30 000 FDF photographs to be digitized

[Mangrove]

Finnish Defence Forces has started digitize its collection of wartime photographs. 30 000 of these are to digitized within next six months. The photos are probably not going online, but ordering copies of them will be easier.
http://yle.fi/alueet/etela-savo/2010/08 ... 24179.html

[larth]

Martti,

do you know anything on how the photos will be presented / listed when they are for sale?

best regards,
Lars

[Mangrove]

do you know anything on how the photos will be presented / listed when they are for sale?

I quess they also digitize the analog descriptions to the digital database. However you can probably only order or see the photographs at the Finnish Defence Forces' Photograph Center (Kuvakeskus) at Helsinki. There is a copy fine of seven euro per photograph (see below).
http://www.puolustusvoimat.fi/wcm/su+pu ... kuvakeskus

Here are couple of examples of the quality and subjects of the photographs taken by army photographers.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/leo.mirala/SA-ku ... a-1944.htm

[larth]

Thanks! 7€ is fine, it is half to 33% of what photos cost on ebay and the quality looks very good. Hopefullt they make it searchable per unit and / or geographical location.

br,
Lars

[JTV]

Thanks! 7€ is fine, it is half to 33% of what photos cost on ebay and the quality looks very good. Hopefullt they make it searchable per unit and / or geographical location.

It might be worth pointing out that the 7 euros per photo is just for getting the photo scanned & given to you in digital form. You don't get any publishing rights for the photo in that deal. If you want to publish one of their photos in website/magazine/book/whatever, it costs 46 euros per photo each time it is published...

Jarkko

[Mangrove]

If you want to publish one of their photos in website/magazine/book/whatever, it costs 46 euros per photo each time it is published...

That's only true when it comes to "common" photographs that are newer than seventy years old. If you order some photos from them it's better to say they are for personal use, but in fact you're publishing them, legally... So Winter War era photographs are from 2010 onwards in public domain and 1941 comes in 2011.

[larth]

Great - both are good advice on publishing of the photos! Eventually there may be something but at the moment I more interested in saving time - for example finding some photo that tells me if the areas marked with yellow colour ("Pelto") on the Vuosalmi maps really were farmed in 1944. Jarkko's comment on that many of the houses probably were burned in 1944 leads me to think "no". Some photos seems to show plowed areas, some do not. At the moment I am scanning and OCR'ing the relevant pages in Koskimaa's book to autotranslate. Takes a lot of time. Having some good photos would save a lot of time and with 30.000 there is a good chance that some show what I want. If I can find them.

br,
Lars

[aahoo]

Great - both are good advice on publishing of the photos! Eventually there may be something but at the moment I more interested in saving time - for example finding some photo that tells me if the areas marked with yellow colour ("Pelto") on the Vuosalmi maps really were farmed in 1944. Jarkko's comment on that many of the houses probably were burned in 1944 leads me to think "no". Some photos seems to show plowed areas, some do not. At the moment I am scanning and OCR'ing the relevant pages in Koskimaa's book to autotranslate. Takes a lot of time. Having some good photos would save a lot of time and with 30.000 there is a good chance that some show what I want. If I can find them.

br,
Lars

You have to wait couple years, because we started scanning from winterwar negatives which are ready this year.

Scanning will be done in chronological order.

[larth]

Hello aahoo,

this sounds like an official answer! I wish you good speed and that you arrive at 1944 as planned. I am excited about the Winter War too; are there any photos from the Suomussalmi church village itself and nearby areas?

Many thanks!

br,
Lars

[aahoo]

Hello aahoo,

this sounds like an official answer! I wish you good speed and that you arrive at 1944 as planned. I am excited about the Winter War too; are there any photos from the Suomussalmi church village itself and nearby areas?

Many thanks!

br,
Lars

Not much from Suomussalmi village itself, if any, but lots of pictures from different pockets, Lemetti, Raare etc. aftermath and cleaning.

There is not many frontline pictures from winterwar though, most, over 3/4 are from towns and cities after soviet bombing, important people and from evacuation. I think reason for lack of frontline pictures might be that FDF didnt have its own photografers (TK-mies) at that time.

[Mangrove]

This is a bit off the topic, but I would like to ask aahoo about the aerial photographs taken by Finnish Air Force during the both wars. Do the original negatives still exist at the Photographic Centre or were they handed over to USSR?

[aahoo]

This is a bit off the topic, but I would like to ask aahoo about the aerial photographs taken by Finnish Air Force during the both wars. Do the original negatives still exist at the Photographic Centre or were they handed over to USSR?

That I dont know, Im not working at Photographic Centre, we are just doing digitalizing for them at National conservation and digitalizing centre. I havent seen any negatives for aerial photograps yet, not with winterwar pictures, for continuational war, we havent got there yet and some pictures might still be classified.

[Mangrove]

15 000 photos from Winter War have been now digitized and other 145 000 from the wars are waiting to be digitized.
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/kulttuuri/201 ... 65316.html

[larth]

Very nice! I hope they continue to get the funding for this fantastic project, it seems to be a moderate amount for such a project. Considering the importance of the period for Finland even more so. Together with the digitized war diaries it is making history easily accessible to anyone with internet.

br,
Lars

[aahoo]

All winterwar negatives are scanned now, there was about 19000 of them overall.

I'm keeping parental vacation for 3 weeks from now, I try to update our progress when i return to work.