Estate Sale

[Robert Brummitt]

Recently, I went to an estate sale of a friend and former Portland Photographers Forum member. There his family had all his books, magazines, photography gear and photographs up for sale. At first all this didn’t bother me. The family had to clear out all his stuff and get his home ready to sale. But afterward I began to think of all my stuff. What would happen to my magazine, books, gear and photographs when I’m no longer on this earth?
Most of my magazines I donate to either PPF or I give to schools that have an active photography department or club. I want to think the students there appreciate seeing what is being done in their field of interest. I remember being so when my school would get a cache of magazines. I grabbed what I wanted and left to study.

My books, many of them are signed by the photographers, John Sexton, Ansel Adams, Ruth Bernhard, Christopher Burkett, Bruce Barnbaum, Brett Weston and so on. I’m attached to my books greatly. I must share with my family that either keep the books for themselves or give them to those same schools that have active photography programs. But they must never to sold!

My photographs? Well, I hope that my family will divide the images of what they like and do as they wish with the rest. I had met one photographer who stated that he plans to destroy all his prints and negs. He’s already done one part of his plan. He followed his friend Brett Weston and burned all his negs. Only after scanning some of them for digital output. But his prints will be left to his remaining family.
I have also collected lots of prints from other photographers starting with a small Henry Gilpin “Highway 1” print and followed by lots of noted and some not so know photographers. Each print speaks to me and I usually pull out my collection and remember why I bought this print or traded for it or was given to me. Again, I hope my family will do the same as I have listed before. Share among them selves and then donate the rest to this time a local art museum.

My darkroom gear, I love it but its really not apart of me. I hope my family will sell some of it and donate the rest. How can one be attached to a print washer or trays or an enlarger.

Now comes the real crutch of what I thought at my friends’ estate sale, His photographic gear. I don’t know about you but I consider my cameras more then mere tools or a means of photographing. They have a life. They are apart of me. My Wisner 4x5 Technical Field camera and I have traveled around the northern west coast. My RB67 has been with me since my early days of school. I remember seeing it in a glass case at my then local photography retailer in Palo Alto, Calif and it said “Buy me. You won’t regret it” The salesman who happen to be one of the owners of the store must have over heard the RB calling to me. He let me work out a deal to pay in installments and six months the camera was mine and I have never regretted it.

It’s my hope that my family never sale my cameras. I hope that my family looks at them and remembers their old man and his adventures with his cameras and the neat photographs. I hope that they will share stories to their families and on down the line.

No, my cameras are special to me. Are yours to you? Do you understand what I’m saying or do you think I’m a crazy person who probably worries too much for his own good about things when I’m good and gone. What do you plan for your stuff? Do you have a plan of action when your not? Share.

I plan to place this thread on other photo websites.

[Merg Ross]

You would be doing your family a favor by not burdening them with the disposal of material items. Leave them the good memories of you the person, along with a few of your prints. Of course, if they are as sentimental as you about the equipment you used, that would be a different story. Having learned from personal experience, I hope to leave as little behind as possible, while understanding that good intentions are not always realized. I have not yet torched any negatives, but dozens of mounted prints have made their way to the recycle bin this year.

[Daniel Grenier]

Funny you should bring this up now. My wife and I had a discussion on this very topic just yesterday.

I've had gear and photos and books around my place for years and years. My three kids are all great kids and older now with their own families, carreers etc. They have NO interest whatsoever in any of my stuff (or photography in general, for that matter)! My wife is fond of some of my own photographs and of my photography collection by other Artists but she has NO interest whatsoever in my gear, books, mags. So yeah, my gear is totally meaningless to my family. In fact, I told her where to take my camera eqpt, books and magazines in case (or when) I kick the bucket - to a photo store where they'll sell all this stuff for her on ebay.

You're not crazy by any means, but let's face it, this photo stuff is only meaningful to you and me.

[Hans Berkhout]

I had to "clean out" my parent's house, going through "stuff" they collected and enjoyed over many years. I promised myself to make sure that my kids will never have to go through the same (lenghty) excercise: I am now throwing out/selling/giving away photography related items, and in my will is stipulated what to do with what I'm keeping and using while I am still around. Unless you're convinced someone in your family will use the equipment etc to which you are so emotionally attached, leave written instructions how/where to dispose of it. Better, start the process now, your kids etc will be grateful.

[Charles Carstensen]

Agree with the idea of selling or giving it away before you check out. My kids have already received way too many hand me downs. You shouldn't own anything, property included, by the time you are ready for the nursing home.

[Ash]

We are born with nothing, we die with nothing. We lose nothing.

[Turner Reich]

It's called a will and disposition, put it in writing, and why get rid of everything way before just to not burden anyone. If they don't want it and you haven't detailed what will happen and you haven't talked to the parties involved then who cares if it goes into a dumpster?

The historic and rare item like Dagor's, Artar's, Deardorf's, Korona, what ever the case, you need to make the value of the item know to future receivers. If you care then an appraisal or insurance value might help keep the item in circulation.

[AutumnJazz]

Why would you burn your negs and prints? I would give mine away to my family.

If I had equipment that was dear to me (say, a 4x5 I took with me everywhere or a camera I had since I was in school) I would give it to family that was interested. If they weren't, I would still ask them to keep it in the family. Someone down the line would have to be interested in it.

[h2oman]

As a child I had many great days fly-fishing with my father. Since then I have moved on to pursue other interests. My father is making plans to pass his fishing gear off, and I have let him know that it is best off in the hands of someone who will use and appreciate it, whether they are in our family or not. That does not include me.

When he goes I will miss him greatly, but owning some of his fishing equipment wil not bring him back, and I won't need it to remind me of him. On the other hand, I'll cherish all the old slides of our backpacking trips together!

[Michael Graves]

I won't have much of a problem getting rid of my gear. My daughter caught the bug, so I'll provide the ointment. My son won't have to get jealous, because his interest lies in music. He will be much happier with my guitar collection. My wife gets the bills. And the 401K, if there's anything left of it.

[ASRafferty]

I'm not going to discuss what has happened since my husband died in April... suffice to say I know whereof I speak.

(This is definitely YMMV. My experience was somewhat bizarre, due to the involvement of a once-in-a-century lunatic in my husband's death, whose lunacy colored everything that happened afterward. However, that aside, I think what I say below would hold for most people's experience.).

The most important thing is to think through, right down to the ground, what it will be like when you're gone and those you love are left behind, with your finger on their lives courtesy of what you do about planning for your death.

You have three options:

You can leave no will. Then everyone does what they have to do, and practically nothing of what they'd like to do. The law and the courts take over, and it won't matter at all what you've told your family you want; nor even what they'd like to do on your behalf, or in the interests of getting on with their lives after you're gone. It will be over when the court says it's over.

You can leave a will that, in effect, insists that your family love whatever you force them to do. That never works... and, believe me, you won't be around to explain to them why they shouldn't resent it.

Or, you can leave a will that, in effect, shows your family that you loved them more than you loved your things, and want your passing to be as easy as possible for them.

Your pick, but I guarantee that what you do, not what you leave behind, will drive how you are remembered.

[Juergen Sattler]

I'm not going to discuss what has happened since my husband died in April... suffice to say I know whereof I speak.

(This is definitely YMMV. My experience was somewhat bizarre, due to the involvement of a once-in-a-century lunatic in my husband's death, whose lunacy colored everything that happened afterward. However, that aside, I think what I say below would hold for most people's experience.).

The most important thing is to think through, right down to the ground, what it will be like when you're gone and those you love are left behind, with your finger on their lives courtesy of what you do about planning for your death.

You have three options:

You can leave no will. Then everyone does what they have to do, and practically nothing of what they'd like to do. The law and the courts take over, and it won't matter at all what you've told your family you want; nor even what they'd like to do on your behalf, or in the interests of getting on with their lives after you're gone. It will be over when the court says it's over.

You can leave a will that, in effect, insists that your family love whatever you force them to do. That never works... and, believe me, you won't be around to explain to them why they shouldn't resent it.

Or, you can leave a will that, in effect, shows your family that you loved them more than you loved your things, and want your passing to be as easy as possible for them.

Your pick, but I guarantee that what you do, not what you leave behind, will drive how you are remembered.


I agree 100%. You cannot force anyone (not even your own kids) to appreciate and love what was dear to your heart. We all live our own lives and our interests vary wildly. I assume that everything I own that i sphotography related will be either dumped or sold when I am no longer around and that's perfectly OK with me - I won't know nor care once I am gone. As much as I love all my cameras, negatives, prints etc., I also realize that it really has only meaning for me. I have them because they are a ery important part of me - but only of me. Even my wife, who supports me 100% and has never said no to any equipment I wanted to buy, wouldn;t know what to do with all that stuff.

[EdWorkman]

I collect, um, stuff, lots of it non-photography.
I have a picture in my mind of my wife dancing around a bonfire in the driveway after I go.
Now maybe not since she has learned of *bay and my son knows how to use it.

[eddie]

I collect, um, stuff, lots of it non-photography.
I have a picture in my mind of my wife dancing around a bonfire in the driveway after I go.


be careful....she may not wait till you are gone! :)

[Ralph Barker]

Death usually comes as a surprise, even if we've been given some foreknowledge of a likely statistical time frame. So, I doubt that there are any simple, one-size-fits-all answers to the estate issue.

I generally agree with Amy's characterization of the three basic alternatives, so I'd advise against leaving things up to the courts. Even if you are quite young, at a minimum have at least a statutory will to specify someone as your beneficiary. A more complex will or a living trust might be a better alternative for some, depending on the worth and complexity of one's estate. For others, putting things (real estate, bank accounts, etc.) in joint tenancy with the desired beneficiary may be a viable alternative. That, however, doesn't handle "personal property" items like photo gear, prints, negatives and the like.

Once one gets to the point of pending actuarial (or, statistical) probability, I like the idea of predisposing of things that aren't in regular use. Rather than destroying old negatives, one might consider sending negatives of people to those people. They or their heirs might appreciate having them for family history purposes. Similarly, negatives of places might be sent to an appropriate historical society.

Having a plan, and doing things in advance of The Big Event, and discussing that plan with one's loved ones, is far better than leaving things to chance.

[John Kasaian]

If someone in my family has an interest, I'd like to see what stuff would be useful go to them (I'd probably give it to them before checking out, so I won't miss the opportunity of boring them with my stories.) The rest I'd hope will fall into the hands of some other guy or gal to have fun and make beautiful photos with. Nearly all my photo gear is old---much of it older than I---and I think of it as a legacy left to me by those who went before, so I do think about who used 'this' camera or 'that' lens in passing. If they also felt the frosted ground crunch underfoot on an especially vibrant morning in the mountains, or saw the enticing smile of a loved one in the gg. Heady stuff!

[ASRafferty]

Nearly all my photo gear is old---much of it older than I---and I think of it as a legacy left to me by those who went before, so I do think about who used 'this' camera or 'that' lens in passing. If they also felt the frosted ground crunch underfoot on an especially vibrant morning in the mountains, or saw the enticing smile of a loved one in the gg. Heady stuff!

A suggestion, John... find a school, or a club that has some substance to it and hasn't gone all digital, or even a museum if stuff really has good stories with it, but find it now and set the deal up. The actual mechanics of getting treasured things into appreciative hands is not at all romantic. I don't know what I would have done without everyone here to help me keep that emotional aspect intact while I needed to, but I still wouldn't wish the day-to-day doing of it til it's done on anyone I cared about.

[John Kasaian]

We are born with nothing, we die with nothing. We lose nothing.

Unless whomever wrote those lines did so posthumously, they are at best trivial and cute, like:
"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, if the whiskey don't get ya' the women must!"

I prefer to believe that we are born with potential, we die with a past. We gain the love or wraith of those surrounding us. That's not "nothing." :)

"Ya don't know what you've lost 'til it's gone." According to Joanie Mitchell.

Or:
We are born writers, we die authors. We gain fame (or infamy!)
Cheers!:)

[John Kasaian]

A suggestion, John... find a school, or a club that has some substance to it and hasn't gone all digital, or even a museum if stuff really has good stories with it, but find it now and set the deal up. The actual mechanics of getting treasured things into appreciative hands is not at all romantic. I don't know what I would have done without everyone here to help me keep that emotional aspect intact while I needed to, but I still wouldn't wish the day-to-day doing of it til it's done on anyone I cared about.

Thanks, Amy. I'll take your advice.

It might sound strange to some, but I treasure that old rotatrim especially because it came from your husband's estate. The "wear" has an element to it which speaks of life and creativity and I can't use it without reflecting on that.
I think well worn tools we obtain from others often exhibit qualities that bestow an element of "continuity" which is in itself a rare treasure these days.

Of course my scrap booking Bride loves it because it is such a fantastic trimmer! :)

[ASRafferty]

John, thank you for this... it's exactly the reason I held out as long as I did to sell Ted's things to people like you and your bride. Enjoy! :)

[Ash]

John, the words were as I heard from a gent who used to deal gold/silver/diamonds/etc with my old boss.

He is talking of material possessions. I placed it in reference that we are born with nothing, we are born naked, and we die with nothing aside from the clothes upon us. Everything else does not affect that we have passed on. Our own sentimentality dies with us.

Maybe I should have expanded more. For example I bought a solid silver mechanical watch from a gent shortly before he died. It had lived in his safe, he couldn't tell me where he bought it, only that it costed him some money to be fixed. He was selling it to raise money toward the gold he loved to wear.

Of course when he died, all this gold mysteriously vanished. He had been suffering from a form of illness a few weeks before, and during his stay in hospital before his death his flat was broken into and ransacked.

I still have the watch.

My use of the quote was to illustrate that there is a functional/monetary/sentimental value to the item. But you don't gain anything from taking it to the grave.

I hope that anything I am left with when I die will go to hands that will profit in some form or another, and hopefully they will deserve it too.

[John Kasaian]

Gee, Ash, I'm just giving you a hard time! :D

[Chuck Pere]

Equipment, books, magazines and collected prints can be pretty easily sold off or given away. If you don't need the money the estate could probably find someone who would buy the lot for pennies on the dollar. But your own prints are another story. Does anyone really want several boxes of mounted prints from a so-so unknown photo hobbyist? Too bad there isn't some gallery or institution that would take people's prints, pick out the handful of good ones and toss the rest. They could put together quite a good collection for free as almost anyone doing this for a few years has produced 2 or 3 great photographs. Beats the attic or dumpster.

[Joseph O'Neil]

I bought a used photo backpack off this forum some time ago. I already had a larger backpack with my Tachi in it, but in this new one, I put my crown graphic, two decent lenses, a good light meter and a couple of loaded film holders.

Sometimes, when time permits, I take my son with me when I go shooting with my Tachi, and tell him "this is yours". He still has a lot to learn, but he gets into it. I hope to do the same with my daughter some day too.

That's how I plan to make sure my cameras are kept by my family.

:)

[al olson]

Getting off track, but ...

The words: "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, if the whiskey don't get ya' the women must!" were used as a lead in to the song "Dead Man Blues" recorded by Jelly Roll Morton ca. July 1923.

I am sure the saying preceded this recording by many years.

[ASRafferty]

On the subject of what happens to your work....

I hope Gary Sampson of the NH Institute of Art will comment on this when he sees it, but it's a different wrinkle than the aspect of the estate that needs to be turned into money, so I thought I'd tell you what's going to happen to Ted's photos, negatives, digital files, etc.

My husband was not a well known photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but he had a body of work that literally spanned 50 years. Whatever judgments might be made of its quality, it is a body of work over techniques, media, times, and places. Sometime in the spring, Gary and I will work on getting it all organized (no mean feat) into a "working collection" for students at NHIA to learn whatever there is to learn in what is there. I'm not throwing anything away, specifically at Gary's request, and NHIA will get it all, with very little "winnowing out" on my part. Having everything is what makes it valuable for teaching others -- good, bad, ugly, partial, scraps, everything. The school will finally decide if any of it gets trashed, but I trust their criteria for "keeping" or "pitching," because I know what they want any of it for at all... so students can learn from it.

I think of it as "fodder" for students to learn important technical aspects of the craft. Interestingly, Gary sees not only that, but also a record of the places Ted shot (most notably NH), with historical value not only in the journalistic sense of recording what was there, but for what can be learned from seeing those places and looking back at the photograph. Some of the final pieces may hang somewhere at NHIA, but Ted would love knowing students are handling his "work in process" too, and so do I, because that kind of "handing down" really does kick death in the teeth.

So, I wanted to post this so no one makes the mistake of thinking they aren't famous enough, or even good enough in their own eyes, to have their work -- every scrap -- wanted by a place interested in ensuring the future of photographers. The very least of it will be the stuff hanging on walls, if any. My husband wanted to teach and did. Knowing that all of the things he left behind will be managed by a place interested in teaching the generations is one of the greatest comforts his family and I are getting from the disposition of all this.

Find a place and make the offer... if you can, become engaged with the school now, as Ted did. He didn't work with the idea of those things becoming his legacy, but, as it turns out, I'm convinced they will, beyond anything he would have imagined. That's really a wonderful thing for a family to have.