Building Community Through Photography

Elizabeth B. Thomsen

http://www.noblenet.org/ethomsen/et@noblenet.org

Community• How we see ourselves as connected

• The things we share

• The things we remember

• The things we want to remember

• The things we’d rather forget

Migrant Mother – by Dorothea Lange, 1936

“.…help came quickly. Lange sent the photos to her employer, the Resettlement Administration in Washington, prompting a quick response by federal bureaucrats who rushed food supplies to peapicker camp. She also gave them to the San Francisco News, which featured two wide-angle shots in a March 10, 1936, article on the hardship endured by harvest workers. On the following day, it placed the iconic Migrant Mother picture above an editorial on the New Deal agenda. The ensuring uproar was a catalyst that inspired John Steinbeck to write his most influential novel, the Grapes of Wrath.”

• “I didn’t get anything out of it. I wish she hadn’t of taken my picture.… She didn’t ask my name. She said she wouldn’t sell the pictures. She said she’d send me a copy. She never did.” Admitting some pride in being the subject of a famous photograph, she concluded, “But what good’s it doing me?”

“John Szarkowski once remarked that ‘one could do very interesting research about all of the ways that the Migrant Mother has been used; all of the ways that it has been doctored, painted over, made to look Spanish and Russian; and all the things it has been used to prove.’”

Spinning Room Boys: Salem, Mass. – by Lewis Hine, 1911

Lewis Hine Project• Joe Manning of Florence, Massachusetts tracked

down the descendents of mill worker Addie Card at the request of Elizabeth Winthrop, whose book, "Counting on Grace" was inspired by a photograph by Lewis Hine. He’s now tracking down the stories and descendants of other children from Lewis Hine photographs.

Lewis Hine Project

Growing Up NowWelcome to the

world of ubiquitous

Photography

Thanksgiving – by Scott Shatto

Kids at the Otino Waa Children's Village in Lira, Uganda by Jonathan Assink

Jose Taking Pictures by Dan Cipolla

I Love This Toy by Spitzgogo Chen

Photography Now

Bigger, Better and Cheaper• Digital cameras• Cellphone cameras• Scanners• Storage

Camera Madness by Deepwarren

So Bad They’re Good• Pinhole cameras• Toy cameras: Holga, Diana, Lomo…• TtV: Through the Viewfinder

Book Pinhole by Matt Callow On the Streets of Killarney

by Buck Lewis

• Cameraphones – News, crime and art

• Camerapedia – Camera information wiki

• Online photo editing – Picnik, Photoshop Express

• Cool Tools – Big Huge Labs, Dumpr

Photosharing• Social networks: MySpace, Facebook, etc.• Flickr and other photo sites• Sharing by default• Any picture might be of interest to someone• Casual organization through sets and tagging• Social organization through friends and contacts

Flickr Facts• Pro account: $24.95/year

• Permissions

• Copyright

• Groups : Local and regional

Contacts

How often is more important than how many

Libraries on Flickr• Library pictures: programs, displays,

artwork, garden, anything that catches the eye and shows some aspect of the library

• Sprinkle, don’t flood

• Add links to descriptions

Pictures of People• Do you need written permission?• Are libraries public places? Yes and no…• Presumption of privacy• Be careful and clear about using photographs and

names of children and teens• Staff and unofficial pictures• Policies for public photography

Pictures of the Community• Take photos of historic buildings, statues, signs, etc.• What about ordinary places – the hardware store, the

bakery?• Then and Now Pictures• Lost Places• Historic Trails

P.J. Hansbury’s by Elizabeth B. Thomsen

Homework Destination by OWHL, Phillips Academy, Andover

HP Puppets by Beverly Public Library

Chandelier, Boston Public Library by Monceau

The Reader by Elizabeth B. Thomsen

Materials in Processing by Newton Free Library

Cinderella Puppet Show by Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Springtime at the Peabody Institute Library, Danvers by Elizabeth B. Thomsen

The SWAT TEAM is looking for volunteers by Newton Free Library

The Lincoln School (Old Postcard) – Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Lincoln School – Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Participation• Get permission to use digital images• Borrow pictures to scan• Get volunteers to take pictures• Capture memories, pair with oral history• Mass Memories Road Show• Beverly Public Library: “Preserving the

Past, Funding the Future” on May 31

Virtual Community Garden a set by Melrose Public Library

Photography Contests• Good for all ages

• Opportunity for collaboration with schools, newspaper, organizations, businesses

• Themes and categories?

• Make it easy to participate

• Be clear about the rules and rights

Salem News slideshow Drooling into the Wind by Emma Beane

Sawyer Free Library’s Teen Photo Contest in the Gloucester TimesFirst place: Beach Glass by Joe Marino

Jump!

Ten Lads a Leaping by DragonDrop

Not Something You See Every Day! by Today is a Good Day

Sleeveface

Ringo Starr by Asleep on a Sunbeam ludronrussinstein by Aaron Russin

Historic Images• Scan old pictures and put them online

• Put them on Flickr like the Library of Congress

• Participate in the Digital Commonwealth

http://www.digitalcommonwealth.org

By Popular Demand…• Start with things that are often requested

• Have any hidden treasures?

• Historic value vs. nostalgic value

(Millard Fillmore or Rex Trailer?)

• Holidays, anniversaries, current interest?

Lynn Boy Scouts Present Sweaters for Soldiers – Lynn Public Library

Reading Town Baseball Team, 1909 -- Reading Public Library

Put Your Pictures on the Map• Flickr’s mapping function only works

within Flickr

• Consider geocoding before uploading: Picasa uses Google Earth, GeoSetter, other programs

Google Maps are Easy• Sign in My Maps Create New Map

• Find a location, add a placemark, add text and images

• Add more, save and share

• Works in Google Maps and Google Earth

Diners of Massachusetts Map

Community Map Ideas• Programs: Teach people to make all kinds

of maps with photographs: history, biography, literary, fictional, nature, travel, Flat Stanley, etc.

• Make your own historic trails

• Make a map of your community’s lost places

Slideshows and Movies• Many easy online slideshow programs like

Slideroll that let you mix your photographs with music

• Animoto turns your images into music videos which you can upload directly to YouTube (free for 30 second videos)

Beyond Digital• Print out pictures and hang them up, use them in

newsletters and reports• Consider selling photographs on tote bags, t-

shirts, notecards, etc.• Collaborate with schools on primary source

projects, lesson plans, etc.• Photo craft and scrapbooking programs promote

historical awareness and a sense of community

Any questions?

Photo Credits• Migrant Mother – by Dorothea Lange (American Memory)• Spinning Room Boys – by Lewis Hine (National Archives)• Thanksgiving – by Scott Shatto• Kids at the Otino Waa Children's Village in Lira, Uganda by Jonathan

Assink• I Love This Toy by Spitzgogo Chen• Camera Madness by Deepwarren• Book Pinhole by Matt Callow• Homework Destination by OWHL, Phillips Academy, Andover• HP Puppets by Beverly Public Library• Chandelier, Boston Public Library by Monceau• The Reader by Elizabeth B. Thomsen

Photo Credits, Continued• Materials in Processing by Newton Free Library• Cinderella Puppet Show by Lucius Beebe Memorial Library• Springtime at the Peabody Institute Library by Elizabeth B. Thomsen• The SWAT TEAM is looking for volunteers by Newton Free Library• Virtual Community Garden a set by Melrose Public Library• P.J. Hansbury’s by Elizabeth B. Thomsen• Drooling into the Wind by Emma Beane• Beach Glass by Joe Marino• Ten Lads a Leaping by DragonDrop• Not Something You See Every Day! by Today is a Good Day• Lynn Boy Scouts Present Sweaters for Soldiers – Lynn Public Library• Lucy and Jack by Elizabeth B. Thomsen