Digitizing 60 Years of Family Photos - Share the Memories!

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the process of digitizing family photo slides that span over sixty years. Participants share their experiences, thoughts on the quality of old photographs, and the emotional significance of preserving family memories through digitization. The conversation includes personal anecdotes and reflections on the aesthetics of old cars and photographs.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses excitement about digitizing family slides and plans to surprise their parents with a digital photo frame containing all the images.
  • Another participant appreciates the aesthetic of old cars, contrasting them with modern vehicles.
  • Several participants comment on the quality of old photographs, with some noting that the slides have held up well over time.
  • There is a discussion about the age of specific photos, with some participants attempting to identify the time period of the images shared.
  • One participant shares a personal family photo and describes the context in which it was taken, while another inquires about the outcome of a humorous family story related to Thanksgiving.
  • Participants reflect on the nostalgic value of old photographs and the importance of preserving them, with some considering digitization of their own family photos.
  • There is a mention of the technical aspects of scanning slides, with one participant sharing their experience of using a service for digitization rather than purchasing a scanner.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the value of digitizing old family photos and the emotional significance of these memories. However, there are varying opinions on the aesthetics of old cars and photographs, as well as differing experiences with the digitization process.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that the condition of slides can vary significantly, affecting the quality of digitization. There are also references to the historical context of the photographs, which may influence their interpretation.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in family history, photography, digitization techniques, and those looking to preserve memories through modern technology may find this discussion relevant.

  • #31
Depends on how much reading/writing of the drive you do... but if you only look at them 'every once in a while'... then you should be fine for a good 10-20 years... but you should replace the drive probably every 3-4 maybe 5 years just to be safe...
 
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  • #32
Ivan Seeking said:
Does anyone happen to know how long flash memory is supposed to be reliable? I assume the answer is "decades".

As I understand it solid state storage is immortal in the same way as the elves in lotr -- they never die of old age, but you can still kill them.
 
  • #33
junglebeast said:
As I understand it solid state storage is immortal in the same way as the elves in lotr -- they never die of old age, but you can still kill them.

No, flash memory retention is finite. Depends on the technology, and how often the cells are accessed, but for low duty like this, the "decades" number is probably accurate. If you refresh the data every 10 years or so, the lifetime should be quite long.
 
  • #34
berkeman said:
No, flash memory retention is finite. Depends on the technology, and how often the cells are accessed, but for low duty like this, the "decades" number is probably accurate. If you refresh the data every 10 years or so, the lifetime should be quite long.

Does reading count as refresh, or are these completely separate processes?

Or is it technology dependent?
 
  • #35
Borek said:
Does reading count as refresh, or are these completely separate processes?

Or is it technology dependent?

For flash devices that I'm familiar with, you need to do an actual write to refresh the trapped charge. Reading doesn't do anything with the trapped charge, other than to sense whether it is there or not.

So to refresh most flash memory cells, you would do an erase-write cycle.
 
  • #36


Ivan Seeking said:
Heh, not at that resolution!

Just out of curiosity, can anyone name that car - make and model?

Looks like a Studebaker Lark Station Wagon.
 
  • #37


S_Happens said:
Looks like a Studebaker Lark Station Wagon.

Bravo!
 
  • #38
I'm definitely not old enough to be the one who should have answered that...
 
  • #39
Hail Ye Old People! :biggrin:
 
  • #40


Astronuc said:
He looks like Clark Kent.

I'll have to tell him that. :smile:

IMG.jpg


Maternal grandfather of said Clark Kent lookalike with the Harry Potter glasses. (My great-grandfather.) This one is circa 1890 something. I scored in the picture collecting department because no one else was particularly interested in my grandmother's photo collection when she passed away.

Oh, and Ivan, congrats on accomplishing such a huge job. Lucky you for not having to scan them all yourself. That would have been an icky labourious job. And thank you for the idea of preserving those memories digitally. It hadn't occurred to me and a lot of my old photos are deteriorating.
 
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  • #42


George Jones said:
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/3019/familyxud.jpg

A (poor quality) picture (from left to right) of one of my sisters, one of my brothers, and me taken in the 60s from the side of the gravel road on which we lived. The picture was probably taken by my oldest brother using an old Brownie,

http://www.brownie-camera.com/.

Is it me or do pictures like these just make you cry? What I mean is the nostalgia and the youth that was there.

Do you guys miss it? I think I do.
 
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  • #43
Cry? Not. Nostalgia? Sure thing.
 
  • #44
Nice enhancement, Ivan. What did you do?
 
  • #45


FireSky86 said:
Is it me or do pictures like these just make you cry? What I mean is the nostalgia and the youth that was there.

Do you guys miss it? I think I do.
The past was a different time and place. We didn't know much about the wider world and it's troubles - Ignorance is bliss.

But we grow, we learn.

Sometimes I miss the simplicity and more peace and quiet.


My reference is a place on the south coast of Australia looking out over Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean. The small town where I lived had a population of about 200-300 people. I could look north to farms and forest hills beyond the farms. The beaches were not very crowded. When storms passed, I could stand and watch tall waves breaking over the rocks and jetty.
 
  • #46
GeorginaS said:
Nice enhancement, Ivan. What did you do?

I tried a quick color correction and then adjusted the brightness, contrast, and midtones. I don't have anything special; just Microsoft picture manager. Since I've had a bit of practice lately I thought I'd see how well I could clean it up. You may be able to do better by playing with it for awhile.
 
  • #47
I think removing sepia tint is not a good idea - I suppose that's the way the picture looks.

They were all slightly brown 100 years ago :smile:
 
  • #48
Borek said:
They were all slightly brown 100 years ago :smile:

I guess it depends on the purpose. If you want the best pictures possible, clean them up. If you want the color for nastalgia purposes or to give it an old look, leave it be. In my case, I had color slides from 1979 that were turning brown. THAT was not acceptable. In this particular case, it is almost like giving the photographer better equipement. :biggrin: A picture that was never possible!

The point was to show how easily the photos can be enhanced with inexpensive software.
 
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  • #50
My first impression was that those photos look like a movie set, Ivan. Very cool. Who went to Tijuana in the 50s and took those pictures?

And yes, Borek, you're right. Those are the colours of the original photograph. Although clean up can make certain improvements to the photos -- as Ivan demonstrated -- I'd keep the original quality of them because their colours and hues are part of the history of them.

I'm a huge fan of old photos, and I'm not sure why. I just like them.
 
  • #51
GeorginaS said:
My first impression was that those photos look like a movie set, Ivan. Very cool. Who went to Tijuana in the 50s and took those pictures?

I think my parents went with the my mother's folks and brothers. Dad took the photos.

I'm a huge fan of old photos

Same here.
 
  • #52
Here are a few that I thought worth a post. First, dad next to his '46 Lincoln [his right]

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8967/92274107.jpg

Granpa's Buick - I think it was a '57
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3328/125g.jpg

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4738/125m.jpg

And a couple that I thought were just good photos:
Granny goofing around with a neighbor [1950 something]
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4039/117vw.jpg

Don't know who or when, but somebody from the past hamming it up for the camera. Probably ~1960

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2294/121y14.jpg
 
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