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I am an amateur genealogist, researching and archiving my own family's history. I have been scanning negatives, slides, and prints taken by various family members. Now I would like to apply metadata information to these image files. I want someone viewing these files to know not only who and what is in the image, but also who took the photograph (my late father, for instance) and who scanned it and `owns' it now (me).
Bruce:
It's good that you are thinking ahead so that others will be able to identify the subjects in the images, and how they cam to be.
I seem to have trouble reconciling which metadata fields pertain to the physical image artifact (negative, slide, print) and which apply to the scan & file I have created.
Have you read the Users's guide to the IPTC Core?
http://www.iptc.org/std/Iptc4xmpCore/1.0/documentation/Iptc4xmpCore_1.0-doc-CpanelsUserGuide_13.pdf
or
http://tinyurl.com/qw25p
In my situation, who is the `creator'? Who is the `author'? Who is the `source'? My guess is that I am the creator of the scanned image, but that my father is the source. Is this correct?
The person who took the original image is the "creator" or "author." There is no real difference between these two labels, as the field they represent is the same. Which you see depends on the user interface and application you are seeing when you input metadata. I had created a chart which is in the back of the IPTC User's guide, but there is an expanded version in the IPTC Core Mapped Fields PDF at ( http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/imagedatabases/iptc_core_mapped.pdf ).
The Source field should be used to identify the original owner or copyright holder of the photograph.
I am not sure if the person who scans an existing image gets any particular credit in the metadata fields, unless they are also the photographer or owner. Do they?
Not typically in any designated IPTC field. When I make scans from others work, I often make a note in the Special Instructions/Instructions field noting the specific equipment used, the dpi used for scanning and the original color space.... and may include my name if I know I'm passing it along to someone else. If I am the one that is writing the metadata into the scan, I do include my name in the Description Writer field.
Suppose that I scan some artwork done by my aunt: who is the creator in this case? And in a more complicated case, where I scan a print belonging to a cousin, but originally owned by my grandfather, is there a correct way to describe that situation in the authorship/source metadata fields?
In your first example, since your aunt created the original work, then she is the "creator." In the second instance I would have to make assumptions. Assuming your grandfather is deceased, the cousin may now be the copyright holder, assuming that the cousin is now in charge of the estate. In any event, your grandfather should be listed as the creator. You could list the cousin as the "Provider/Credit" as they provided you with the image you are copying. If you are using newer software, that uses the new IPTC Core 1.1 and Extension 1.0, then the "Image Supplier" field could be used, as by definition it, "Identifies the most recent supplier of the image, who is not necessarily its owner or creator. "
There are also additional fields within the IPTC Extension for use in recording owners and creators of artwork in the image, but given that these fields are not yet included in all current applications, and the fact that they are not elements within the image, I don't think it's necessary to use these fields in your particular instance.
Hope that helps.
David
David Riecks (that's "i" before "e", but the "e" is silent)
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