The History of Chaos to Memories

Preserving family memories is unique work and people frequently ask how we got into this. We work at the intersection of photography, technology, and creativity, and these are some of the history and highlights that led to the launch of Chaos to Memories.

Adam and his team move Chaos to Memories to a new 2100 square foot studio in downtown Wheaton

2022

Declutter Your Photo Life book cover

2022

Adam publishes his latest book about photo organizing, further establishing the reputation of Chaos to Memories as an industry leader. Declutter Your Photo Life

Adam moves Chaos to Memories out of his home and into a commercial office location

2020

2020

Adam publishes a reference guide about the history of photo and video formats from the last 180 years

Adam contributes to industry Best Practice Guide for professional photo organizers

2019

2019

Adam releases his second online course about professional photo scanning

Adam releases a comprehensive online course for professional photo organizers

2018

Organizing Photos with Adobe Lightroom Classic with Adam Pratt

2017

Adam forms Chaos to Memories and starts creating Family Photo Archives for his first clients

Adam received the Adobe Founders’ Award, Adobe’s most prestigious employee award which is a peer-nominated, once-in-a-lifetime honor

2014

2010

Adam starts organizing his own Family Photo Archive. The project takes about two years

Adam becomes the first certified Adobe Creative Suite Master in the world

2004

2001

Adam purchases his first digital SLR camera, the Canon Digital Rebel, to capture memories of Christmas with their firstborn

Adam receives his first digital camera as a gift from Russell Preston Brown, an Adobe co-worker

2001

2000

Adam publishes his first book about Adobe software. He goes on to co-author several more books and serve as the technical editor for a dozen other books.

Adam joins Adobe as an Application Engineer focused on Adobe Photoshop and other creative software

2000

1993

Adam uses Adobe Photoshop and a scanner for the first time as the Layout Editor for his college newspaper, the Wheaton Record

Adam receives his first Macintosh Computer as a gift from his parents as he prepares to start his freshman year at Wheaton College

1993

1992

Adam receives his first 35mm film camera, an Olympus Infinity Super Zoom 330, as a gift from his parents before a trip to France and Italy

Adam learns Aldus PageMaker on a Macintosh computer in his high school journalism class

1991

1987

Adam develops his first rolls of film in a homemade darkroom

Adam receives his first computer, an IBM PC XT with a 10MB hard drive, as a Christmas gift

1986

1985

Adam receives his first camera as a Christmas gift from his Aunt Doris and Uncle Ray, a Minolta Weathermatic

If you’re near Chicago and ready to get started, come visit our Wheaton Studio Monday – Friday, 10-5. Please bring your memories with you.

Contact us for more information, shipping instructions, and to get started on your project.