P3D What's the value of personal pictures?

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

A pleasant surprise last night:  Someone was giving away (for free) slides
of a Detroit club member who had passed away.  Interested members got three
boxes each (about 15-20 slides each box).  All the slides were
glass-mounted and entered in various competitions at one time or another. 
They were great slides and I am very happy that I got the ones I did.  I
wished I had gotten all of them!  And I would have paid for them.  $1-$5,
depending on the slide.

I do not know if the intention was to distribute these valuable slides for
free or if the slides were not viewed as having any value.  I suspect the
later.  I would expect that this person's equipment were sold, not given
away to strangers for free.  But the pictures are personal creations.  It
is hard to put a value to those.  Some people definitely think that they do
not have any value, even though they were not family pictures but mostly
scenery and good photography.  Not everybody last night signed up to get
free slides.  As a matter of fact, most people did not.  Which I find
strange.  

I'll make sure I specify in my will that my personal slides are sold.  I
will let my children and immediate family take what they like but
definitely treat the rest as an asset to be sold.  Possibly auctioned in
small lots.  Heck, it costs me money and time (time is money) to buy the
film, shoot the pictures, process the film, mount the chips, organize and
maintain the slides.  My better slides have cost me plenty in time and
money.

George Themelis


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