There I was, standing in the evening sun in San Diego on the closing night of The Photo Managers conference on April 18, 2025. And I received the ‘Rising Tide Award’ from Cathi Nelson, CEO and founder of The Photo Managers. The award is named after the saying “A rising tide lifts all boats”: together we grow stronger. You receive it for making a significant contribution to the photo organizer profession, in whatever way, and for being open to collaboration and innovation. I know I’m active, have already done a lot with and for colleagues and the organization, and yet it was a great surprise and honor to receive the award as an ‘International Member’. Incidentally, it’s not that difficult for me to be enthusiastic about this profession, to help colleagues, and to make it ‘great’ in Europe as well. And I’m not doing it alone. I’m so glad I attended my first presentation at a NAPO conference in 2016 and thought: this is what I’m going for, this profession has a future and is the icing on the cake of my career. I’m proud of it.
Two American colleagues also received the award: Susan Wolak and Kristen Goodman (who wasn’t present at the conference).
The award was well received and is now on display in my studio 🙂

My New Year’s card for 2024/2025 features a mosaic as the main image, made from 390 of my photos related to my work in 2024. When you zoom in on the mosaic, you’ll see the photos I found meaningful to include. Photos of my studio, other workspaces, details of photo organizing projects, work materials, PR materials, and, for example, moments of meetings and collaborations with colleagues, both locally and abroad. The ‘underlying’ photo itself is one of the ‘feet photo’s I took in 2024. My feet are standing on a landing in Foam, the photography museum in Amsterdam, on blue transparent tiles. Blue—a color I use often—and the transparent stones represent clarity and the ability to look beyond what’s immediately visible.

It’s such a fun way to do something creative with photos from a specific period or theme. I created the mosaic using www.easymoza.com.

Photos play a valuable role when you want to look back. What was important? What had you already forgotten? Take a moment to reflect on your own photos when you’re organizing them. What were the big moments? What truly mattered? Which moments stand out and deserve to be preserved? What do you want to zoom in on? And when you zoom out, do you see the bigger picture?

For 2025, I wish you joyful moments and many beautiful photos. In times like these, it’s nice to have something that makes you feel good and to create something beautiful for yourself. And that’s entirely possible with the photos on your camera roll, your computer, or—best of all—in a photo book. All the more reason to manage them well, especially when it comes to quantity. Because “less is more” doesn’t just apply to material things…

In the first weekend of October 2024, the second European Photo Managers Meet-up took place, this time in Amsterdam. Since the beginning of this year, I have been working on the preparations together with fellow photo organizers Karin and Joan, in collaboration with two other European colleagues and   the Photo Managers in the USA. Determining the date, finding a location, seeking sponsors, organizing the program, setting the price, choosing restaurants, etc.

The location (carefully chose by us) turned out to be a hit: the OBA, the Public Library of Amsterdam, at Oosterdokskade. It’s close to Central Station and offers a stunning view. They have excellent meeting rooms (OBA Congress) with great facilities. The mini-conference was a big success; we gathered with photo organizers from 8 different countries. It was such a joy to meet one another and be inspired by the presentations and the conversations. There were talks on how to deal with videos, creating photo books—a favourite topic of ours!—discussions on “how many photos are enough,” and an impressive lecture by Nadja Ensink-Teich about her life-changing experiences and her precious photographs.

There were no fewer than 7 sponsors, and Foto Organizers Nederland (FON) was one of them. We sponsored, among other things, the banner and the badges. Another Dutch sponsor was Trigger, our partner in digitizing visual media, which is also expanding into Germany and Switzerland. Dutch photo organizers love bringing the photos, old films, and videos of our clients (and ourselves!) to Trigger, who then return them on a USB stick or external hard drive. The resulting digital files can be stored safely, organized, and enjoyed (again)! Take a look at Trigger‘s website, and if you need help making decisions and/or organizing your old materials, feel free to reach out—I’d be happy to assist!

At the start of the new year, I completed the ‘Privacy Advocate’ training from The Photo Managers. It was interesting and important, both for myself and for my business and clients. As a photo organizer (photo manager), I am in the forefront of the photo organizing process, providing me with the opportunity to handle it as safely as possible for both myself and my clients – ensuring that photos and information remain secure.

Privacy is a universal right. And without privacy, you cannot have proper security; that is also the motto of the training. It sounds logical, but it’s essential to understand what these concepts mean in practice. Since I often work digitally, dealing with other people’s ‘stuff,’ I want to work as effectively and securely as possible, and also educate my clients. I now have knowledge of the risks, dangers, and ‘countermeasures,’ so I can also ensure that this security is maintained.

Many topics were covered; I’ll share more about them in my blog!

In March 2022 I attended the conference of The Photo Managers in Denver, USA. Having attended this conference virtually in 2020 en 2021 virtually, I was finally there ‘in-person’. What a great conference! Through meetings with colleagues, exchanges of experiences, and acquisition of new insights and techniques, I have been able to step up the level of my work as photo organizer. There was a special camaraderie through the shared love love for the profession, whether you came from Brazil, USA, UK, Canada or Netherlands. Photo Managers United! In my tips on this website and on my Facebookpage (@vaneenandereorde) I regularly write something about The Photo Managers and about photo organizing. If you think that sounds interesting – follow me 🙂

I have recently been busy with photos, and I am now a certified Photo Organizer with the American association, The Photo Managers! Immediately following the last online conference I started with the certification process for professional organization of both analogue and digital photos. What do you need in terms of knowledge and materials, what do you do well and what not?  There are many similarities with ‘ordinary’ organization, but the organization of photos nevertheless requires a certain level of ‘technical’ knowledge. I have already been able to pass on results and experience with clients.

The Photo Managers (TPM) is a large and rewarding community with an active membership. It enables me to keep up to date professionally by means of a lively Facebook group, webinars and courses. All my colleagues in ‘Foto Organizers Nederland’ (FON) are also members of TPM. This is a good basis on which to put photo organization on the map in the Netherlands. In any case, clients know where to find me.

Guiding and advising my clients online or by telephone has proved to be a good option in recent times. And I am going to do this more often in the future, as I lose less travelling time, and it is an effective way to refine some material. However, from this week onwards I am going to visit clients or they are going to come to the studio. That is fine for both parties, as this way works the best. Both parties will follow a protocol in addition to the normal account that we take of each other. My professional association NBPO has written a clear protocol which I have sent to my clients. I make one appointment per day. It may sometimes be difficult to maintain the 1.5 m social distance. Especially if we need to look together at a computer screen, or in a box of photos, or in a filing cabinet. But there is plenty of creativity at the time of a crisis. Sharing screens with my own laptop enables me to look together with a client. And I also have Covid-19 masks with me. And if we are looking for something together, a gripper or tongs can be useful to pick an item up or to point something out. I am going for it, and I will see how it feels to work in practice (even though it is at a distance).

21 March 2020.  A bizarre time. I am making COVID-19 masks. There are still shortages in the care sector, and I think that it is a good idea that we all wear masks ourselves to prevent the spread of the virus.

I found a handy pattern with explanation in a video clip from Mr Kwong from Hong Kong. It is important to note that these masks do not comply with the FFP1 or FFP2 specifications. Nevertheless, perhaps in an emergency situation they can be used in the care sector. I make the masks from various scraps of cotton that I happen to have in the house. The beauty of this design is that it fits well and has two layers. It uses a layer of tissue or kitchen roll between the two cotton layers as an extra filter. An extra ribbon or elastic can help to seal the mask more effectively.

 

It is important to have more than one mask so that you can refresh the mask after 2-3 hours and wash the used mask. Naturally I am attracted by the sustainability of these masks.
I gladly share with you the pattern and instructions for the different sizes, together with an instruction video.

Pattern size medium

Pattern size large

If you have any questions or comments, send me an e-mail.

And if you want to read more about this: this is an interesting article about the virus and masks:

Due to the Corona virus, everything is suddenly different. It is good to note that there are already many turnings of the tide, reflections and initiatives to counter discouragement. It is time for invention and creativity. Time to stand back from your work, now that you perhaps spend more time at home. And to start (with the children) organizing the home. Or looking through photos together.

As many meetings, appointments and my APPO congress in America have been cancelled, I have suddenly got lots of spare time. Time to kick off an idea, or to minimalize an old paper archive. My work is usually one on one, and that is difficult to achieve now. Maybe I can guide some clients at a distance (digitally). And that could become a new service.

I am temporarily suspending my workshops ‘Do something with your photos’ until everything is calmer and safer. As soon as I have some new dates, I will announce these under the menu Photos/workshop and on Facebook. Read my tips if you want to get going on your own. And if you can read Dutch you can read more on the web site of Foto Organizers Nederland.

Let’s ensure that we all come out this crisis well. And turn the negative things into something good. A crisis offers opportunities too.