Monthly Archives: January 2016

History of Photography, Eastman Kodak’s Vaults

Posted on January 26, 2016 by

The reason so many photography hobbyist and photo imaging industry leaders are raving fans of Tips from the Top Floor, a weekly show about photography, is because of Chris Marquardt. When he’s not on a commercial assignment, Chris brings his workshops to Germany, the US, Canada, Japan and even the Himalayas. He also is behind PocketChris, the photo instructor in your pocket. Watch Chris live all over the world, and as the Photo Guy on the Tech Guy Radio Show with Leo Laporte.

 

As a regular Chris fan, one of his recent Tips from the Top Floor video podcast interviews was a gem of a discovery–a private one-hour tour of the Kodak Technology Vault in the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. We hope you enjoy this genuine flashback (Throwback Thursday) adventure into the rich history of photography with Todd Gustavson, the museum’s technical curator Todd Gustavson.

 

This was a personal “Throwback Thursday” moment for us, as many years ago, during a tour of the entire Kodak Park facility we too got a tour of The George Eastman House.

 

Thanks Chris and Todd!

 

 

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Why the Over-35 Crowd Needs to Start Using Snapchat Today

Posted on January 20, 2016 by

Using SnapchatAsk any teen with a smartphone where they spend most of their social media time and, chances are, their answer will be Snapchat. Since its launch in 2011, Snapchat has been a hit with the teenage and young adult demographic, but now expansion is in the cards. This social app is growing its target base, and has the over-35 crowd in its sights.

 

Yet, there are many challenges ahead.

 

First and foremost, many people over the age of 35 (and some younger) are mostly baffled by this app. They want to know: How does it work? What does it do? And why would I want to use it?

 

Before we dive into the basics, the reason why we find using Snapchat so compelling boils down to one simple word: connections. This app, like many other social media applications out there, is all about making meaningful connections between people—and it does so in a way that’s very different, and sometimes even more meaningful than Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

 

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When a Gift Becomes a Touching Memorial to Life and Love

Posted on January 19, 2016 by
Karen with her husband Jim.

Karen with her husband Jim.

ScanMyPhotos customer Michael Whipper did what any great gift-giver would do for their mother—he listened to something she mentioned and then made a purchase that he knew would make her happy.

 

“She always talked about getting all her old photos scanned…she was an avid photographer so between that and all the family events she had tons of photos that she wanted to sit down and make sure were saved for us to look at.”

 

So, Michael purchased a ScanMyPhotos gift certificate for his mother, Karen, so she could preserve all her old photos.

 

Yet, as sometimes happens with a photo scanning project, the gift certificate went unused for some time. Then, in 2014, Michael’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. Michael used the ScanMyPhotos gift certificate to buy a pre-paid box for his mom so she could work on her photo scanning project while going through chemotherapy.

 

But the project never took off and Michael’s mother passed away the night before Thanksgiving in 2015.

 

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8 Must-Read Photography Books to Help Improve Your Skills

Posted on January 13, 2016 by

photography booksA constant state of learning is imperative to become a master in any craft—and photography is no exception. No matter what type of photographer you are—professional, amateur, novice—there is always useful information out there to help you take better, crisper, and sharper photos.

 

To help all our ScanMyPhotos customers continue to learn everything they can about photos, we’ve pulled together the following list of must-read photography books.

 

BetterPhoto Basics: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Taking Photos Like a Pro
By Jim Miotke @betterphotojim

 

“If you can press a button, you can take great pictures.” Sounds simple, right? Absolutely! With the founder of the online photography school BetterPhoto.com as your guide, this book will help you on your way to going pro.

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How One ScanMyPhotos Customer Gave His Daughters the Ultimate Gift

Posted on January 6, 2016 by
scanmyphotos

Brian and his youngest daughter Stephanie pose for a priceless photo

It all started with a seemingly simple request.

 

ScanMyPhotos’ customer Albert Brian Brown was asked by his daughter Stephanie to send her a specific photo from her childhood. Albert knew that accessing and finding the photo she was looking for would prove to be difficult—he had many boxes of prints with duplicates to sort through to uncover the right one.

 

The simple request began to morph as Albert wanted to give his daughter more than the one print photo she was asking for—he wanted to give Stephanie and her sister Michelle all the photos they never really got the chance to see while they were growing up.

 

With his new mission in mind, Albert asked a friend if he could recommend a high quality scanner. His friend, however, had reservations about the project. He told Albert what a big and expensive job it would be to hand-scan all those photos and instead recommended ScanMyPhotos.

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