Resolutions for the New Year
I've spent the last six months cleaning out every closet, file drawer and cabinet in my house. After 17 years in the same house, there was a lot of stuff. It feels good to start the new year with a fresh outlook. If you feel the...
Read MoreAsking the Big Questions
I sat with a friend today as she showed me her latest online family history discoveries. It was all very exciting. She's worked on this particular genealogy problem for several years. All of a sudden, an unknown distant relative joined an online site and posted family information and lots of...
Read More4 Photo-Preservation Rules to Live By
Contrary to popular thought, it's neither expensive nor time-consuming to preserve your family photos. All it takes is a few rules to live by (and some proper storage items). Avoid Temperature and Humidity ExtremesWhile you can't do anything about the weather outside your house, you can somewhat control the interior...
Read MoreScanning Photos: Convex Images
An integral part of the FamilyTreeMagazine.com web site is the reader forum. Did you know there's one called Photo Detective? Anyone can post, all you have to do is register. Last week, someone posted a question that deserves a whole blog column. K. Pherson wrote I have a photo...
Read MorePhoto Crafts From Our Readers
Several readers of this blog sent in examples of their creative endeavors that use family photos. You don't want to damage original images by using them in picture-perfect projects, but you can use copies. Here's a gallery of their projects. Carolyn Natsch sent in the above picture of...
Read MoreJoin in the Dialogue: Organizing Photos
There were several comments to my last week's posting on scanning and organizing pictures. Miriam Robbin Midkiff, who writes a blog called AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors, also hosts Scanfest, a monthly online scanning session held the last Sunday of every month. She's invited all of you and your...
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What Does the Future Hold For Your Family Photographs?
I saw a very sad sight yesterday. I attended an collectibles show and saw a collection of daguerreotypes for sale. The mournful moment came when I realized that every single one of these images was identified. As you probably know, daguerreotypes date from 1839 to the early 1860s. The majority...
Read MoreLoopy Photo Labels
A big thank you to Leanne M. Baraban! She bought this photo to share with me (and you). It's a great example of how good-intentioned labeling can go so very wrong. Below are all the identifications, and the woman who made them added a note: "I numbered these...
Read MoreWicked Weather and Your Family Heirlooms (Photos included)
It's that time of year when weather leads the news reports--tornados, floods and hurricanes. Also in the news are pictures and footage of folks clutching family photos they've rescued from disaster. There is a lot you can do to save your family heirlooms from the wild and wicked...
Read MorePolaroid Preservation
Two weeks ago I wrote about how Polaroid stopped manufacturing film. In the Comments section to that article, Nancy Owen asked, "Over the years, I've taken a lot of Polaroid pictures. Many of them are not holding up. The edges of the paper on the back are coming unglued. What...
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