Photographs are a powerful tool for the family historian, and with Vivid-Pix they can help preserve family stories and memories for future generations.
For more than four decades, Rick Voight has explored the ways in which photography can change our lives. His career began in the world of photography, first through hands-on roles that helped him understand cameras from the inside out, and later through influential positions at Kodak and HP where he worked with emerging digital systems, imaging workflows, and customer-focused innovation.
Photography wasn’t just a job for Rick; he recognised the importance of how photos connect people – reminiscing a kids soccer game to a relative that has passed. He often says that there is no other industry that provides the tears of happiness and melancholy like photo provides. That belief later became the foundation of his life’s work.
From photographs to family stories
During his years in the photo industry, Rick began to realise something profound: although modern life produces more pictures than ever before, we preserve fewer of them in ways that truly matter. Families were losing their histories, not because they lacked content, but because they lacked tools, time, and confidence.
He started working closely with libraries, archives, genealogical societies, and family historians. Through this work he saw the same challenge again and again: mountains of fading photographs, boxes of unidentified faces, and memories at risk of being lost as older relatives passed away.
For Rick, this wasn’t just a business challenge, it was full of emotion and poignancy. His own family’s experiences made him acutely aware of how quickly stories disappear when they aren’t captured, restored, and shared. And as he spent time with genealogists, he recognised that technology could help preserve not only images, but the stories that bring our pastime to life.
Developing technology with a human purpose
Out of this passion came Vivid-Pix, sponsors of this article, the company Rick co-founded to give ordinary people extraordinary power to rescue their memories. Unlike complicated professional editing software, Vivid-Pix focuses on clear, simple tools that anyone can use, ideal for busy family historians.
Through innovations in contrast correction, colour recovery, image enhancement, and metadata attachment, Vivid-Pix quickly became a staple in libraries, family history centres, and homes around the world. The company’s software allowed users to scan, restore, organise, caption, and share their memories easily; a complete ecosystem to help families reconnect with their past.
A mission to help families everywhere
Today, Rick’s work goes far beyond software. He collaborates with museums, historical societies, care homes, military heritage groups, and genealogists globally. His initiatives, such as memory-sharing programmes, educational workshops, and partnerships with senior-care organisations, show how powerful storytelling can be for both individuals and communities.
For family historians, his work is especially valuable. So many of us are guardians of old albums, shoeboxes of prints with fading ink and unknown faces. Rick’s technology makes it possible to restore clarity, uncover details, and add context, turning fragile photos into preserved family history.
Why family historians should use Vivid-Pix
Old photographs often fade, discolour, or get lost over time - taking with them precious stories, family history, and memories.
Vivid-Pix was created to help ordinary people rescue these photos and make them last. What started as a passion for photography by Vivid-Pix’s founder has grown into tools trusted by libraries, archives, genealogists and families just like ours.
If you have:
- old photographs that are fading or discoloured
- images damaged by time, light, or storage
- a collection of unlabelled family pictures
- a desire to make your digital family archive look better and last longer
…then the tools were built for you.
Preserve your most treasured memories
Vivid-Pix lets you scan and digitise old prints, documents, and photographs so they won’t degrade further.
Its software automatically restores colour, contrast and sharpness, whether photos are faded colour, black-and-white, sepia, or damaged – often with a single click.
Once digitised and restored, photos become easier to organise, share and preserve, safeguarding family history for generations to come.
Vivid-Pix Memory Station Software
Memory Station Software then transcribes your voice recordings to text, labels each image, saves that text within the image metadata – like writing on the back of a photo, but digitally – and creates a video of one or more picture stories.
Vivid-Pix Memory Station Software then lets you record audio of your own, your friends’, and your family members’ memories and feelings.
The software also imports previously digitised images and recorded voice and music. It transcribes audio to text and securely preserves that text in the image metadata.
Memory Station Stories combines images and recordings, with personal knowledge, wisdom, and heartfelt emotions – to be relived and shared.
Vivid-Pix Memory Station™ Software features:
- Scans photos, documents, and memorabilia to share with friends and family.
- Restores images to optimal, archival quality.
- Records and imports audio and images creating video stories.
- Transcribes audio to text and automatically embeds text into image metadata when saved.
- Intuitive and simple-to-use with big buttons.
- Works with most existing scanners, including Brother, Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, HP, Lexmark, Ricoh, and all-in-one printer/copier/scanners.
- Available at: https://www.vivid-pix.com/memorystationsoftware/.
- Scanners from Vivid-Pix are also available at: www.memorystation.com (priced separately).
If you’ve got old family albums, faded prints, or shoe boxes of photos tucked away, this could be a great way to give them new life!
No subscriptions. Just your stories exactly the way you want, for yourself, loved ones, and for generations to come. Free trial available.
Find out more at: www.vivid-pix.com/memorystationsoftware and don't let the memories fade.