When we started our photo solutions business, we thought our main focus would be to preserve and restore photos and film but over the past years I have been surprised by the variety of projects that clients have presented us with. Just recently, I was contacted by a friend with a reel-to-reel tape he had found in the bottom of an old dresser owned by his mom and wanted to find out what was on it. This made me realize how important the voices of our past are as well as the images.
Luckily for me, I am a collector of media equipment from the past and have found these items useful on several occasions when converting client’s media. Reel-to-reel recorders are rarely found at yard sales or even antique shops and often when you do find one, it’s in need of repair. However, my reel-to-reel player was in excellent shape and when I threaded my friend’s tape into the machine I found voices from the past – clear and concise. I converted what turned out to be a conversation between a man and woman to an MP3 file and delivered it back to my friend on a USB flash drive.
A few days later, he was delighted to report that the conversation on the tape was between his mom – who had recently passed away – and her grandfather. He speculated that the conversation was for a school project back in the 1950’s when reel-to-reel technology was just beginning to be used by consumers. The conversation was about growing up in rural California in the late 1800’s. My friend was not only delighted to hear his mom’s young voice, but also to hear his great-grandfather’s stories about his own life and adventures. These voices from the past gave my friend insight into his family history that he can now pass on to his children and grandchildren.
If you have reel-to-reel tapes, slides, negatives, film, video, or other media you would like converted, contact Gold Star Photo Solutions for more information on the products and services we offer.