Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel LaCour Niesen.
Rachel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My background is in photojournalism and my training involved equal parts storytelling and curation. Great photographs tell stories and careful curation helps convey those stories in simple, powerful ways. At my core, I’m a storyteller who believes photographs play a vital role in preserving world history and family history. My mission reflects my training and my passion: to save and share family stories, one photo at a time.
In the age of social media, I think there’s a deep desire to gather around something tangible like a printed photo. or an album. There’s magic in holding photographs in your hands, in passing them around the table with family members. As we create content at warp speed (hello, Instagram!) we’re accumulating more imagery than ever before. We’re burying ourselves in digital photos that may never escape our phones. I think photos – especially family photos – deserve to be enjoyed in tangible form.
Analog photos inspire powerful emotional reactions. Most families have hundreds of disorganized analog photos deteriorating in their homes. These photos hold valuable family memories and are highly susceptible to damage and loss.
To historians, family photos exist on the margins of global history — they aren’t considered “newsworthy” enough to be cataloged in the National Archives. Yet for families, photos are visible accounts of personal history. Within each collection, there are icons of ancestry in the form of birthdays, weddings and anniversaries.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since my goal is primarily to create a community that’s passionate about preserving family photos, the bumps in the road have been caused by ME. When my time is limited, I have to be careful not to rush through the curation process. Good curation takes time and requires patience; I want to showcase photos that are both high-quality AND tell great stories. So I have to choose carefully when I post on the Save Family Photos Instagram feed. The images I choose to post almost always elicit strong responses and a lot of engagement.
The good news is that I’ll probably never run out of photos to choose from! There are countless photographs in attics and basements all over the world. Those photographs are artifacts and passports to a place called MEMORY. We must rally around those photographs and make a concerted effort to rescue them from deterioration, theft, natural disaster and loss. Those photos are in danger; as a result, so is family history. I want to work hard to preserve those photos.
Please tell us about Save Family Photos.
Save Family Photos specializes in preservation. We raise awareness about the art of analog photography and share resources to help families preserve their visual history.
Through our Instagram community, blog and workshops, we provide encouragement and education for families.
My biggest and boldest wish is that ALL families would take time to print their photographs and live with them. Photographs are a living, breathing archive. They are meant to be displayed, shared, passed around the table. I am committed to helping families recognize the value of their personal photographic histories. They’re worth saving for future generations.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Getting my first camera (see attached photo.) I loved exploring the world with my little Playskool plastic camera. Even as a kid, I felt like the camera around me neck emboldened me to ask more questions, stay curious and adventure beyond my comfort zone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.savefamilyphotos.com/
- Phone: 404-250-0404
- Email: rachel@savefamilyphotos.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savefamilyphotos/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachellacour
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
