69,789

How many photos on your phone?

For me photographs have always been something to treasure.

I remember as a child looking through photo albums. For those in Generation Y or below, a photo album were these heavy spiral bound leather covered books that contained printed (!!!) pictures stuck in and covered in plastic.

They were living proof of your family history. Aunt so and so when she had the party hat on her head. Grandpa holding up the fish he caught. Christmases. Birthdays. Special occasions.

If that all feels rather quaint I can can tell you I yearn for those memories.

Right now the 69,789 photos in my album are a potpourri of memes, holiday snaps, recipes, instagram screen shots, newspaper articles, steaks, sunsets, aeroplane windows, animals, graffiti, whiteboard notes and god knows what else.

Most of the time I look back no longer than a few days to see what’s on there. All this storage of visual memorabilia, and it’s stored to do what with?

I think about printing them but never do.

So I’m going to change that.

I’m going to Officeworks and print off a stack of random pics from my phone and make a photo album for the family.

I might pick a theme. I might not. Maybe I’ll throw a whole heap of random snaps together to see what story they tell.

By making the album and leaving it on the coffee table for someone else to discover is part of the fun, and I’ll get ready to share the conversation that comes with all those memories.

Pics on the phone are for the phone owner, but photos in albums are the start of a conversation.