I'm Published!

Check out my first ever real-life blog post on the Detroit Historical Society blog:

http://detroithistorical.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/documenting-detroit/

Last Day with DHS

Today was my last day at the Detroit Historical Society. What a bittersweet day. I'm happy because I completed a project of digitizing 1,000 photos for the Documenting Detroit Collection. I'm happy because I have a real, solid experience under my belt. I am happy because I was able to gain experience using a high-resolution scanner, PastPerfect, Photoshop, and CyberDuck. I'm sad because I will miss the people I worked with. I hope to be able to work with a group that is half as wonderful as they are. 


During our last meeting today, we discussed the things we liked the most during our fellowship. One of the biggest things was the atmosphere and the camaraderie of the DHS. Cathy and I nearly teared up when talking about how we really enjoyed the fact that we could walk into any open door and find someone who was there to help us. Everyone was kind, respectful, and helpful to us, even though they have only known us a short while. I think that really makes a wonderful working environment, no matter where you work. 


We were also asked to complete a "final project", where we created a small portfolio about our collection, along with tips and tricks for the fellows who will follow in our footsteps. I will copy our portfolio below. I want to send a warm thank you to the DHS for having us there this summer :)

"About Documenting Detroit: The Documenting Detroit Collection is a series of photographs taken by photography students at the College for Creative Studies in the 1970s and 1980s. The photos are mostly black and white and mounted on board. They were donated to the DHS and were accessioned in two batches, a 2008.033 collection and a 2010.033 collection. The teacher of the class was Bill Rauhauser, a prominent Detroit photographer. Most of the photos were taken in Detroit, although a few were taken in outlying communities such as Dearborn, Ann Arbor, and Port Huron. Each box contains several different subjects and it is common to find similar subjects scattered in other boxes. Some of the subjects photographed were churches, Eastern Market, construction sites, schools, parades, various neighborhoods, Hart Plaza, the Detroit skyline, Belle Isle, and others. In some cases, information and a signature of the artist is provided either on the matting or on the back of the photo. Similarly, several photos contain no identifying information about the location, date, or photographer. 

After locating the photos that were accessioned as part of the Documenting Detroit collection, we ordered the photos according to the accession number already assigned. Next, we cut down the board that most of the photographs were mounted to, so that they would fit in archival boxes. If any photographs were coming away from the matting, we removed the images and stored them in plastic sleeves, transferring any information onto the back of the photograph.

Next, we began digitizing. PastPerfect records were already created some years ago, and contained a previously scanned image and basic information. By re-scanning the images using high-resolution scanners, we were able to replace the image in PastPerfect with a higher quality scan.

After scanning, we filled in the relevant areas of the PastPerfect record, such as the location, the title, date, size, condition, and relationship to other photos. Adding the description usually required research using websites, city directories and other sources. We would always try to identify the location of the photograph, the direction it was taken and transcribing any signage.

By using Photoshop and uploading the images to the server using CyberDuck, we were able to watermark the images with “Detroit Historical Society” and load them to the website. Going back into PastPerfect and uploading the hyperlink was the last step in being able to pull up the image in a browser." 

"What We Learned: In this project, we learned how to use PastPerfect, how to scan using a high-resolution scanner, how to describe images, how to add a watermark using Photoshop, and how to upload to the server using CyberDuck. Understanding the need for both a Mater and Service Scan, and their different uses was helpful. We also learned a great deal about the city of Detroit and it's history. We also learned how to use electronic and print sources to identify buildings and businesses." 


"Tips for Success:

1. Become familiar with the various neighborhoods in Detroit (ex: Financial District, Corktown, Poletown, Delray, Warehouse District, etc.)

2. Become familiar with the hub-and-spoke layout of Detroit.

3. Become familiar with the general history of Detroit, which will be helpful in understanding how buildings and places were named.

4. Try and become familiar with the main figures and events that helped shape Detroit history. (ex: Henry Ford, Race Riots, Auto Industry, etc.)" 


"Resources:

Detroit1701.org

HistoricalDetroit.org

Wikipedia:

-          Financial District

-          Corktown Historic District

-          Midtown Detroit

-          New Center, Detroit

-          Downtown Detroit

-          Lafayette Park, Detroit

Maps.Google.com

Bing.com/Maps

Books.Google.com

Images.Google.com

BelleIsleConservency.org

DetroitYes.com (forum)

DetroitFunk.com

The History of Detroit and Michigan by Silas Farmer (Google Books)

Art in Detroit Public Places (Google Books, check older editions)

Directories

Real Estate Atlas."

Thanks for reading :)