Optimum keywords/tags for Archive

[geogphotos]

It is self-evident that anybody looking for an Archive image is doing so because it is archive material that they want (or at least on most occasions).

 

So, in addition to keywords/tags for image content there is a requirement for something more generic to highlight that the image is old.

 

This is an example of what I have included:

 

"1950s, archive, historic, historical, history, image, imagery, vintage, photograph, photo,  old,"

 

Any suggestions or comments please?

 

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by geogphotos

[M.Chapman]

Change the date taken using AIM? Although (if I recall correctly) AIM only saves the new date if it contains day-month-year which gives a problem as the exact date is usually unknown. Not sure how far back AIM allows either.

 

Mark

[spacecadet]

Monochrome/black and/&/white/ Kodachrome colour transparency/slide as appropriate, the decade as you have it.

I usually start the caption with "19xx archive image of........" but it's a bit random. I'm pretty sure searches on the decade and place have led to sales, but it's usually the subject and the year or decade.

[spacecadet]

17 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

Change the date taken using AIM? Although (if I recall correctly) AIM only saves the new date if it contains day-month-year which gives a problem as the exact date is usually unknown. Not sure how far back AIM allows either.

 

Mark

I've been back to 1960- the calendar goes back to 1800 but as you say you have to invent a full date. Take a cue from the weather or subject matter perhaps. If no clue, the middle of a likely month. Searches by date rather than year or decade are probably pretty rare.

My student stuff in London is all down as xx/10/79, except........for decades I had my images of Arthur C. Clarke at a UCL lecture misfiled as from June 1979. I didn't know the true date until I scanned them in 2016- Friday October 19th. It was chalked on a blackboard behind him, too underexposed to show on projection.

Edited March 12, 2022 by spacecadet

[Vincent Lowe]

21 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

I've been back to 1960- the calendar goes back to 1800 but as you say you have to invent a full date.

No you don't.....

 

Click on the date field, so you get the calendar.  Click on the year box in the calendar heading and you get the drop-down list going back to 1800.  Select the year you want and it enters the year only into the date field.  Click anywhere outside the calendar to close it.  Repeat with the month if you want the month and year.

 

[spacecadet]

39 minutes ago, Vincent Lowe said:

No you don't.....

 

Click on the date field, so you get the calendar.  Click on the year box in the calendar heading and you get the drop-down list going back to 1800.  Select the year you want and it enters the year only into the date field.  Click anywhere outside the calendar to close it.  Repeat with the month if you want the month and year.

 

That's an improvement. I think some have found in the past that it doesn't over-write without a full date. Or perhaps we just weren't doing it properly

I will be changing some now, thanks for the tip.

Edit-you have to be careful to clear any existing date..a bit of clicking in and out.

Edited March 12, 2022 by spacecadet

[geogphotos]

1 hour ago, Vincent Lowe said:

No you don't.....

 

Click on the date field, so you get the calendar.  Click on the year box in the calendar heading and you get the drop-down list going back to 1800.  Select the year you want and it enters the year only into the date field.  Click anywhere outside the calendar to close it.  Repeat with the month if you want the month and year.

 

 

 

Thanks for that tip. 

[M.Chapman]

2 hours ago, Vincent Lowe said:

No you don't.....

 

Click on the date field, so you get the calendar.  Click on the year box in the calendar heading and you get the drop-down list going back to 1800.  Select the year you want and it enters the year only into the date field.  Click anywhere outside the calendar to close it.  Repeat with the month if you want the month and year.

 

ISTR that when I tried it, although the AIM screen appeared to take it, the database update didn't accept it and reverted back to the date digitised. I'll have to try again to see if something's been fixed.

 

Mark

Edited March 12, 2022 by M.Chapman

[Vincent Lowe]

21 minutes ago, M.Chapman said:

ISTR that when I tried it, although the AIM screen appeared to take it, the database update didn't accept it and reverted back to the date digitised. I'll have to try again to see if something's been fixed.

 

Mark

 

I uploaded a batch in November 2019, originally taken in 1984, and I entered the year only in the date taken field.  I just checked and they are still showing just 1984.   These were an archival upload.  eg - 2A940JM

 

A batch I uploaded in July 2005 by the normal QC route are still showing just 'July 1976' in the date field.  eg - AB4G07

 

Maybe they've changed something more recently.   I've changed the date to the year only on an image from my latest upload - I'll see if it reverts back after the next update.

[M.Chapman]

I'll do some checking too. It could perhaps have been a browser issue, instead of AIM.

Mark

Edited March 12, 2022 by M.Chapman

[M.Chapman]

OK, I think I've remembered the issue.

 

If I do an Alamy search for your image 2A940JM then I notice the date taken info, which usually appears below the image, is missing.

If I do an Alamy search for "nyrdri ofaera" all 9 of your images appear

If I do an Alamy search for "nyrdri ofaera" with the date range set to <1/1/2000, then none of your images appear

 

My conclusion is that I don't think the search engine understands image taken dates that aren't fully formed e.g. dd/mm/yyyy and so ignores the date. Images with incomplete dates are therefore omitted from customer searches where the customer enters a date range restriction.

 

Mark

 

[sooth]

i had the same problem with the website before, and the problem seem to clear itself a week later. 

 

https://discussion.alamy.com/topic/15352-image-details-page-date-taken-has-been-changed-now/

 

now the problem came back. maybe there are several different copies of the alamy,com server delivering content across the internet with some of the clones correctly reading the AIM date, but perhaps 1-2 other servers don't have the most up to date copy of the web server code, or something... or maybe it's the weekend, and the webserver that's assigned the weekend shift doesn't give a damn.

Edited March 12, 2022 by sooth

[Vincent Lowe]

10 minutes ago, M.Chapman said:

OK, I think I've remembered the issue.

 

If I do an Alamy search for your image 2A940JM then I notice the date taken info, which usually appears below the image, is missing.

If I do an Alamy search for "nyrdri ofaera" all 9 of your images appear

If I do an Alamy search for "nyrdri ofaera" with the date range set to <1/1/2000, then none of your images appear

 

My conclusion is that I don't think the search engine understands image taken dates that aren't fully formed e.g. dd/mm/yyyy and so ignores the date. Images with incomplete dates are therefore omitted from customer searches where the customer enters a date range restriction.

 

Mark

 

 

Ah... I see what you mean - I hadn't noticed that.  I might have a rethink and add a full date, just the 1st of the month or something (I know the Iceland ones were taken in August).

[M.Chapman]

1 hour ago, Vincent Lowe said:

 

Ah... I see what you mean - I hadn't noticed that.  I might have a rethink and add a full date, just the 1st of the month or something (I know the Iceland ones were taken in August).

There's a potential tradeoff. Putting a full date means that images will be returned in date specific searches, but may risk demotion in regular search results as older images might appear later in results.

 

Mark

[geogphotos]

Just having the date in the caption, and the decade in the 'tags', is probably the best idea then?