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September 18, 2013

Getting Motivated to Scan Old Family Photos

Getting Motivated to Scan Old Family Photos
Auntie and I using Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner on the couch
Recently on Facebook, an impromptu bit of fun began among the genealogy bloggers and enthusiasts. One well-known genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills started it by posting a high school graduation photo of herself. 

It was great to see what she looked like as a teen (gorgeous!). Then the rest of us followed suit. It was so much fun to see the hair styles from the 80s, the 70s and yes, the 60s! 

Everyone looked so pretty and full of enthusiasm. Some of the male bloggers followed suit and they were equally adorable. They ranged from cute geeky nerdy to sweet young boys. 

Lorine with "the flip" hair
I don't have grad photos but I did share one of me from first year University. I like how it shows my hair in the style of "the Flip"! You'll see why I like that a bit further down in this blog post. I had to scotch tape my wet bangs to my forehead to try to make them dry straight. Lucky me, my hair naturally flipped up.

There were many of my friends and colleagues who couldn't find an early photo of themselves or who knew where one was, but didn't have it scanned. 

And that leads me to my plea to you. It's time to scan your family photos!
 Don't leave it for some fay in the future. It's easy to put off something like organizing and scanning your own photos. It can be boring. There are other more important things you want or need to do.  But I strongly urge everyone to start the project now. 

And a good way to get organized and motivated is to take your Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and your box of old photos, turn on your favourite tv program, get settled on the couch and start scanning while you watch tv. 
Flip-Pal Mobile Scanners
If you don't have a  Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, now's a good time to buy one. Buy it for yourself as an early Christmas present. Right now there's a coupon so you're in luck. he coupon code is: Fall22 and it is good for $25 off the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner with Digital Creativity Suite and a Deluxe Carrying Case!

There is also SundayScanDay group on Facebook. They meet "virturally" every Sunday at 3pm CT [4pm ET / 2pm MT / 1PM PT] for one hour in order to scan photos, documents, etc. It's much more fun to scan when you have company.

There is another virtual group called ScanFest run by Miriam Robbins but I have not been able to find a location to give you. Perhaps one of my readers knows where and when this is held. 

7 comments:

Janet Iles said...

Scanfest
http://ancestories1.blogspot.ca/search/label/Scanfest

The next one is Sunday, September 29 from 11 to 2 PDT which is 2 pm EDT.

You chat while you scan.

Sonja Hunter said...

I started scanning family photos a couple of years ago. I asked my mom and dad to bring down their photos when they visited and even managed to borrow my aunt's albums as well. As you suggest, I always put something I enjoy on the tv, preferably something long (like Pride & Prejudice or I, Claudius) so I want to keep scanning so I can justify watching longer. I even made slideshows (with music) for each of my grandmother's lives. I made copies for my family with the photos included separately so everyone has a copies and the photos are backed up.

grandrapidsgirl said...

Which package of accessories did you buy when you started out with flip pal and which have you bought since then. Wondering if the recharger for batteries is essential?

Olive Tree Genealogy said...

Grandrapidsgirl - I bought my Flip Pal Mobile scanner before they were even ready for distribution :-) So there were no "extras" available.

But I soon realized I needed a battery recharger and am very happy with that purchase.

I also have the insert (Sketch Kit) you can write on over top of what you are scanning. I talked about this at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.ca/2012/11/using-flip-pal-mobile-scanner-sketch.html

The cleaning cloth is another accessory I own and use a lot

Olive Tree Genealogy said...

Thanks Janet. I was at that URL but could not find a link to take me to where ScanFest is "held"

Genie said...

I have just finished a 5 year project scanning slides, film strips and digital cards spanning 65 year. I then labeled the pics with names, places and dates. The total is 30,744 pictures. I have them on an external hard drive. All my children will get a copy. It was really a fun project!!

irish maggie said...

I started scanning 4 years ago I have done DVD;s with music given copies to my family I just love old photo;s they bring back so many happy memories
Maggie Wylie