I spent what seemed like forever searching for the photo I took nearly five years ago of Gibson and his great grandmother on her 97th birthday.

When I took the photo of Mrs. Sartin lifting my infant son to kiss him on the forehead, I immediately knew it was a photo to keep and cherish — even more so when I discovered that the framed photograph of Gibson’s great-great grandfather was also in the picture.

So I saved the image on my hard drive and shared it on Facebook, thinking I would print the photo at a later date.

Five years and several thousands of photos later, I have yet to print the photograph. The image is even more cherished after Mrs. Sartin died three years ago.

Ironically, it may be the framed photograph of Gibson’s great-great grandfather that outlasts that image I took five year ago, if Vint Cerf’s “digital Dark Ages” prophecy becomes reality.

One of the fathers of the Internet, Cerf warned last week at a conference American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose, Calif., that the risk of losing an entire generation of images and data is a very real concern

As much as I worry that my images will be lost on a hard drive that resembles my parents’ shoeboxes overflowing with snapshots kept in their bedroom closet, Cerf’s biggest concerns are not with the sheer number of photos being taken these days, but with advancements in technology and software that could make reading and translating current images obsolete.

Losing track of images scattered on hard drives that fail, cellphones that get replaced and social media applications that continually change is a real concern, but changing technology has the potential to leave future generations with little or no record of the 21st century, Cerf said.

“Old formats of documents that we’ve created or presentations may not be readable by the latest version of the software because backwards compatibility is not always guaranteed,” Cerf told the BBC in an interview last week.

Anyone who has a few videotapes hanging around long after the VCR was sent to the landfill, can understand Cerf’s concerns.

The last 20 years of history is littered with the remains of obsolete technologies. Cassette tapes, floppy drives and video game cartridges are just a few more examples.

How long will it be before JPG files and other image formats follow suit?

“We are nonchalantly throwing all of our data into what could be an information black hole,” Cerf told The Guardian newspaper.

So what is the answer?

For Cerf, one solution is to go old school — print your photographs.

“If there are photos you really care about, print them out,” Cerf told The Guardian.

In an era when taking and saving photos on our mobile devices is easier than ever, hard copies ensure that those memories will last, Cerf said.

Reality beats virtual reality once again.

Now, all I have to do is set aside the time to print all those treasured moments. At the rate I am taking photos these days, I am going to need a large block of time.

 

Ben Hillyer is the design editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or by email at ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.