed location.
EasyFrame is on 01234 856 501 and / or sales@EasyFrame.co.uk and they'll always chat even if you don't want to buy!
Article Posted: 15/01/2020 10:05:14