Digitising and uploading your personal archive into Nations' Memorybank

What is a digital archive?

Most people think of an archive as being a large, dusty room full of boxes holding physical objects such as photos and documents, but nowadays it is possible and very easy to use your personal computer to create a digital archive for your family.

How can I create a digital archive?

You can store pictures, audio recordings, films and documents on a computer. One of the easiest ways to get your material onto a computer is by using a digital stills camera. You can go through your old family photographs and literally re-photograph them using a digital camera. These new stills are known as 'jpegs'.

In fact anything that you can photograph can be digitised for your personal archive.

Nations' Memorybank offers a unique opportunity to upload your digital archives to a community site where you can combine safe archiving of your memories with the creation of a national resource to which we can all contribute.

Is there anything I can't upload onto Nations' Memorybank?

In the first phase of Nations' Memorybank you can only upload still images and text - so no videos or audio recordings until later this year.

Can I use pictures from my mobile phone?

Though using a digital camera to create jpeg files is often the quickest and easiest way to digitise a family archive, photos from mobile phones may also be used - these are often of lower quality and not suitable for photographing old documents, but good for recording head and shoulder shots of current family members. Follow the instructions supplied with your mobile phone or contact admin@nationsmemorybank.com if you require assistance.

Can I use a scanner to digitise my archive?

If you prefer, you can use a scanner attached to your computer to upload your images, letters or documents. Follow the instructions supplied with your scanner.

What can I do if I don't have a digital camera?

If you don't own a digital camera, ask friends and relatives to see if they can help you to photograph your archive material. In fact, many high street photographic shops will be able to do this for you, but they will charge for this service.

I've got a digital camera, but have only used it for snapshots or family pictures - what do I need to do when taking pictures of documents and old photos?

The obvious use of a digital camera is to photograph friends and family for your archive.

But it can equally be used to record photographs that have already been taken and printed, this process is known as rostrum photography.

Hold the camera above an object to be recorded as still as possible, preferably in a nice even light (not direct sunlight). It is often a good idea to take three or four photographs of the same thing. Digital photography is free after the purchase of the camera and it is a good idea to have several goes at recording an object - these can later be thrown away, leaving one good image.

What sort of things can I photograph?

One of the best things to photograph are actually old photographs you may already have - it is often nice to include the edges of the photograph and, if you have a close-up (macro) function on your camera then you can zoom in on details within photographs. Always check the back of old photographs for any notes - photograph this information too, as it will be a useful reminder later on when you come to document your archive. The same goes for any comments written in photograph albums.

Literally anything with a connection to the family is an important part of that family's past and can be recorded and documented for future generations - for example, toys, furniture, books, postcards and diaries.

I've lost the prints of my photos and now only have negatives - what can I do?

Even negative can be photographed with a digital camera and then altered later to become positives, using a photographic software application such as Photoshop.

How do I upload my images?

Once you have photographed your archive with a digital camera, it can be transferred onto your computer and then uploaded to www.Nations' Memorybank.co.uk.

First, create a folder and then plug in your camera using the cable provided and drag your photographs from your camera into your folder. You will usually be provided with a software package when you buy your digital camera, though others are available in the shops.

What happens after I've uploaded my images onto my computer?

Once you have your collection of photographs on your computer you can now look at them by double clicking on the first photograph - this will open up the photograph full size in a previewing programme. As you go through your photographs, you may use the tool bar at the bottom to erase any bad photographs, such as doubles, blurred or out-of-focus photographs. When you have finished editing your pictures it is a good idea to make a copy of the picture folder. Copying the folder means any resizing or colour correction can be done to the copied pictures, leaving the originals un-touched.

What do I do after I've selected my favourite images?

Once you have edited down your archive, you can use a photographic software application such as Photoshop to do any necessary colour corrections or resizing. Negatives may also be turned into positives using the program's 'Invert' function in 'Adjustments'.

Open your images in Photoshop - roughly ten at a time, as any more tends to slow the computer down while it struggles to open the images.

First look at the picture. A useful feature in Photoshop is auto colour correction.

In the top bar click on 'Image', then 'Adjustments', then click 'Auto color' (Adobe use the American spelling of colour). This will balance the photograph and make it stronger. If you are unhappy with the results you may always use 'Ctrl+z' to go back. If the auto-colour function turns your picture too blue, try just using 'auto contrast' instead.

When you are happy with the look of your picture it may need to be cropped. In the case of your re-photographed pictures, this means cutting around the important bits and removing unwanted backgrounds.

To crop, use the rectangular marquee tool, located in the top-left corner in Photoshop's toolbar. Using your mouse, drag this tool over your image until what is inside the box is what you wish to keep (again, use 'Ctrl+z' to go back if the shape is not right). Once you have cropped your shot, go to the top bar in 'Image' and go down the list of options till you find 'Crop'. Click this and all the bits around your choice will disappear, simply leaving the middle.

After cropping, your picture needs to be resized, because sending photographs over the internet can be a very slow process if the jpeg file is large.

Again, click on 'Image' in the top bar and click on the 'Image size' option.

Now in the box marked 'Document size', try altering the width value to about 10 cm.

When you click 'OK' your image should now be a smaller size that is easier to upload to Nations' Memorybank. Don't forget, you still have the original unaltered version of your photograph safe in the copied folder on your computer.

You can now save this picture. Click on 'File' and then 'Save' and start work on your next shot.

When you have finished your picture editing, you will be able to upload your digital archive to the Nations' Memorybank website. Before doing so, it is a good idea to make a backup copy of your hard work on to a CD-R or DVD-R.

How Do I Upload Into Nations' Memorybank?

Once you have registered as a user and have accessed your personal homepage, you can upload images by selecting the file name under which you have saved your photo, and then simply copying the file onto our site. Your photographs will appear as thumbnails to save space. The full-sized pictures can be viewed by clicking on the thumbnails. Don't forget to label the photograph in the TITLE box, and add some key words that describe the memory, event or person, known as TAGS.