Let’s back up…
April 10, 2012| Posted by leslie
Our friends over at Mosaic Archive, a digital asset archive system for serious photographers, wrote this post about his great-grandmother's trip to Asia. It was such a great post (with some amazing old photography) that we had to share!
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Last fall, I wrote a post showing some photos that my great-grandmother took on her trips to Asia in the late 1950s: Digital Asset Management In Action With Mama's Photos
This post seemed to grab a lot of people. The photos were pretty darn good. But personally, I think it was something greater that made fellow photographers remember this post.
As serious photographers, we cherish our photos the minute we make them. We have backup systems, add metadata, catalog the images using Lightroom or Aperture, and use online photo storage services so that we can find, use and protect our images.
We do this for immediate benefit (find them now to share on Facebook) and for long term benefits (so I can find my photos 1 month, 1 year or 100 years from now). This is what Digital Asset Management is all about.
A woman ahead of her time, my great-grandmother decided to travel the world. As a widowed school teacher, she wasn't one to sit still. She didn’t just go to Yellowstone and Yosemite, she visited Thailand, Tibet, China, Iran, Greece, Napal, Cambodia, and Japan.
The photos were passed down to my mother. My mother used a great service called Go Photo for slide scanning. Our family has also used GoPhoto for video to dvd conversion. These images have now been shared on Facebook for the entire family to enjoy.
[...]Pictures to Digital
April 6, 2012| Posted by leslie
We're about to get into local festival season - and what better way to spend a fun, sun-filled and festive afternoon than strolling through a local festival? Being an amateur photographer (with a better-than-average knowledge of how to convert photos to digital via picture scanning), I always look forward to and take a special interest in the photo exhibits. Sometimes I find a really artful and unexpected collection... but more often than not I find the requisite famous people portraits, or tropical rainbows and sunsets. That's OK; I can ponder them from the hanging chair booth next door while noshing on something fried.
Recently I was at one of these festivals and came across a vendor who had spent time in the Mediterranean. He had the most beautiful photograph of a simple wood door with wrought iron, and a bougainvillea-like plant winding its way around the doorway, framing it in a spray of hot pink. I wondered why I was so struck by the photo, and I finally realized that it was the beautiful simplicity of it. Oftentimes when I take pictures, I try to capture too much in the frame and it only serves to clutter and confuse.
I’m having the door photo framed and will hang it in my study as a reminder that sometimes the most beautiful and special images are also the most simple and straightforward.
So get on out there with your camera and remember that Spring is a time of rebirth and celebration. Don't be afraid to re-invent yourself as a photographer... or even a serial local festival attendee. Both can lead to exciting adventures and a lot of great memories.
Scanning How To
March 29, 2012| Posted by leslie
When folks start thinking about taking on a photo scanning project, one of the first things they look into is a scanning how to.
As we get geared up for Spring Cleaning, remember that you are mightier than the dusty pile of old photos, slides, negatives and VHS tapes taking up space at the back of the entry hall closet. Even slide scanning is possible with the use of the right equipment, and a good allotment of extra time.
(Of course, the easiest way to get your negatives, slides and photos to digital is to send them to a good picture scanning service like GoPhoto, but some people just really like to do things themselves. Hey, we understand.)
Here are some tips if you're a DIYer who's going to get those old memories safely digitized this spring:
1. Cleanliness is next to all things goodliness. Be sure to clean the glass (no streaks!) and remove dust, lint, hair and any other noise that might transfer onto the image. The same goes for the asset itself - make sure those slides and such are dust-free! Rubber gloves for you and compressed air can to blow off your assets will be a great help in this project.
2. Even if you're scanning black-and-white photos, you should choose the color setting on your scanner. Somehow, the scans seem to turn out better.
3. Resolution settings are what determine the quality of your scan. For archival scans, you'll want to use a 600dpi setting. In general, you probably don't want to scan photos at less than 300 dpi.
4. Your hi-res scans will take up a fair amount of space, so you'll want to back them up on an external drive, a cloud-based storage system, or even an old-school DVD. Make backups of your backups, and store one set somewhere that's not in your home - a safety deposit box is a good spot for your external drive.
Happy scanning!
Organize your photos the easy way…
March 16, 2012| Posted by leslie
Get organized the easy way - We scan, you relax
Photo scanning may not be at the top of your list when you're thinking about Spring, but hey - that's why it's at the top of ours! Spring cleaning is about more than opening up the windows, mopping out the mud room and tossing that orphan flip flop from last summer, and we're here to make sure that your photos to digital project is the easiest Spring Cleaning Organization project that you undertake.
How easy is it? It's so easy to organize your photos that your 5-year-old could do it (and hey, if you have one around, this is a great project to have him or her help with). Just print a shipping label, box everything up, put the label on the box, and let UPS bring your boxes of memories safely to us for scanning.
Yes, of course you're allowed to sit around and eat bonbons while we're scanning photos - who are we to judge? We scan slides too, of course, so don't be afraid to send off those dusty old carousels that haven't seen a projector since the Carter administration. And yes, we can also take care of converting those videos to DVD. Live on, 1982. Live on.
There really aren't too many major Spring Cleaning projects that you can outsource this easily, quickly and safely, so what are you waiting for? Preserve your memories and get rid of dust bunnies and clutter at the same time. Hey, it's win-win for everyone (except the bonbons).
Scan photos, safeguard your memories
March 7, 2012| Posted by leslie
New baby. New puppy. Aunt Bertha’s surprise 50th birthday in Hawaii. Michael’s high school graduation & valedictorian speech. Backpacking through Europe the summer after college and missing that train to Munich. Backpacking through the mountains halfway up, only to realize you forgot the water filter!
Life certainly takes us on a winding path, and our photos help us remember and tell our story. Photo scanning may not be the first thing you think about when you look back on these memories, but getting those photos to digital is crucial to preserve and share them.
If you’re one of the countless people who has lost important data on your computer (hey, even iCloud can have a bad day), you’ve learned that it’s vital to have a back up of your digital photos and other irreplaceable information. The same holds true for any old prints, slides or negatives you have. If they get damaged or lost, there goes an important part of your personal and family history. So scan slides for safekeeping. Convert old photos to digital, and don't forget about converting those videos to digital.
Don’t put off your memory safeguarding project until tomorrow or next week. Commit to photo preservation, get reacquainted with your photos memories and share your story -your family and friends will be happy you did.
Valentine’s Day: Great photos to digital gift ideas
February 1, 2012| Posted by leslie
With Valentine's Day just 2 weeks away, you may be wondering what to get your significant other.
Here's a unique idea: why not convert all your photos to digital and load them onto a digital picture frame? After all, the best gifts took years to make. And hey, Valentine's Day isn’t just for your partner; your parents, grandparents and friends might also enjoy such a fun, personalized gift.
We like to say that the past is the perfect present... and when you're celebrating your significant other, what better way than to preserve your past together for future generations?
Save Old Photos – Digitize & Preserve Your Ancestry!
January 20, 2012| Posted by leslie
A short trip last year to Scotland got me suddenly interested in genealogy. There were so many charming shops and places peppering the countryside to buy trinkets adorned with your family name and motto. While a fun souvenir to bring home and touristy thing to explore (especially after a few Scottish beers), these little trinkets really did whet my appetite to learn more about my Scottish roots.
When I returned home, I dug through a few of my grandmother's old photographs, as well as letters from her mother, and discovered not only where our family came from, but how far back our family name went. I started researching online, uncovering all kinds of fascinating facts about my extended family.
I found some old pictures of my grandmother when she was young. They were pretty faded but still endlessly interesting to look at. I wished I'd been more interested in learning about our extended family and heritage when the older generations were around and able to relate their invaluable and compelling family stories. But for now, I'll just make sure to get all those precious photos to digital so that future generations can enjoy them - and, of course, I'll keep digging for information about my family tree, in anticipation of the intriguing things I'll undoubtedly discover.
Where did you come from? It's never too late to start researching your family tree on the Internet or asking older relatives questions. It's worth the invested time to start charting your family's history and preserving keepsakes and scanning old photographs before they disappear forever!
Video to DVD : 2012 Decluttering Program
January 10, 2012| Posted by Susie
Happy New Year, everyone!
2012 is upon us, and that means one thing: it's time to get organized, people. Declutter your house for a clear view of what's ahead in 2012.
And what we mean by that is: it's time to finally get rid of that stack of VHS tapes and convert that video to DVD.
We know, we know. It's hard to say goodbye to your TV/VCR combo... and while you're at it, you should probably just give that up too, since you're only mostly streaming these days anyway.
Since you've started that project, maybe you should think about all those old photo albums and slide carousels and plastic bags full of random snapshots and negatives... well, it's just probably time to get those photos to digital, and doing a little slide scanning and negative scanning.
If you're really looking for a Swedish-style minimalist approach and don't even want the DVD, no worries: your images are online and downloadable at any time, if you want to skip that disc. We can also put your images on a weensy USB stick.
So say goodbye to clutter this 2012 and go digital, and you can spend this year emailing and Facebooking heartwarming and hilarious times from days past with friends and family.
35mm Slide Scanning – ho ho ho!
December 23, 2011| Posted by leslie
Let's face it: slide scanning isn't the most top-of-mind topic during the holidays. Nor, truthfully, is converting photos to digital,negative scanning or converting video to dvd.
And yet, if you think about it, converting video to dvd and scanning photos, slides and negatives is actually the perfect holiday project. Holidays are about friends and family, after all, and one of the main reasons to send your memories to the best scanning service out there is because GoPhoto uploads all the scans for review, making an immediate share with friends and family possible. It's not so hard to share a link, right?
You may be leaving town for the holidays - and in that case, you'll definitely have some down time wherein you'll be able to help a relative unearth some long-lost memories for photo scanning. Hey, you know there's a bunch of albums in a closet somewhere. Revisiting those memories is a great way to form new bonds and learn something about your family that you never knew. (Example: the groovy slide scan above let me know that the ever-fashionable baby blue ski jacket with belt that my sister and I laughed at for years was actually a gift from Dad back in the 70's. Sweet.)
The day after Christmas tends to leave us with a somewhat wistful, sad feeling. So why not make a fun holiday project of helping a friend or relative recapture their memories by busting out the old VHS collection? If you don't have a VCR handy, well - it may be time to transfer VHS to DVD and make sure that childhood triumphs and embarrassments are preserved for the future.
Happy holidays, everyone! May your days be merry and bright, and full of happy digitized memories.
Ho ho ho!
VHS to DVD – the show must go on!
December 13, 2011| Posted by leslie
If you're like me, you have a ton of old VHS tapes sitting around, going largely ignored as anything but a coaster since you put your TV/VCR combo out on the curb to be fought over by crazed hipsters who arrived at the same time after seeing your "free" ad on craigslist... good times.
(Well, maybe you're not exactly like me, but you get the point.)
A lot of us, though, have pretty extensive collections of old VHS tapes, and when you decide to convert video to DVD, the big question is whether you have the equipment (and time!) to tackle that project.
If you're like most of us, the answer is No. And this is how my Dad ended up sending a huge collection of home videos to be digitized by the GoPhoto crew in Red Bluff.
Little did I know that he was sending this stuff; I knew that he'd send thousands of slides for slide scanning, but I didn’t know that the VHS to DVD project was going on.
And this is how he's come to have hours of potential blackmail material on his hands, as an archive of "The Leslie and Kimmy Show" will now live on, digitally preserved, forever.
Lest you haven't heard of this wonderful entertainment series: it contains skits, singing and dancing routines done throughout the early and mid-80's by me and my sister, who were not old enough at the time to know any better.
Well, there goes running for office. On the plus side, future generations can now enjoy our fledging stabs and the entertainment industry, and wonder whether they've inherited any of our mad playwriting skills. ("Cinderella - A Modern Virgin" being a favorite title that my sister - not knowing the difference between "Virgin" and "Version" - bestowed on one of our productions.)
So as the holidays approach, you might consider busting into that closet and unearthing the old home movie collection for gifting. Just box it up, send it off, and we'll convert video to DVD while you snuggle up under a blankie and congratulate yourself on the world's best Christmas gift / blackmail material.
(And don't forget that getting your old photos to digital is a great way to recapture the past for the future too, and of course at GoPhoto we also make slide scanning and negative scanning easy by not making you sort beforehand, since our No-Risk Guarantee means that scanning everything is... well, is No-Risk.)
