In my last post, I introduced Microsoft’s new Deep Zoom technology and showed how we could use it to zoom way in on a large family photo. This time, I’m posting a collage of 191 photos of my Dad that lets you zoom way in on each individual photo. If you’ve never seen Deep Zoom in action before, it’s well worth taking a look. I think that you’ll be amazed at the experience. Follow the link below to get started.
This collection includes 191 photos of my Dad, John Sexton, spanning his entire life: 1933-2005. Many of the original scans are fairly high resolution, so as you zoom in, you’ll be able to see some wonderful details.
How to use Deep Zoom to view the collection:
- Follow the link below to bring up the page
- Download and install Silverlight, if requested (it’s quick)
- Use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out
- Depending on your internet connection, you may need to wait a bit after zooming for the image to sharpen
- To start with, zoom all of the way out so that you can see the entire collection
- Then explore by zooming in on individual photos
- You can also pan (slide) by holding the left mouse button down and dragging
Here’s the collection: John Sexton Deep Zoom Collection
(If you don’t want to go actually run the demo, you can watch a short run-through on YouTube — the resolution isn’t nearly as good as the real thing, but you’ll get the idea).
Here are some specific things to go look for in the collection (think of this as a treasure hunt):
- There’s a lot of detail in the buddha in the 3rd row
- Look at the kids’ faces in the class photo, 2nd row, leftmost photo
- Find the thumbprint on the photo of John w/the bow and arrow, 1st row
- Look at the detail on the old printing presses, 2nd from last row, 6th photo from left
- Look at the detail in John’s face, 5th from last row, 2nd photo from the right (face in his hands)
- Find Uncle Tom in a ballerina outfit, somewhere in the 7th row
- In the 1st row is a photo of John with brother Jerry during the first snowfall of 1938. Can you identify the car in the background?
- Zoom in on the 1st photo, 5th row, and enjoy incredible color in the photo of Mt. Fuji from 1953
- Elsewhere on the 5th row, you’ll find a car. Can you read the make?
- In the 7th row, you’ll find a photo of John serving some brandy. Can you read the label? What time is it?
- 2nd from the last row, 3rd from left, John holds his granddaughter Lucy’s hand. What color are her eyes?
- Can you find the greenish photo in the center of the grid that features John, an antique steel trash baler and an old Ford 8N tractor?
Here are a few other interesting details about this collection:
- The original collection is comprised of 191 scanned or digital photos
- Deriving from the original 191, the Deep Zoom collection itself is comprised of 18,433 separate images
- The collection takes up 1.44GB of disk space
What do family historians out there think about this as a technique for exploring a collection of family photos?
