The age of digital photography is wonderful. A modern digital camera takes much better photos than the equivalent film camera ever did. And with enormous memory cards there is no financial penalty for taking hundreds or even thousands of photos on an outing. And you can alway pop in a spare memory card and keep going. But there is a problem with digital photos having virtually no marginal cost, and that is: what to do with all of them.

I think I take about 7000-8000 photos per year. It would be great if they were all keepers, but in my 2023 Lightroom catalogue I only kept 670 of them. And of those 670, I only thought enough of 42 of them to even put them on Flickr. But even the “keepers”, stored in their digital form, will mostly be quickly swiped past wherever I post them and then fade into obscurity. I don’t find myself loading catalogues from years past and appreciating my own photos because they really aren’t that fun to click through and enjoy on a computer screen. And if I want to show one to somebody, I have to go back and find where it is and show them on a phone or computer.

I would like to print more of my photos, but my wall space is limited, and printing, matting, and framing is rather expensive. I do have a few photos that I really like printed large and hung on my office walls, but that is not a solution for very many photos. Sometimes I want to look at lots of my favorite photos and relive the memories and feelings that go along with them. So, after many years of this quandary, in 2023 I started making books. Not just basic books, but high quality coffee table type books that are a pleasure to hold and page through.

I started this with a book of Patagonia photos from a trip I made in the spring and then as 2023 came to a close, I decided to put together another book encompassing my favorite photos from the past two years. I ordered a 12 x 8 line photo book with an acrylic front cover and a leatherette back. Inside the book the photos are printed on quality glossy photo paper with some labeling to remind me when and where I took the photos in years to come. These books are not cheap, but each one costs less than making a large print and having it framed and matted using quality material. I only order one copy of each because the book is just for me to enjoy. So, anytime I want I can pick up the book and thumb through it or show it to someone else if they want to see it.

When you are passionate about photography, as in my case with nature photography, being able to see and hold the results of your efforts is quite rewarding. And having the images treated so nicely using quality materials adds to the enjoyment and satisfaction. It also gives you something to look forward to when you are out there taking what you might think is the greatest photo you have ever taken (until you get back to Lightroom and find 5 things you wish you had done differently).

One of the difficult parts of this process is culling through your photos and finding the ones that you think should be in the book. You have to deem each one worthy of the expense and I found that I became extra-critical of my photos during this process, which was a bit depressing. I don’t think I belong is some classy exhibit somewhere or in the pages of some notable magazine, but I do want to enjoy my work. So, I had to slog through and try not to get too hung up on criticizing my own photos.

If you’re curious, I ordered these books from a company called Saal Digital. You can configure the book on their website or download an app. It is generally not a difficult process but it does take some work to get it just like you want it. There is also generally a pretty good coupon code available if you look for a minute, I think I used a 30% off coupon on my last order. I ordered my Patagonia book from this company and was so pleased with the result that I also ordered a 2022-2023 book in the same form-factor. The book lays flat, which is great for panoramas, and the paper is thick and high quality.

If you want to enjoy your own photos, relive the memories, and showcase them to others, I think that making a nice quality book is a good way to go. How many photos have been lost because you took them 3 phones ago and forgot to store or transfer them? The digital world is great, but the book will be on your shelf ready to pick up and enjoy decades after you have lost the hard drive that the images were stored on. I think it’s worth treating yourself once or twice a year.

P.S. The image at the top of the blog with the camera and memory cards is an AI generated image that I, requested I suppose, in which I was trying to represent thousands of photos on memory cards. AI never quite gets thing completely right, but I think you get the idea. Thanks for reading.