Skipping Down Memory Lane

Thanks for the Memories

You know those tribute montage videos that someone spends hours creating in your honor? It’s a milestone birthday, or maybe retirement. Your kids pitch in on Mother’s Day. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little tribute like that on demand? A micro retrospective of your life and times? 

You can. 

Memories is a nifty feature of Apple Photos that does just that. Using the Artificial Intelligence of the app, Apple creates random collections of 20+ photos around a theme. Some recent examples of mine are: 

• At The Beach - 2013

• A Big Day (my older son’s graduation)

• Pam & Me - Over the Years

• July 13, 2008

• Fluffy Friends - 2020

• On This Day - July 18, 2019

• Providenciales - Feb 21, 2006

• Trips To California - Over the Years

• Connor’s Birthdays - Over the Years

• At The Beach Norwalk - Jul 14, 2018

And so on. 

The collection is a sampler of what Photos considers the best pictures of the theme, but you can opt to show all photos too. You can also launch it into a slide show and save it by making it a Favorite Memory or by turning it into an Album. Each memory also offers a location map with links to other nearby photo events. 

On the Mac, Memories is the second tab down from the top in the sidebar (see above photo). On iPhone, it’s in the For You tab on the bottom. 

What makes Memories so delightful is that it’s just plain fun. You didn’t invest any time to create it, but it embodies the whole magic of the app and, in the end, of pictures. Reflection, connection, and discovery. 

I recommend spending your 5 minutes with Memories every day or two. You are bound to get a collection now and then that surprises and delights. Some special picture or experience that had been lost in the mists of time and might otherwise have been forgotten. With tens of thousands of photos in our pockets, it’s really a treat to have a digital helper reminding us why we went to all this effort in the first place.