Treasure Chest Thursday
Slide, slides, slides everywhere
This is the Kodak Signet 35mm camera that I got in 8th grade in 1952... and I have accumulated slides, slides and more slides - well into 1976, as near as I can tell. They are wonderful to have - the extended family has enjoyed them for years, of course. When I started scanning them, years ago, of course, I only scanned "the good ones" because digital storage space was so precious. Now, of course, storage is "no problem" - well, at least, less of an issue.
Two or three major challenges lie ahead - that most of you reading this recognize all too well! First, wouldn't it now be highly desirable to systematically scan and digitally preserve ALL of the slides? My youngest daughter, the next generation's primary family historian, has encouraged this - I think a blood commitment was involved, actually - by getting me a new color slide scanner (it is amazing how few of these are now available...) for Father's Day and my next birthday. THANKS!
Second, now that I've begun to process the first couple of small batches of ALL the slides, comes the challenge of nomenclature and systematic storage of the digital images. Not to mention, what do I now do (sometime in the future) with the actual slides, themselves - many, many boxes.
Third, this relates to the "slides" scan, above, did you realize how many different styles of 'slide' processing were used in those 25+ years? It is a real challenge, even with a good quality scanner and good editing software, to get these images preserved well. And, mostly, it takes time and care. Horizontal orientation is a constant issue - every batch has to be laid in the scanner carefully or you end up with images that are 'backwards' - and it is not always 'easy' to remember which was correct.
The most important issue, however, right now is, I have started the process. Thanks, Arrion... now we get to see how it actually goes... ;-)
Families are Forever! ;-)
