A few weeks ago I was in Atlanta, GA, starting the design process with one of our clients. At the end of the first day, I was relieved that our client’s family photo archive went back several generations. Some of the pictures were fragile, and, more importantly, irreplaceable. Naturally, the thought of sending them to Vancouver made everyone a little nervous. I needed to find someone who could scan the photos locally. That’s how I met Jiffy.
Jennifer “Jiffy” Page is the founder/principal of Pixorium, an Atlanta-based photostorytelling company. Jennifer started Pixorium after seeing victims of Hurricane Katrina lose their family photos, in turn losing a piece of their history. Today, she helps clients preserve their memories by expertly scanning their photos to create a digital visual archive of their past.
Jiffy handled my request with ease. I was so happy to have found her. We discovered that Echo and Pixorium had a lot in common, including a love for photos and story. When I went to pick up the snapshots and albums, Jiffy handed me a DVD with the scanned photos, and before I left her office, she unrolled a large print.
It looked like this:
“This is Big Daddy,” she told me. On her blog, Jiffy explains why she shares this photo:
And, without saying any more, you’ll know the important things to know about Big Daddy. You’ll know why his grandson respected and adored him. You’ll know why he brought the small, tattered original photo to us, wanting a large print to hang in his office. That is the power of a photograph; that is why family photos matter.
The photo is blurry, a snapshot taken by an amateur, perhaps with a cheap drugstore camera. But it doesn’t matter; you know the important things to know about Big Daddy.
If you’re familiar with Pixorium, you’ll know that I’m devoted to the humble snapshot. Why? Because that is simply what it is – a “snap” shot – and in that moment, it can capture a magic and truth of people and families that a posed photo never can.
But I’m devoted to the snapshot because everyone who has shoeboxes or drawers full of family snapshots has at least one magical, truthful image that speaks louder and more clearly than words ever could.
When I travelled more than 2,000 miles and needed someone to support the work we do, Echo found a partner. The story of Big Daddy was reassurance that I found a someone who had the same reverence and love for family photos as we do. So, Jiffy, thank you for sharing your story.
—ML
