BS: Organizing photos

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Fiolar
Date: 21 May 09 - 08:55 AM

Toshiba make a scanner which uses an SD memory card inserted in the back and then you feed the photo in the front. The item is called the "Journe Scan" and is brilliant. The photos are saved on the card and then you use your computer to print or do what ever you wish with the pictures. The item is about 6 inches long and one and a half wide.I have just finished scanning several hundred of my old ones.
Good luck.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 20 May 09 - 03:35 PM

So far I've used an Epson 3170 flatbed scanner, for prints, negatives and slides. It's absolutely excellent for prints and negs - the results from slides are OK but a Nikon Coolscan V film scanner would be better. Unfortunately Coolscans start at over £500, most have just been discontinued and secondhand ones are fetching the new price on Ebay so I'll pass for now. Secondhand Epsons are by contrast reasonably cheap.

As BillD said, you can improve old prints unbelievably by digitising them, then using Photoshop, Picasa etc. to correct them. I have some century old group shots which have responded beautifully to gentle Picasa-ing, which for those who don't know is a FREE download from Google.

Technology moves on, so it's vital to copy your digital files to the latest media and back your files up. The ideal current situation is where you have the files on disk, on a second hard disk, on DVD, and a backup on some form of remote storage eg another server via the Internet. However I must admit that I haven't got there yet!

It is NOT a good idea to throw the old stuff in the trash after you've digitised it. To physically preserve my old stuff (in the UK), I'm using Arrowfile loose leaf folders for prints/negs, and Jessops 600 slide boxes for my old slides - both of these options allow indexing of some sort. Oh yeah - write the details on the back of the photo or the slide mount, which is more than most of my relatives did.

Now all I need is unlimited time, a comfier computer chair, and a Lottery grant for the new house in which to live while I store all the shots in the old one......

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: GUEST,LTS pretending to work
Date: 20 May 09 - 07:23 AM

That's the way Mary, but do make sure you keep the scanned and unscanned ones in separate piles!

With the loose photos, I've sorted them into content - festivals, events, holidays, family surname, child, animal... and put each into an envelope labelled with the content and whether scanned. That way, if I want to make an album of family photos, they're already in one place and I don't have to hunt for them.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Maryrrf
Date: 19 May 09 - 10:31 PM

Thanks for the tips. Looks like the scanner is the way to go. Maybe I'll do it a little at a time - less daunting!

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Tangledwood
Date: 19 May 09 - 07:07 PM

I still go with the idea that years from now, people are not going to want to sit in front of their computers to look at photos. Your descendents want to look at an album: one with your journalling in it. It's your family "history."

True, but care has to be taken with photos to avoid deterioration, especially if the negatives are no longer available. I've read that even some cheaper photo albums have acidic paper that attacks prints. At least with electronic back-ups reprints can easily be made.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 19 May 09 - 12:41 PM

I use transparent plastic pages with pockets for photos that fit in any standard loose leaf binder.
Available at any photo supply store.
Reasonably priced.
Russ (Permanent GUEST)

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: GUEST,MaryBr
Date: 18 May 09 - 10:09 PM

I still go with the idea that years from now, people are not going to want to sit in front of their computers to look at photos. Your descendents want to look at an album: one with your journalling in it. It's your family "history."

The first thing to do is get a Creative Memories Power Sort Box. It organizes up to 2400 photos. I have 3.

Then, decide how you want to organize them in albums. For example, a family album...an album for each child....heritage album....school days. I do mine in a way that each person will have their own album...their "history."

If I can help you in any way, as I have done this for my family, I would be glad to. You can contact me at [e-mail]

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: diesel
Date: 18 May 09 - 09:52 PM

Ouch - The complex world of organizing.

I've been through hell trying to organize my own. My tuppenceworth below works for me, and allows me to have photos+digital all organised.

Before you get into it : Main advice - do not attempt to split apart negatives form their original sets, not yet.

You say you have dates available - you are already 3/4 way organised.

Set out your photos in chronological order. Most recent first, and behind every pack of photo's/negs - slip in a blank piece of paper (printer A4 paper or such.

If a pack or photo shows up with an unknown date - don't panic - make a best guess.

Once all possible packs of phot's are lined up, start labelling the blank paper in order most distant 1, next 2,3,4 etc up to most recent.
This is important: leave every 10th or so number free - you are sure to find more at a later date - they can then 'slip' into file and not be too far out of date.

My own system then organises a filename in the following;
N12-345-67X
N = Negative
S = Slide
B = Black and white
(other categories can exist if you have medium format (M) digital (D) or phone pics (P))
12 - 2-digit year number
345 - sequential roll number for that year or overall sequence (choice here)
67 - frame number
X - if oyu decide to play with an image and for example turn colour photo into B+W with photoshop - X can mean edited...
The 'filename' system is then set.

Now the hard part, label EVERY pack or negative carrier with the filename unique to that pack. As you do this, copy the filename into a book or folder page. Here add your comment - Family, joe's wedding, concert etc.

Your organising is now done on hard copy - if you then choose to scan in each picture or only the good ones - you already have a filname system to use and reference back if looking for anything. New software packs (I use I-match) are brilliant - but need all the above with character names and sets applied - so I'ld advise getting the above sorted before going near classifying the images.


Best of luck - and for what it's worth - I haven't actually completed my filing yet - but have made many mistakes. I'm now using my method above and think it's working great for me so far !

Diesel..

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 May 09 - 08:23 PM

I organized my folders by matriarch.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Tangledwood
Date: 18 May 09 - 08:00 PM

Hmmm..well I do have a scanner. I'd thought more in terms of putting them in some kind of albums. Then do you keep them on Flickr or something?

If you burn them to DVD they can be watched on TV.
I've learned not to rely on only one back up. e.g. DVD/CD and external HD.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 May 09 - 05:19 PM

We have a lot of old family photographs scanned - the originals are in their original albums (mostly), there are scanned copies on the main computer but we also copied those documents to an external hard drive, so that, heaven forefend, if the worst happens to this computer, or there is a fire, we have copies saved in another location.

Always worth keeping an eye to the future with these things.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: jacqui.c
Date: 18 May 09 - 04:46 PM

Once they're on the computer it is easy to put them into folders - makes it easier to find a particular photo if, like me, you have a lot on there.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Bill D
Date: 18 May 09 - 04:42 PM

There's many, many ways to put them online if you wish to share some with friends & family. But having instant, archived copies at home is important also. You can get enormous amounts on one CD...or even on the little flash drive memory sticks.

These days there are so many options, it's hard to keep track.

Then..after you have scanned them, you can always print copies of favorites on various types of paper if you want hard copies in an album. The original can be put is a safe place and seldom touched.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:59 PM

I posted some on a site where fam could add captions for stuff I could not properly identify. They live on my hard drive and on CD-ROM. Sending CD-ROMs to fam.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Maryrrf
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:54 PM

Hmmm..well I do have a scanner. I'd thought more in terms of putting them in some kind of albums. Then do you keep them on Flickr or something?

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Bill D
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:53 PM

Oh...and you can improve them after scanning, also. The top picture was much darker. A simple free program lightened it and made it much easier to make out detail.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Bill D
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:50 PM

an example from my family: These were taken in about 1911 and 1914. The originals were quite small.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: mg
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:44 PM

And don't get compulsive about scrapbooks etc. Various people say the best way to store them is in photo archive boxes. I would do that, scan as they recommend, with notes etc. to accompany, and then if you like scrapbooking, do it from that and pass on to family. mg

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: Bill D
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:41 PM

Main advice, if you are willing, is to scan them. Old ones that are deteriorating won't take too much handling. Once digital copies are made, you can organize them many ways.

Decent software is free, but you do need a scanner.

Subject: RE: BS: Organizing photos
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:39 PM

I took a boxful like that and scanned them before they could deteriorate any further. I prefer the tangible variety of pix, but time can play hell with them.

I sorted them first into must-scan and wanna-scan, and as I scanned I sorted the completed ones by which sibling really ought to have the originals in THEIR closet or scrapbook or whatever they choose to do with them-- I decided how far my "stewardship" of them should go, and then I just went to work, reporting to myself, without all the emotional ownership of it all. And that streamlined the project quite a bit.


I'd just say, until you make some firm decisions on how to best proceed, handle them as little as possible until you're set with supplies and space to work and a process that will make sense for you.

~S~

Subject: BS: Organizing photos
From: Maryrrf
Date: 18 May 09 - 03:18 PM

OK, I'm getting ready to tackle a project. I need to organize my old photos. They are all in a trunk upstairs. Some are in old photo albums that are starting to deteriorate, others are still in the envelopes (at least I can date them) along with the negatives. There are the kids school photos, some newspaper clippings, some old family photos like of my parents when they were young - what's the best way to go about organizing this mess so that we can enjoy the memories??? Oh and I need to do it cheaply - I can't purchase fancy albums and scrapbooks.   Any tips?