-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: MAPS-L: Mystery Photos Need Your HELP!
Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 04:36:53 -0700
From: Virginia R Hetrick PhD <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]>
Hi, Angie -
Zeroth, how cool to get more/better information about the images.
First, I have a question about information displayed with each image.
On each page, usually towards the top on the right side of each image,
information like the following line is displayed:
"This photo was taken on May 7, 2012 using an Epson Exp10000XL. "
Something that I've tried to get my students to do when documenting
any digital image (which these images are now) is to use pretty
specific and appropriate terminology to document the source and
handling of images, particularly when converting photographs to
images. From people a lot smarter than me, I've acquired the habit of
referring to images initially acquired using an analogue camera with
film as "pictures" or, preferably, photographs. Then, when pictures
are converted to a digital format, referring to them in the following
way:
"This digital image was scanned from an analogue photograph to its
digital format (specific format) at (specific dpi) on on May 7, 2012
using an Epson Exp10000XL."
The main reason for this terminology is that, at least now (spring,
2013), we know that an Epson Exp10000XL is a scanner. Down the road,
Epson as a company may well tank and, 100 years from now, nobody may
have a foggy clue about what an Epson Exp10000XL is. (An example was a
Jeopardy clue, from night before last's College Tournament, which
referred to a company making writing implements as the source for the
name of a company presently involved in digital video output devices
-- TVs in current parlance -- the company is Sharp which is why older
folks refer to mechanical pencils as Eversharp pencils, a brand that
still lives in spite of the fact that none of the office/engineering
supply stores carries the Eversharp brand.)
But, as a technology, scanning is probably not going to disappear as
the primary way to preserve analogue photographs, even though Epson
may tank. And, having gone back to a lot of archival materials in the
last year doing research on residences in West Los Angeles, the San
Fernando Valley, and Oahu (thanks to Ross Togashi for finding that
information for me) beginning in the 1930s and ending in the
mid-1950s, I wish I had the technical data for the whole process from
the original photographer through to the scanning I did of original
materials with the documentation of who/what/how the process was
accomplished.
Next, one thing I did do with the originals was to scan them at least
at 300dpi since that's regarded by a lot of archivists I've talked to
as the minimum they'd expect to yield a digital image of sufficient
quality to use for non-archival purposes in video and other digital
formats.
Finally, one thing I did to get more information about the residences
was go to the local senior centers and talk to seniors who also grew
up in the various neighborhoods where those residences are located.
And, in Los Angeles, it turns out a lot of Hispanics and
Afro-Americans have stayed in their same neighborhoods once they've
grown up, married, and even into retirement.
I was successful in finding out information for the dates when
specific buildings were torn down and replaced, usually to a specific
year. My first thought was that information should be available from
the LA county assessor, but they only keep the information for 25
years, unless it doesn't change. For example, the original structure
may have been built in 1925 and replaced by another structure in the
latter 1950s. The information about the first structure disappears as
far as the assessor is concerned. I have the Sanborn information
about the first structure, but nothing else. The current structure
built in the 1950s is still there and owned by the same individual, so
the assessor will have the information, though the information proper
is more than 25 years old.
And, as an FYI, since the residences were all occupied by one family
sequentially, it may be of interest to know that, in the City of Los
Angeles where it seems very unusual to find "old stuff", only four of
the structures were replaced and only one of the replacement
structures is no longer a residence. I haven't figured out the
implications of that part of the research.
As a consequence of that research, for your pictures, one thought on
identifying the photos, it looks like often you'll have some
locational information. It might be possible to find some young
person (and keep in mind that "young" in my mind means less than 71 yo
;~) who would be interested in connecting with people in France in
each area who'd be old enough to recall information about the content
of the particular picture (and who'll probably be totally gone in the
next few years).
Hope this helps.
virginia
-------------------------------------------------
Virginia R. Hetrick, here in sunny California
Email: [log in to unmask]
"There is always hope."
My fave: http://www.washington.edu/cambots/camera1_l.jpg
There's no place like: 34N 8' 25.40", 117W 58' 5.36"
if you can't be at: 48N 7' 4.54" 122W 45' 50.95"
------------------------------------------------
====Original email from Angie====
Date: Tue, 14 May 2013 15:34:53 -0500
From: "Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW
Milwaukee" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Mystery Photos Need Your HELP!
The AGS Library is sharing photographic treasures AND asking for your
input. Please help describe the photographs in the AGSL Flickr photostream.
We're stumped on some of these ... Take a look and see if you recognize
anything ...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agslibrary/sets/72157633496349672/detail/
Add tags or leave comments to help identify people, places, events,
dates, etc.
Angie
AGS Library
UW Milwaukee
|
