You have made quite an accomplishment if you have sorted 200 pictures so far. I am going to talk today about other things to look for.

Many times photos will be out of order or pictures of the same landmarks may be taken from different trips. Pictures may be found in numerous places and create such a disarray that it may be difficult to put them in any sort of order. Sometimes the negatives have been misplaced or separated from the prints. I have found it helpful to combine groups by studying the printing materials. Look on the back to identify the printer of the paper and the symbols that were used. Sometimes the date when the pictures were developed may be stamped during printing. Snapshots printed on paper designed by the same company can be grouped together. The symbols used with the company name may indicate the approximate time period of development. For example, Kodak was an official sponsor of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA, and were allowed to use the logo of the five rings on their printing materials. Sometimes, the printing paper could have the country listed such as Germany that could tell you the events were overseas. Prints and/or negatives might still be in the original developing packets. Look for the date individuals wrote on the packets the day they turned their developed film in for processing. Keep in mind, the events may not have taken place anywhere near the time the film was developed. Years could pass before a roll of film is converted to prints or slides. The age of the film could be a detriment to the quality of the pictures and could make snapshots look more dated than they really are. It is important to develop the film into prints or slides quickly to maintain good color quality.

Some cameras stamp the date on each negative when snapshots are taken. This can be of tremendous help, but then again, the calendar on the camera has to be properly set to give an accurate date.

Are you ready to tackle the next 100 photos? Ok, let's get started . . .