Digitization Proceeds

The last two weeks, I began working on the process of digitizing the Herbarium's 25,000 specimens. During digitization, the photos begin as raw images associated with barcodes, and they must be converted to JPEG form before they are browser-friendly. This conversion can take hours, depending on how many photographs you have taken that day. For this reason, it has become taboo to ever shut down the digitization computer, in case the program is still working on batching out images from the previous session. I had a bit of a scare after my first session, when the digitization computer insisted that it needed to shut down for updates. So, I finished batching out the 165 photographs that I had just taken and restarted the computer manually, so that it would not turn itself off in the middle of the program while I was not there.

Unfortunately, when I logged back on, the programs were not there, and neither were my photographs. I will not lie to you: I was a bit stricken with terror at that. Luckily, the problem was a simple one: the programs were only accessible through a specific username and password for the computer. Our amazing Biology department technology staff helped me out, and this week I was up and running again.

Now that we have ironed the process out, it is incredibly easy and fast. First, I go through the cabinet and I barcode every specimen (preferably in the same order in which they are stored, so that the barcodes are sequential...this helps to keep track of them once photographing begins). I also double-check the organization and make sure that all specimens have been annotated and accessioned. I do this during a work shift ahead of time, so that photographing runs smoothly.

After prep, the actually photographing is easy. I turn on the camera and the lights, open the imaging programs, log in, and open the correct project. I remove an entire shelf of specimens from the cabinet, and I organize them so that there are separate piles for folders whose specimens have been taken, are about to be taken, or are being taken.

 I simply place a specimen on the photographing deck:

Then, I make sure that within the SilverImage program, the cursor is within the green barcoding space:

Then, I use the hand remote to take a photograph.

 

Next, I run the barcode of the specimen that I just photographed under the scanner:

And that's it! That specimen is now a high-resolution raw image, and is now associated with its very own barcode. After I am done photographing for the day, there is a protocol for editing and "batching out" the images, which converts them from raw data to JPEG format and transfers them to their final home on the hard drive. This process is easy, though, once you get the hang of it. The programs are pretty intuitive, and I do not usually have to even look at my protocol to remind myself. I have only done a few short photography sessions so far, and yet I have photographed nearly 400 specimens. Plus, that was before I had really gotten the hang of it. I am sure that from now on, barring any mistakes on my part, I should be flying through the cabinets!

Until next time,

Abigail