I need advice on some organization

joerookery

joerookery

Well-known member
I have thousands of postcards. Many of which I have had for about 10 years. Most all of them are scanned onto discs with absolutely no organization. The names of the files are pretty random. I have no tags nor are they in a central database which is easily searchable. So one of the members asked me for pictures of JR 82. I know I have some–I just do not have any clue where they are. I need some advice on organization and posting. Is Flickr the way to go?–it seems as though Brett has a pretty well-organized grouping there. is it easy to upload? Is it easy to put on tags? Is it easy to search? Is it better than Picassa? iphoto does not work at all for this purpose. Anyone have any ideas–I know that it will take a long time to put on tags but I need to do something. Help me Mr. Wizard!
 
Joe,

I was fortunate in that I fell into collecting postcards around the same time I discovered Flickr and it seemed only natural to bring the two together. I scan and upload the images shortly after they arrived in my mail box, then put them in an album without worrying about categories etc. I keep the postcards in numbered (Roman numerals of course) albums which I cross-reference to the picture on Flickr.

If I had to start all over again I probably wouldn't do anything different. It works well for me and I can put my hand on a particular picture within a minute.

I have used most image hosting sites at one stage or another and have found Flickr to be the best by far. Creating categories and 'tagging' is simple and can be done in batches, so you don't have to do it one at a time. I cannot recommend Flickr highly enough.

Warning - it is very addictive.

Hope this helps, Brett

P.S. Did you get that pic? I sent it to your G-mail acc.
 
Yes I received it. Thank you. I am still so far behind in my organization just stinks. Do you have to pay for a pro account on Flickr? How much does that cost? Can I upload mass quantities all at once?
 
Joe, I know what you mean. I'm so far behind with my 'scanning commitments' I'm going to have to take a couple of days off work to catch up. I have a December 1 deadline :eek:

Flickr Pro will cost you the princely sum of $24.95 a year and you can upload 6 images at a time. It also has an excellent photo-editing tool and some other handy features.

One I really like is that it keeps stats and provides links to who is looking at your pictures. For instance, I average around 3000 views per day during the week and 6000+ views per day over the weekends.

It's owing to Flickr I have had pictures used by at least a dozen book authors / publishers, Getty Images, magazine editors, bloggers and history students and it's proved a real boon for making contacts worldwide.

As stated, can't recommend it highly enough.
 
5185067373_42b17f705a_b.jpg


Uploading the pictures seems easy. 389 on the first batch–organization though will take time!
 
This is going to take time–I am still learning. I should have uploaded a smaller batch. But the first one is only one disc of five–then there are a bunch more. You can see that my organization consisted of a pile of photos!

The big problem I have right now is that all of those photos are in the photo stream no matter how many sets I make. So I cannot remove the photo as I place it into a set–am I doing something wrong? :sign3:
 
Joe - you seem to be doing it right. You can tailor the appearance of the photostream but essentially, it's always there with sets and collections to the right of screen.

I haven't really explored all the options as I've been satisfied with the default layout.

Your uploads thus far have been outstanding by the way. Congratulations.

- Brett
 
I think I am getting the hang of this. I am up to number 90 so I only have 302 more to go for this disc. This is quite exhausting but so necessary– I cannot upload any more until I get to the end of this one. But I am getting organized at least a little bit.

Is there a good way to really magnify a part of the picture? For instance I would like to see some detailing shoulder straps that I can do in Photoshop but cannot seem to do in Flickr. I also have to change that default setting–It is going to drive me insane. Can you link me up with the other collectors? This seems to have been a very good exercise–needed to do it long ago.
 
It's a slow process, but definitely a worthwhile and gratifying one. Once you have everything you want uploaded, it's uber-handy for linking to forums and the like. Honestly, you'll wonder how you ever managed without a Flickr account.

Regarding the default settings. You'll soon get used to them or, you'll tinker around long enough you'll come to a mutually agreeable compromise with Flickr. As I've stated before, I've used a lot of image-hosting sites and to me, Flickr is the most user-friendly of the lot.

Magnification - or highlighting certain areas of a photo such as shoulder-straps, wappen or Gew 88 ejection port covers, I think our mutual friend George Q. Wylie pioneered a suitable system some time back.

Here's an example that springs to mind from George's collection:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35636458@N06/4710521878/

And example from my own collection, using the "add note" function:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29007475@N08/3083337567/

Is this what you were after?

I'll send you the names and links to collectors and collections I think 'worthy' via Flickr.

B.
 
I understand the note. Thank you. George needs to rescue me on the magnification. That is exactly what I am looking for and he puts all the pictures on a single page. So come on George–up the technique!


When posting on forums where is the best way to get the URL for the picture to be posted? There seem to be a lot of blind alleys. So far I am very satisfied with the exercise! Thanks for all your help. :director: :director:
 
joerookery said:
When posting on forums where is the best way to get the URL for the picture to be posted? There seem to be a lot of blind alleys. So far I am very satisfied with the exercise! Thanks for all your help. :director: :director:
Click to expand...

The scripts are located under the "share this" tab above the photo.

Then choose "Grab the HTML/BB code". Pickelhaubes uses the latter.

Select the image size you require from the pull down menu. The code automatically adjusts to your choice.

Cut and paste it into the forum - voila!

8)
 
Sounds like a lot of work. My photos are totally messed up, too. Only those of IR 82 are numbered so I can find what I'm looking for.

Joe, good luck and endurance. I'm looking forward to anything you'll present...
 
It is a huge amount of work! But it seems very well worth it. The initial issue is just scanning the picture. If you have them in digital form that is half the battle. From there you can add the picture to different sets and most importantly put the tags on. so for instance I can put on the state, the type helmet, a reserve status, if they are wearing a breast plate. then you can search by tags. data entry is fairly easy as you can scroll through the pictures one at a time and add the information that you want. Your friends can also add tags for instance George does a good job sweeping up after me and putting in that type of rifle.

all the pictures end up in what they call the photo stream. This is just a big pile of digits–one zillion pictures–I am not entirely comfortable with the concept yet. Close ups have to be done in software outside of Flickr. Then you import a file–easy to import. And it seems very easy-( even though it does not make sense to me) to post a picture following the instructions of Brett.

postcard-scan092


postcard-scan092 by joerookery, on Flickr
 
I just tested it and watched what has been uploaded yet. I didn't care about the tags until now and just watched what there was coming, when I found something on flickr. I guess the tags just have to expand and then it's a great way to search and find.
 
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