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What do you think of newspaper clippings?


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#1 Neuz

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 01:02

I have about 10 scrapbooks that are my fathers and I was wondering if it would be worth taking digital pictures of all the clippings and add them to my website www.yesterdaysneuz.com. The clippings are from the early 50's till about the 90's. Taking a picture of each clipping, cropping it and adding each to my website would be quite a chore but if people would visit the website to see them it might be worth the hard work. Didn't know if people had any interest in old clippings or not.
What are your thoughts about newspaper clippings? Worth the trouble or not?
Thanks,
Rob

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#2 tsrwright

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 01:18

I have about 10 scrapbooks that are my fathers and I was wondering if it would be worth taking digital pictures of all the clippings and add them to my website www.yesterdaysneuz.com. The clippings are from the early 50's till about the 90's. Taking a picture of each clipping, cropping it and adding each to my website would be quite a chore but if people would visit the website to see them it might be worth the hard work. Didn't know if people had any interest in old clippings or not.
What are your thoughts about newspaper clippings? Worth the trouble or not?
Thanks,
Rob


This sounds like invaluable stuff which ideally should be in a library. Consider giving it to your state or national archive or library. It's not true though that the newspaper cuttings will not last nor it is likely it will be easy to scan unless you have a large format scanner.

A good digital photo taken in good daylight will be fine. I do this all the time - I only scan for highest quality pics and I don't bother photocopying at all. I use Picasa free from Google as an image management and editing tool to do the following:

Select, download and sort pictures from camera.

Crop and duplicate.

Adjust image contrast and brightness.

Touch up scratches and marks.

Add notes and references.

Post to Internet

It takes a little to earn, and I am sure there are other methods but I am handling thousands of images and would be lost without it. Do go ahead and put the scrapbooks upon the Internet but long term please have them preserved in a library for posterity.

Edited by tsrwright, 25 October 2011 - 01:52.


#3 buckaluck

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 01:19

If nothing else you may want to go ahead because the newspaper is not going to last. My only suggestion would be to scan each page instead of taking pictures the results would be better.

Buck


#4 raceannouncer2003

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 05:34

I think newspaper clippings can be a great source of info and photos related to auto racing history. I have clippings from 1958 through the 60s. Over the years, the tape holding the clippings has dried, so the clippings are loose in their albums. A friend in Hawaii is into scrapbooking, so I "redid" the 1958 album when we were there last year. Looks much better. So I think the first priority is to make sure they are organized and preserved. If you have the time and equipment to scan yours and add them to your website, that would be great. If you were to consider giving the scrapbooks to a library, either the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama or the IMRRC at Watkins Glen might be possibilities. Here's the webpage for Barber's contact info:

http://www.barbermus.../contact-us.php

Vince H.

Edited by raceannouncer2003, 25 October 2011 - 05:35.


#5 eldougo

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 05:38

The copy right police will be on to you watch out. :well:

#6 bpratt

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 05:58

Geez, the subheading of my blog is "a virtual motorsport scrapbook". Clippings from all over the place,

http://www.befastpast.blogspot.com/

If they have to the copyright police can kick in my door.

#7 Neuz

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 13:53

Thanks for the replies. The first album is all of drivers who have died from 1952-1966. Everything from sprint car drivers from small tracks to Jim Clark. The other 9 are just clipping of various things.
The articles are all taped in the book so really scanning them is not an option. Taking a digital picture is probably the easiest and best for what I have. I'm kinda mixed on it as I wonder if people would really look at them.
Thanks,


#8 Mig007

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 14:26

It will be just great to have such things online! You have a treasure

#9 Charlieman

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 18:14

Rig up a camera mount from angle iron shelving or similar so that you can photograph from above without casting a shadow. A couple of desk lamps can throw light onto the page so that it is equally lit from all sides. I've used this technique for taking pictures of circuit boards and other strange objects that don't work on a flatbed scanner. Good luck.

#10 E1pix

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 19:03

I think it would be great to archive these, Rob, you might try both the scanner and digital camera methods and see what's quickest and best for you.

It seems a noble project for your dad's treasures, regardless of whether we view them or not. Once you get an assembly-line set up, it might go quicker than you think. A few years back I had to scan hundreds of documents and ran them though Actions in Photoshop for some of the dust-cleaning, sharpening, a layer to lighten the newsprint yellowing, one to remove the dot pattern in the photos, another to add contrast, etc. The first few were tedious and maddening, but once rolling it went smoothly and they looked great. Once done I batched them all to manageable jpeg sizes for most uses.

Good Luck! :up:

#11 Neuz

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Posted 25 October 2011 - 20:13

Thanks guys.
I have a stand from my dad that is a piece of plywood with a camera mount on it. I screw the camera on and can adjust it up or down. One of the hardest things is having to move the scrapbook around in different angles to get the picture. Harder than it sounds as the scrapbooks pages fall out pretty easy. I'd say the hardest part of this project is gong through and cropping it and then Figure out what to rename each article and then renaming them one-by-one by year and subject.
I'll let you know when I get the first one posted. Took about 4 hours to shoot 230 pictures and I've spent about 3 hours renaming and have about 40-50 more to go. Sit and relax?? What's that?? :)
Rob