Most photo collectors dream about stumbling upon a significant collection that changes our understanding of photo history. For Frank Morrill it was a series of connections that led to his purchasing a huge collection of glass negatives. Years later his granddaughter held one up and asked him about them. That second look led to a…
The Photo Detective Podcast
Episode 100: It’s a Celebration!
It’s the 100th episode of The Photo Detective podcast and we’re celebrating in a big way. From a scary first Facebook Live episode to the current audio only format, this show all about pictures. Guests from around the world shared their picture projects and photo stories. It’s the Photo Detective so topics are mostly photo…
Episode 99: Finding Photos on the Smithsonian Learning Lab with Curator Shannon Perich
Stuck at home during this pandemic looking for something fun to do? Look no further than the National Museum of American History’s Photographic History Collection and the Smithsonian Learning Lab. The Photographic History Collection (PHC) represents the history of the medium of photography from the daguerreotype era to the present. In numbers that adds up…
Episode 98: Collect Photo Stories with Storyglory
Episode 97: So You Have a Mystery Photo? And Timeline Help
Perhaps you have a mystery photo and you’re wondering what a photo consult is like. During the course of a photo consultation, I look at your photos and discuss what you know about the pictures in question. It’s often a deep dive into your family history.Together we discover and discuss the clues in the photograph…
Episode 96: Photo Fakes with Michael Medhurst
There are unscrupulous folks in every field. Even in historical photography. Imagine going to the effort of learning historical photographic methods, buying appropriate materials all to dupe a buyer. It’s unfortunately true. When I heard my guest at a conference, my mouth fell open in disbelief. Spotting the fakes requires sharp eyes and a knowledge…
Episode 95: How to Save Your Family Archive on Permanent.org
Imagine being able to save your digital family archive without spending a lot of money. And being able to share it too. That’s the premise behind Permanent.org. I’m not sure how I missed my guest at two RootsTech conferences but I did. Thank you to Nancy Desmond of MemoryWeb for reminding of of their service. …
Episode 94: Dead Still: A Postmortem Photography and Crime Fiction Program
Postmortem images can cause quite a stir and for some it’s a fascination due to the disturbing subject. These photographs chronicle a family loss in a graphic manner. Often taken as a last attempt to capture an image of a loved one. There were photographers that specialized in the medium making the deceased as life-like as…
Episode 93: 1918 Pandemic Fashion and Tips for Analyzing Clothing Clues
Fashion clues in pictures can document trends over a decade, but specific details can sometimes pinpoint an exact year or two. Like the puffy large crown hats of circa 1910 or the Paul Poiret tapered narrow skirts of the circa 1912, supposedly influenced by bi-plane rides. Or the Garibaldi shirt style popular in the early…
Episode 92: What You Need to Know About Metadata
All those little details of a photo such as the who, what, where, when, and why can be embedded in your pictures with metadata. Imagine never losing that data. Today metadata isn’t always transferable from product to product or website to website. There is room for improvement. Now there is a project called the Family…