Posts Tagged ‘photos to digital’

Scan Old Photos To Digital Found In The Attic To Make New Memories

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Vintage Family Pictures May Live Among Christmas Decorations In The Attic

Spend Quality Time With Relatives By Going Through Old Photos Together

dec17You never know what you’ll find in the attic – it could be a picture like this, dusty and crinkled from age, but rich with history.

Every year, Americans young and old venture up to their attics to pull out Christmas ornaments for the tree. But there’s likely much more up there, waiting to be discovered or at least remembered. So take a look around for old, cherished images, which make worthy candidates for scanning photos to digital.

The holidays may be busy with parties and hosting duties, but for many people, work slows down a bit (except for those in the retail world). A number of people like to take the week between Christmas and January 1st off to spend quality time with the family and tackle big household projects. Going through old photos with relatives you don’t get to see often is an excellent way to bond and to efficiently identify people in photos.

How many times have you studied a faded photograph and wondered, Who is that? With the whole clan in town for the holidays, someone’s bound to know the answer. Sifting through old pictures that you want to scan, save and share in a group also cuts down on the amount of reaching out you have to do after the fact. With everyone present, people can just pick and choose what they want to transfer; scanning photos to digital couldn’t be any easier. As you go through the many pictures, designate one person to type up communal memories of each picture and label the notes to correspond with the images. This allows future generations to get to know their ancestors better.

As the holidays wind down, what better time to focus on getting your house in order than right before the start of the New Year? Everyone’s entitled to a fresh start; just don’t leave the past completely behind.

Vintage Photos To Digital Show Magic Of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parades

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Black & White Photos Of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Fuel Trips Down Memory Lane

Nostalgic Tradition Is A Thanksgiving Day Staple For Many Familiesthanksgiving day

For many American households, the joy of Thanksgiving begins hours before the big meal, when the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade airs on television. It’s a fun, family-friendly event that still draws children and adults together, one that unofficially kicks off the busy holiday season.

Originally called the Macy’s Christmas Parade, the parade started in 1924. It initially featured live animals, but they were replaced by larger-than-life balloons a few years later. The first balloon was modeled after Felix the Cat. This vintage photo, possibly taken in 1932, features that very character. By scanning such photos to digital format, the blogger was able to share with many people around the world the old pictures she had stumbled upon at a garage sale.

Children’s book illustrator Anthony Frederick “Tony” Sarg is the man behind the signature balloons. In 1935, he also created the mechanically animated window displays that Macy’s has become well known for. Sarg’s balloons were essentially marionettes turned upside down, with the controls under instead of over the puppets/balloons. During one point in the parade’s history, those balloons were released into the air, where they would float for days at a time. With so many people scanning photos to digital format for uploading and sharing, you can find plenty of old, black-and-white parade images online.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is closely associated with those balloons. Sarg, their creator, was born in Guatamala in 1880 to a German father and English mother. Seven years later, his family moved back to Germany. He eventually married an American woman and developed an interest in puppetry while living in England. World War I prompted Sarg to move his family to the United States (his wife was from Ohio). His career really took off after those Macy’s balloons, but he was forced to file for bankruptcy in the late ‘30s.

Familiar balloon characters such as Popeye, Superman and Kermit the Frog appeared in later decades. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade was not held during World War II (1942-1944), but it returned in 1945, and was first broadcast on a national basis in 1948 on NBC. This year, you can catch it on the same network at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day.

Photos To Digital: Vacation Homes On Wheels Get A Foodie Makeover

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Then & Now: Scan Photos To Digital To Compare Trailers & Food Trucks

A New Generation Embraces Upscale Food Trucks

food truck 2 photos to digitalTrailers are making a comeback.

Not on the road as a vacation getaway or hotel on wheels, though. These days, you’re more likely to find a souped-up Airstream parked in a lot or on a side street. They’re a popular destination among foodies in search of affordable snacks and sweets.

Taco trucks have long been a staple among Mexican food fans. Their drivers/chefs camp out in blue-collar neighborhoods and serve good eats on a budget. You can scan old photos to digital to share these old-school staples with a whole new generation of fans.

food truck photos to digitalToday, you can find tricked-out trailers and trucks selling just about every dish under the sun. Cupcakes, snow cones, waffles, crepes and even pork rib roast, rabbit and lamb. In Austin, there’s a parking lot in the ultra hip “SoCo” (South Congress) neighborhood that’s become ground zero for food trucks. In New York, trucks frequently change locations to make the most of the masses (and perhaps escape ticketing officers!).

Many people trace the food truck’s rising popularity to Kogi, a wildly popular Korean taco truck that updates its ever-changing location on Twitter. It’s been written up in national newspapers and magazines and is so appealing it can command lengthy, hours-long waits. Although still a small company, Kogi has been expanding its fleet of trucks to better cover the vast Los Angeles area.

food truck kogi photos to digital Kogi, of course, isn’t the first food truck to appeal to mainstream America – we all remember the ice cream trucks of our youth, right? But Kogi is the first food truck to utilize social media so effectively to alert customers of its location, to introduce new menu items and get instant feedback on its dishes, and to generate intense buzz about its brand. That marketing innovation makes it a pioneer in this evolving field.

Kogi’s mega success has not gone unnoticed by others, either. In our nation’s culinary history, documented in part by a growing record of scanned photos to digital format, it has earned its place. Now other entrepreneurs are following suit, and food lovers have even more choices than before.

Scanning Photos To Digital Honors Lombard Street’s Past

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Converting Old Photos To Digital Keeps San Francisco Landmark Fresh

A Historical Look At Lombard Street

 

Quick! What’s the “crookedest” road you know?

That would be Lombard Street in San Francisco. Few streets, if any, could compete with this quirky yet beautiful novelty of northern California. The crooked part is made up of eight switchbacks that help drivers navigate the hill’s very steep, 27-degree slope. It’s located in the Russian Hill neighborhood.

The residential, red brick-paved street is a popular draw for tourists, drivers and pedestrians alike. With so many people taking in this attraction, the Web is brimming with all sorts of Lombard Street photos. But do you ever wonder what it looked like years ago?

Luckily, the San Francisco Public Library has cataloged black and white images from the 1970s. It scanned these photos to digital and posted them online to preserve the street’s history for future generations.

Lombard Street is actually longer than the scenic hill it’s known for, but the famous part runs between Hyde and Leavenworth. The sharp curves were created in 1922.

On any given day, drivers wait their turn to steer their cars down the one-way hill. It’s a short but gorgeous drive, full of well-manicured shrubs, impeccable flower beds and stately Victorian homes. Despite the nonstop traffic and tourists, these houses are highly coveted and quite pricey.

Spring is the best time to visit and appreciate the blooming flora. Photographers claim the street is best viewed and shot from the bottom of the hill. If you prefer to shoot with film, do scan your pictures to digital to keep them safe and make it easier to share with others.

Lombard Street is as synonymous with the city of San Francisco as Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s worth at least two trips – one on foot, the other behind the wheel. Just make sure to get your brakes checked first. You’ll need them.