We all assume we have time.

Time to organise those old family photos, to sort through boxes of memories, to finally get them digitised. But life gets busy – and sometimes, the unexpected happens.

A recent customer of ours had always meant to get her late mother’s photo collection scanned and restored. The photos, passed down through generations, sat safely in boxes – until a house fire broke out in the very room where they were stored. She is now searching through ashes and rubble, trying to salvage what little she can. Most of the photographs are likely to be beyond repair. The slides have melted. What was once a priceless family archive is now damaged forever.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been contacted by someone after a disaster – when they realise their irreplaceable photos have suffered significant damage. While we’ll always do our very best to help and salvage as much as we can in these situations, the truth is, the best time to act is before something like this happens.

The post Once They’re Gone, They’re Gone. Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late first appeared on Photographs Forever.