TIP #511 - FOLLOW UP ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY I was amazed at the response to my tip of last week on the use of digital cameras in genealogical research! I don't think I've ever received so many emails and so positive. Perhaps the purists on the list who are really "into" photographic uses thought my tip very simple and tossed it aside, but from the responses I received, it is obvious that many of us are interested in the use of the digital camera. I intentionally made the tip at the novice level; most of us are not photographers by trade and have to learn as we go from not only the manuals (which can be a terror) and from trial and error. Much like when we learned to type; many of us took typing in school and can fly over the keyboard. Many use the hunt and peck method and wear out the backspace or delete keys. On the job training. So, don't become discouraged if your original efforts don't produce the results you want. Unlike conventional film, you are ruining a roll of film ... take the picture again. I'd like to give you a brief tip this week from some of the things that some of our listers sent me after reading last week's tip and then some web sites which will give you something else to browse through. Jan wrote that at the same time she purchased her camera, she bought one of these new 3 in 1 scanners for under a hundred. dollars. It has 4 slots for the most popular sized memory cards, thus eliminating the need to use your camera to download you photo's into your PC. This REALLY saves on the batteries. She stated that she's taken hundreds of pictures and just replaced her batteries for the first time. Laurie wrote that one thing she does is put the pictures into a word document with the description and print out the document. Then she stores the printed pictures in acid free top loading protectors - which in turn can be stored in zippered 3-ring binders. Storing them in the protectors in 3-ring binders makes it easier to bring out the pictures when family gatherings take place. No smudges from food! And no one will walk off with a single picture!!! Ruth gave a wonderful tip too. She suggested (from experience) that when her daughter's camera quit working, it turned out "she had been taking photos, uploading, erasing and then retaking photos. She kept using the same part of the memory card which eventually wore out and she needed to get a new memory card. It might be wise to not erase all those small batches of photos until you are about to do something really critical like a trip or something and then erase the entire card." I hadn't thought of this and was doing exactly what her daughter was doing! Tonya might have saved some of our genealogical lives by this tip: She stated that she had accidentally erased about 20 or so pictures. To recover them, you can download a free program called Zero Assumption Data Recovery. It's a tool that can be used on all sorts of digital data from PDA's to camera files. It saved the day, and you can't beat FREE!!! It's also very easy to use. You can find it here: http://www.z-a-recovery.com/ Eddie provided some good tips too: Scanning a picture: If the picture is to used on a web site, the resolution need only be set at 70, a computer can see no more. If the picture is to be printed, would suggest at least a setting of 200, or more, depending on how sharp or crisp one wants the fine details. That comes in handy if one wants to replace some portion of a picture, that has a scratch, or crease. Or worse yet, some one used scotch tape to hold the picture in an album, and once the tape is removed along with it goes part of the picture. Bear in mind the higher the resolution the longer it will take to scan. He also added: Pictures of tombstones: There is always a shadow of a tree or something over some portion of the tombstone. He has two flash lights mounted on pods that I can stick in ground until get proper lighting on either side of the tombstone. Trick there is to use one flashlight (left) and then the other (right), and then both. Make sure the camera angle is near same angle as the slanted tombstone, prevents the text on the tombstone from being elongated. Now - if you'd like to read up on digital photography uses in genealogy, I'd recommend the following sites: Juliana Smith is the editor of the daily Ancestry Daily News which I have recommended before. She has done two excellent articles on her experiences as a new digital camera user. Part 1 can be found at: http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=9041&o_iid=831&o_ lid=831 (My First Digital Research Trip, 20 September 2004; part 2 was posted 11 Oct 2004 with more clues. This hopefully will be archived soon. Digital Cameras and Genealogy, http://www.rideau-info.com/genealogy/digital/ This is a wonderful site with about 11 different categories. Most are easily understood by the beginning photographer; some go into more technical terms but show examples and tips. Digital Photography for Genealogy: http://www.wimfamhistory.net/Digital/digital.htm This looks at various digital cameras, tips and photographs. Julie Morgan's site: http://home.midsouth.rr.com/picstoshare/digital_photography.html This will get you started! Have fun with a digital camera. Experiment with your pictures until you are comfortable with them. Due to the extreme clarity of a digital shot, even a picture of a blade of grass, a spider web or a beautiful sunset will amaze you. Think of what it will do for your family pictures! (c) Copyright 14 Oct 2004, Sandra K. Gorin