A Closer Look at Text and Photo books

In my last entry, I wrote about my plan in 2011 to create more booklets, emphasizing my family history and autobiography. Was it a new year's resolution? Perhaps. But no doubt, I want to preserve my family history that I've been collecting for the past 20 years and preferably preserve it in a book. Last year I started making small photo books of about 20 to 40 pages using some of the Internet photo album web sites. I presented a picture of several books that I created using the photo book feature of Snapfish(dot)com and Shutterfly(dot)com. I also created photo books with more extensive captions or even stories using the free-download application called BookSmart by Blurb(dot)com.

A reader of my blog, let me call him George, contacted me and asked me if "Blurb books" was fulfilling my need for publishing my family history. George also asked me if had thought of using the book feature at Ancestry(dot)com. And finally, he asked me if had any further thoughts or comments on Blurb books.

I have dabbled with the Ancestry book feature but have not followed through with a complete book. However, three start-up attempts sit in "MyCanvas Projects" at Ancestrydotcom waiting for me to return to work on them. So far, they look pretty good- just need another rainy day.

I have created two books with Blurb, and until today, they sat on the "bookshelf" at their website marked as "private"- for my eyes only or for those who I invite. But now, I changed the privacy setting to "public" so that George or anyone else can see one of my first books entitled, "What about Bob?" I stole the title from a movie which starred Bill Murry, and yes, my name is Bob. Furthermore, Blurb allows me the option of sharing the book via several different links (Facebook, Twitter, and so forth). I took the option of embedding the widget in this blog as shown below (click on the miniture, and then, "preview book"). You can see the use of both text and picture frames to create a book of this type. You can also buy the book, but it's not necessary. I could never be a salesman.

What about Bob ?

A Genealogy and Pic...

By Robert Charles Kramp

Book Preview

What do you think, George?

Another way to "publish" one's genealogy: electronic digital readers

It's difficult for me to stop collecting genealogical data and take the time to publish what I have gathered into a printed book with hard covers. There always seems to be one more fact to uncover, one more census to consult, one more relative to interview, and so on. However, along the way, I have faithfully entered most of my data into my chosen genealogical computer program- which happens to be Ancestral Quest (AQ) by Incline Software. Every two or three years, I create Modified Register Reports for several end-of-the-line ancestors. I take the option to save the reports in Adobe's pdf format and then take the files to Kinko's Copy Shop or similar place to be printed on their laser printer. Finally, I bind the reports with plastic combs. I consider these reports to be interim. Almost immediately I begin to make corrections with my red pen. One can see so many errors once a report is printed. And yes, I find new ideas for further research and further put off the final printing.

However, I am getting to the age at which I believe I must stop and publish my findings. I do not want to take any of this genealogical information with me to the grave- as many of my relatives have already done.

Publishing and printing is expensive. My brother-in-law recently contracted a professional printer to make 150 copies of his McCutcheon Line. It cost thousands of dollars- and that's just for one family line. Nevertheless, each book is invaluable. His genealogy is archived in libraries all around the country including the Congressional and LDS Libraries. His data are carved in granite and will be here for many generations to enjoy.

So, I plan to have my genealogies professionally printed. Nevermind the cost. I'll mortgage my house if I have to.

IN THE MEANTIME, I came across a new technology that might be used to simply and quickly archive genealogical data. I am talking about electronic digital readers (e readers). A large portion of the market is cornered by Barnes and Noble's "Nook", Amazon.com's "Kindle", and Sony's "eReader". These readers usually cost less than $150. After looking at the features of each of these models, I settled on Sony's eReader (Trade Mark). In particular, I was looking for a device in which:

1. A media card could be inserted into the e-reader and loaded with my OWN pdf files.

2. A reader that could be turned on its long side (landscape orientation) so that more of the text would be visible, left to right.

Let me break here and show a few images of the Sony eReader that I purchased. I loaded the Reader with a 2GB SD media card containing Modified Register Reports (MRR) in pdf format which were created in Ancestral Quest. The card was inserted into a slot on top of the Reader. Realize that these images are photos of the reader.

Image 1. (below). Sony eReader (Trade Mark), vertical orientation, small font (shows whole page). MRR for Joseph Austel, page 1 of 115. Adobe pdf format.



In Ancestral Quest, one can add a primary image to the vital statistics and biological notes for each individual. It would be extremely difficult to read the text in this set up of the Sony eReader. Now, if we go to the next image:

Image 2. Sony eReader set in Landscape orientation, medium-size font. MRR for Joseph Austel, p. 1 of 115. Adobe pdf format.




In this setting, I could easily read the text in the report. Though I can't read the whole page, top to bottom, I can drag my finger across the screen to scroll down to the rest of the page. The reader automatically re-formats the text of the original pdf file such that the width of the lines is not cropped. In other words, the text is re-flowed.

Image 3. Sony eReader (TM), showing the editing feature: add a free-hand note or type one.



The last image shows the editing feature. I can add notes either in free-hand as shown using a stylus, or call up a box and virtual keyboard and type in a note.
The notes do not affect the original pdf file. Also, I can call up all the notes at once for a specific book (pdf file).

I have loaded my SD media card with 14 individual, Modified Register Reports (books) each of which were originally created in Ancestral Quest as a pdf file. The pdf files range from 100 to 300 pages. In addition, I also loaded 15 Scrapbook reports in pdf format. The SD card can be removed from the eReader; inserted into a computer; and then read in the Adobe Reader application. I made a copy of the SD media card with all of its pdf files and gave it to my brother to be used as a back-up.

One can also load jpeg images and mp3 audio files into the eReader. Images are seen in black and white on this eReader, but Barnes and Noble is now marketing a "Color Nook".

I believe the Nook and Kindle readers to not have the capability of loading SD media cards. Therefore, electronic books have to be downloaded from the Internet either wirelessly or via a computer. The "3G" readers can connect to the Internet directly for downloads. Unless you have your genealogy posted in a book at Amazon or B&N, you can not load your own genealogy into their readers. However, I recently discovered that a fellow genealogist, Thomas MacEntee, posted a Guide entitled, "A Genealogy Blog Primer. Everything You Wanted to Know About Genealogy Blogs but Were Afraid to Ask". The Primer is free and can be downloaded as a pdf file fom LuLu bookstores.

One final note. After saying all this, I do not like to read my genealogy books on the eReader. My old eyes get tired reading the text against a light grey background. Even the e-reader manufacturers say that traditional books are still easier to read. I saw a recent advertisement which claimed that their "new" reader had 5o percent greater contrast. The Color Nooks might be easier on the eyes. This technology is still young but growing fast. And I must admit- it is more convenient to carry around an electronic reader rather than a case of traditional books.

Experiment: Linking images between this blog and my Picasa Photo Albums

The image below shows my home-made tool for collecting juicy plums from high up in the tree. A cut-up, plastic milk carton is attached to a leaf rake. Click on image to enlarge. It will take you to my Picasa web site. Click on your browser's "back arrow" key to return to this blog.



This entry is an experiment. I uploaded the image above from one of my "NON Blog" albums at my Picasa account. When I first set up my blog, all of my images were automatically stored in ONE album called "Life's Journey" at Picasa. It is also the title of my blog. It is now about four years since I started my blog, and I have over 330 images in the "Life's Journey" album at Picasa. I believe the album is too large. In fact, I get the warning "stack overload" when I choose to view this particular album all at once. So, I started a second album at Picasa which I entitled, "Life's Journey, II". In other words, I wanted to stop stuffing all my blogged images into just one album. Incidentally, I have other albums at Picasa which are NOT automatically linked to my blog, such as my High School Reunion album.

Another "bug" in the image-upload process, is that I must upload the image first before adding any text. If I do not follow this order, then I can not enlarge the image by clicking on it in the blog. Also, if I add a second or third image, those images will also not enlarge- UNLESS, I upload all the images at once, and before adding any text.

If anyone has a different method of uploading images (which will enlarge when clicked upon), please post a comment to this entry.

Kiepenkerl- Keepers of news and history

I went on a family history search to middle Europe in September, 2001. As I walked around Munster, Germany, I looked for sculptures and statues around city parks or squares that might depict the clothing styles and culture of the past. Three quarters of my ancestors on my pedigree were German-born before they immigrated to America in the 1880's.

I was sitting in an outdoor cafe having a Tass der Kaffee (sometimes I mix my weak French with my weak German). Across from my table was a statue or sculpture honoring the "Kiepenkerl". Asking around in my weak German, I learned that these men were traveling salesman of sorts who sold housewares. While traveling around the country, they also picked up local news and stories and passed them on to eager listeners in the next village. So, the Kiepenkerls were news reporters and story tellers as well as salesmen. I guess this was the old-fashioned equivalent of TV or the Internet.

I mused that genealogists and family historians are sort of like the Kiepenkerls. We collect family history and news and pass it on from one generation to the next. What an honor. What a privilege. What responsibility! And so, when I saw a representation of a Kiepenkerl painted on a small dish, I bought it as a souvenir for my genealogical curio cabinet.

As far as clothing styles go, the next image shows two views of an outdoor fountain in Lambert Square, Munster, Germany. The fountain was a sculpture depicting a family of Germans dressed in the styles of the 19th century, at least that's my presumption. First I noticed that they were carrying canes or walking sticks. The canes I surmise helped arthritic individuals to walk around. But, I am not sure of the purpose of the walking stick on a casual stroll to town. Perhaps it was used to keep stray dogs away. The women wore bonnets and bows and long dresses and aprons. The men had beards and smoked long-necked, curved pipes. They also wore three-quarter length coats which look like smocks. Their hats were what I would call captain hats with a brim. The shoes look like wooden clogs, like I imagine the Dutchman wore.

Later in the day in Munster, I found myself in the middle of a parade. I do not know what was the specific occasion for the parade. But in my experience, Germans don't need any particular reason for a celebration. They always seem to be celebrating and having a good time.

In any case, these "farmers" are wearing hats similar to that worn by the man at the fountain. Apparently bandannas and scarves were popularly worn around the neck. And if you look closely (click on image), the little slip-thingy on the twisted ends of the bandanna holding it in place is in the shape of little wooden clogs- which of course are like the ones worn on the feet, if you could see them.

Thus, you can see what your German ancestors might have worn in the 19th century if, on a trip to that country, you keep your eyes open and your camera ready.

REFERENCES and LINKS

My Pedigree presented in earlier blog entry.

My Family history trip to Gemany, Alsace, Switzerland, 2001

Two of the slides in this entry were created with Microsoft's Powerpoint application. I just came across a genealogy blogger who also uses the program for making genealogical slides and images and posts an instructional blog. Go to: http://professordru.blogspot.com/

A panoramic view of the park (square) and Kiepenkerl in Muenster, Germany. Scroll down on left margin to "Kiepenkerl".

Kramp Roads, PA Rest Stops and Kilt Towels

I believe there are many members of the Kramp tribe in Ontario, Canada. One of the visitors who I met at the Joseph Schneider Haus and Museum in Kitchener, Ontario, told me he had an uncle named Milton Kramp. I did not ask him if Milton lived at the end of Kramp Road, but my traveling companion did take a picture of the road. He was probably lost at the time, but the road lies somewhere between Kitchener and Guelph, Ontario (link to my Picasa Gallery and look at map).

The roads on our return home from Ontario eventually led us down Interstate 81 through New York to Pennsylvania. We stopped just inside the border near Summit, PA. The sign read, "Smile. You're in Pennsylvania, State of Independence". Well, OK, here goes. I believe "Independence" refers to the Liberty Bell which was located in Independence Hall, Philadephia. I should've asked, but actually, I thought all retirees were in the state of Independence.

I thought it was a neat idea to exhibit coal mining equipment at the Information Center and Rest Stop. Below is a picture of me standing next to a "Lokie". It is a battery-operated locomotive and car which once hauled anthracite coal through the mine tunnels toward the surface. It replaced the living, animal mule and increased coal production. This low-type Scout model locomotive was built by Greensburg Machine Company, near Pittsburgh, PA.

My late uncle Orville Shugar, husband of the former Bernice Kramp, was a former anthracite coal miner who lived in Wilkes-Barre, PA, just off I-81. Other Kramp relatives were also coal miners, but most of them mined soft coal (sulphur-rich) in western Pennsylvania, particularly along the Moshannon Vien in Clearfield County.

While we were in Ontario, a Scottish Highland Games was being held in Fergus, Ontario. My friend went to the Games while I finished up some last minute touring in Kitchener. I usually shun the wearing of heavy wool kilts during Scottish Games held in the heat of summer for obvious reason of discomfort. Hardly a breeze ever runs up me open legs, lad. However, my friend found a solution at one of the vendors at Fergus. It is a cotton towel designed like a kilt, complete with fancy sporron (the purse in front). Now, I can step out of a shower and right into a kilt. Would it be blasphemous to wear it at the next Scottish Games even in 92 degree temperatures?

Image: An answer to wearing hot wool kilts in the middle of the summer? If you dare, click on the sporron to enlarge.

Technical Note: I believe I finally got the hang of uploading images in a blog entry so that clicking on any one of them will enlarge it.
1. Upload all your images first, in the REVERSE order you want to present them. Pre-numbering the images helps. You can only upload 5 images initially. Additional images can be added, but they will not enlarge if you click on them.
2. Fill in the text, one pargraph at a time between each image if that is your wish.
3. You can add images at a later time, but they will not enlarge if you click on them.
Takes some planning and inhibits spontanaeity, but it works.

Playing old time music down on the corner

Ben, Neal, and I, pick up our instruments and have a spontaneous music jam on the streets of Kensington. They call it instant fellowship and enjoyment- though we look a little stoic.



Ben and I have been playing music together, on and off, for many years- since we were back in college. But then, about 28 years ago (can't believe it's been that long ago), I saw a movie that probably changed my life. It was called "Deliverance". Most people know it was about a foursome of city slickers who took a weekend canoe trip in the back country of the Appalachian foothills on the border of South Carolina and Georgia. But what changed my life was the adventure, wild scenery, white water canoeing, and the music in that movie. The hair on my neck still stands up when I hear "Dueling Banjos". In the next week after I saw the movie, I had bought a canoe and a banjo and started taking banjo lessons in Blacksburg, VA. Kinda crazy, but that's just how it started. And I continued to play old time music and banjo on just about every weekend during the summer at old time fiddler's conventions all over southwestern Virginia- at least for another 5 years. Looking back I guess I was going through what some people were then calling a mid-life crisis. Maybe so, but now, in a crisis, I can take a deep breath, sit down, and strum the ol' banjo until the crisis is over.

Technical Note. I joined YouTube.com today. I had a passer-by take this video of our little trio with my Canon digital camera. The setting was in Standard, 640 x 480 pixel mode. The saved file was in avi format, 112 MB. I uploaded the file to YouTube using their downloadable "Uploader" for files over 100 MB and multiple video uploades. It took 45 minutes to upload the file! I then uploaded an 18.8 MB file in mpg format which I created with my old Olympus digital camera. It took only 8 minutes. Finally, I copied and pasted the HTML code into this blog. I know nothing about HTML editing, but it works. Gotta lot to learn about videos.

Rather than embed my second video into this blog, I think I will just post a link to my "flat footing" video here.

George Washington H.S., Alexandria, VA: War Memorial

You don't see many of these monuments around modern-day High schools. Most of them are too new. However, here at George Washington High School on Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria, VA, is a monument to the fallen soldiers of WW II and former students of the school. It was erected by the graduating classes of 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1947. Names of the fallen are inscribed on another face of the monument.

My mother, Mary Margaret Gailliot, and her brother Charles graduated from the school in 1938. Their yearbooks are archived in the library in Old Town Alexandria.

I just uploaded about 87 images of my Mother's Ancestral Homelands in two albums (Germany, Alsace, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and Alexandria Virginia) to my Internet photo album at Picasa. This is a reminder that most of my recent blogged photos and several photos from my genealogy and family history can always be found by scrolling down, looking to the right until you come to "See more photos and slide shows" and click on the link to my Google Picasa albums.

A neat feature of Google's partner, Picasa.com, is that photos can be located on a map so that one can follow the family's migrations around the world. Go to my Picasa album , click on "Mother's Ancestral Homelands" album, scroll down, looking to the left until you see the map, and then enlarge.

The Gailliot Line- Introduction to First Generation

The first image above includes Anton Gailliot and the five children by his SECOND wife, Johanna "Helene" Theodora Schlebusch. Relatively more recent portaits of individual family members were miniturized and superimposed on the larger family portrait. A copy of the original, larger portrait was emailed to me by Beth Holycross Gailliot. However, the whole project was made possible through an international effort. The portraits of the parents, Anton and Helene, were emailed to me two years ago by Gunter Lade who resides in Halle/Saale, in former East Germany. Gunter is descended from Elise Gailliot, on far left, who married Friedrich Meier. She and her descendents remained in Germany. Gunter is my third cousin, once removed; our common ancestors are Anton and Helene. Gunter stumbled onto one my genealogical web sites for my mother's branch of the family tree at GeneaNet. Gunter recognized the connection, and later sent me pictures, including his 3x great grandmother, Elise. He also sent me images from several family documents, called Familienbuchen in Germany, which linked him to the Gailliot family and eventually to me.

In the second image, birth and death dates are included- some dates are unknown or approximated. Two brothers in this first generation, Karl Anton and Heinrich Casper, eventually emigrated to America after which they anglicized their names to Charles and Henry. Henry was my maternal great grandfather. The genealogy behind these photographs has also been an international effort. The family portrait was probably taken in Wesel, Germany which turned out to be significant. Indeed, a very special relationship has developed between myself and Herr Rudolf Kerbitz, who is a resident of Wesel. Our initial contact was through a simple email inquiry. Some of my father's ancestors were from Pommern (Pomerania in English) and I posted a baptismal note from a Bertha Johanna Kramp on my Father's branch website. She was baptised in Beckel, Kries Stolp, Hinterpommern (now part of Pomorski, Poland) and her patron was a man named Albert Kerbitz. Though we have not made a genetic connection between Rudolf Kerbitz and my family yet, we continue to search for the identity of Albert Kerbitz so that perhaps we can determine a family link.

Wesel, Germany, lies on the right bank of the Rhine River near the mouth of the Lippe tributary. During WW II, about 90 percent of the town was destroyed by Allied bombs. Every building and every church was reduced to rubble and obviously many church records as well as other historic items were lost. Amazingly the City of Wesel was rebuilt and is thriving today. I visited the city in 2001, and took many pictures of the rebuilt town and particularly its two Catholic churches, St. Mariae Himmelfahrt (Assumption of the Virgin Mary) and St. Martini. And I visited my friend, Rudolf Kerbitz and his family.

Remarkably, Rudolf has been a great help in providing data and history to the Gailliot genealogy. He enjoys rummaging through flea markets and has discovered several graphics of what the former city and churches looked like before the war and has generously shared these items with me. One Christmas, Rudolf sent me a phonograph record of a concert performed in St. Mariae Himmelfahrt, where my great grandfather, Henry Gailliot, was baptized in 12 Feb 1862. Incidentally, the baptism was recorded on microfilm by the LDS church, which apparently survived in the archives at nearby Munster. Rudolf was instrumental in translating this record first into German from the Latin and then from German into English. Though the source of this particular record was the LDS church, there have been many other records which were obtained only through the efforts of Rudolf Kerbitz, such as a vintage map showing the likely home of Helene's maternal family, the Offenburg family. And, a photograph of the actual house and the chapel in the Offenburg's home town. There is so much more.

I can't resist giving one more example here. The Gailliot patriarch was a Schumachermeister- a Master shoemaker or cobbler. In an old city directory, Rudolf found a listing of the former address of Anton's cobbler shop at No 913 Kreuzstrasse. In addition, Rudolf discovered a vintage photograph of the same street which showed a distant view of Anton's cobbler shop. With the help of Adobe Photoshop, Rudolf focused, magnified, and rendered a picture of the cobbler shop which now hangs in my house. Can you imagine the good fortune.

Windows Vista

I just took at least 5 years off my life. I bought a new Hewlett-Packard lap top with the new Windows Home Premium Vista operating system. My purpose for purchasing the newer, faster computer, was to be able to run some of the more complex software which creates digital slide shows; for example, Adobe's Premier Elements (which would not load on my 2 year-old system without SSE2- huh?). I wish I could have stayed with Windows XP, since I'm finally becoming comfortable with it. However, I didn't have that choice when I bought a new computer. It's either Windows Vista or MacIntosh, or nothing. Unfortunately, only one genealogical computer program is made for the Macs. Most of the programs I use require Windows- at least that's the way I see it.

In any case, several of the wonderful programs which ran perfectly well, or nearly so, on XP, are not compatible with Vista. Also Vista has a lot of problems as you can tell by your first visit to the communal help groups online. The Vista "Help" section has just as many meaningless answers as any of the previous versions. And if you don't understand their answers, you can always contact your Administrator (I guess that's me) or the manufacturer of your hardware or software. Yea, right. Thanks a lot.

So, if your planning to buy a new computer with Windows Vista, plan also on purchasing several hundred dollars worth of new, "Vista ready" software, including the 2007 version of Microsoft's Office- sorry your M/S Office from last year won't work.

Incidentally, Vista comes with about four photographic slide show creators. Two of them send you to web sites to purchase the upgrades. The others are bare bones. Signed, Sour Grapes.

Experiment with Smilebox program

The following video was created at an Internet site called http://www.smilebox.com/. The reference is from a bibliography put together by our local librarian for an upcoming seminar, entitled, "Put your genealogy and family on TV". We plan to interest the attendees in several software applications which one can use to present slide shows of vintage, family photographs and simple genealogy charts- sort of like electronic scrapbooks. I will also present some of the hardware needed to "play" the slide shows; for example DVD players and video iPods. The following was a free creation. For a couple of dollars, I could create a video free of advertisements- which I may choose to do later on.

It will take a minute or two to load the buffer after you click on "play" button- watch the grow bar. To escape the video, click on "x" in upper right to close the window.

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Update: I went back to Smilebox and the bought the creation for $1.93. I believe it was worth it, because now the creation is free of advertisements, and thus, loads more rapidly, and can be seen full screen.

Review of Free Internet Photo Albums

This month ends the free photo album feature at Yahoo.com. For several years I have posted pictures to two Yahoo albums, one for each of my two Yahoo accounts. I linked the albums to my personal web page, this blog, and also to a couple of genealogical web sites I maintain. A nice feature at Yahoo Photos was that visitors did not have to register a user name or password to access my Albums, and thus, guests could link to my pictures directly. Now, I must move my photos from Yahoo to another Internet photo service by the end of the month and visitors will probably have to go through the hassle of registering to see my photos. Realize that most of these sites gather their revenue by on-site advertisements or by selling reprints and other photo products to the user. So, I have been shopping at some of the more popular sites to see the basic features of each. Most sites require registration- which is free. Also, one can do the most common edits of their photos: crop, red-eye fix, rotate, flip, instant fix, and add captions and borders. Also, one can tag and organize photos and albums Other unique features or information include:

Flickr.com is partnered with Yahoo. One can use the same user name and password for both accounts.

Kodakgallery.com is the site for Kodak EasyShare. Up to sixty images can be uploaded at a time. More marketing than other sites. One can invite friends without having them register.

Shutterfly.com is partnered with Target Stores. Users can order and go to their local Target stores and obtain "shopping cart" items, such as prints, calendars, and photo books.

Snapfish.com is a service of Hewlett Packard and is powered by Earthlink (whew!). Users can order and pickup photos at Walgreen Drug stores. Uploading photos from my MOBILE phone was an easy set-up, but there is a time lag of a day or two between uploading photos and their actual appearance on-line. On the other hand, I can upload photos from my computer almost instantly

Photobucket.com I haven't registered here yet. Can anybody add comments?

Picasa.com I registered at this site with the same user name and password that I use for my travelstwo.blogspot.com The site is sponsored by Google. I have a choice of keeping my photo albums private or opening them to the pubic (at http://picasaweb.google.com/bobkramp ). Visitors do NOT have to register. Also, I can view my Picasa Alums on my mobile phone but can't upload them. Images are automatically resized to fit my phone's screen.

Snapgenie.com is great for creating slide shows with a running commentary which the user can add by dialing up on the phone. The site is supported by MyFamily.com- one of the largest Internet sites for genealogical research- by subscription.

Footnote.com and Geni.com are good sites for presenting one's genealogy and family photos. Footnote is partnered with the National Archives and is being used as a public reference and resource site. Geni is private for the user but can be shared with selected family members.

I will be adding more sites and comments as I do more shopping.

Resizing Experiment- image taken at 1280 x 960 pixels

Experiment: Which size digital image, in terms of pixels, should I upload to my blog? This image was sent as a picture message from my new LG enV cell phone which has a 2.0 MB camera. I can choose pixels sizes of 320 x 240, 640 x 480, 1280 x 960, or 1600 x 1200. I took the above landscape at 1280 x 960 pixels and sent it as a "picture message" to go(at)blogger.com. The POSTED image was re-sized by BloggerSpot to 328 x 248 pixels, 33.2 KB, so it could apparently fit into the column width of this blog. Right click on image and then click on "properties" to see this information. Now, if you left-click on the image here, it appears by itself in a new window. If the "expand" icon in lower right-hand corner of window is then clicked, the image re-sizes to 1024 x 768 pixels, 298.2 KB. All these images are in 4:3 aspect ratio. How do I know? Divide the second number by 3 and then mulitply the result by 4 and get the first number. See next entry below for continuation of experiment.

Incidentally, the picture here was taken along the C&O Canal towpath above Great Falls on the Potamac River.

Picture taken at 640 x 480 pixels

Cliffs, canal, and towpath along the C&O canal above Great Falls on the Potamac. Picture was taken at 640 x 480 pixel setting with my cell phone and sent as Picture Message to this blog. Right-click on image and then click "properties". Note that the image size is 328 x 248 pixels, 33 KB, as is all other images uploaded earlier to this blog. However, you can see larger sized image of this photo by left-clicking on image. The image properties then indicate an image of 640 x 480 pixels, 133.8 KB.

I also took the same landscape at camera settings of 1280 x 960 pixels (see above) and at 1600 x 1200 pixels. When I tried to send a picture message of the largest image, I received an error message, "Message size exceeds limit. Try another".

Conclusions:

1. All uploaded jpeg images will display in the blog at 328 x 248 pixels, ~33 KB, regardless of the size when posted. However, if the uploaded image is larger, the full-sized image can be displayed by clicking on the picture in the blog. The maximum image size which can be DISPLAYED is 1024 x 768 pixels.

2. If the uploaded image is 320 x 240 pixels, ie. smaller than 328 x 248, there will be very minor pixelation (fuzziness) of image.

3. Better to upload 1280 x 960 pixel size of complex landscapes, but close-ups of persons can be sufficiently taken and uploaded at 640 x 480 pixels.

4. The 1600 x 1200 pixel image taken by my cell phone can not be sent via picture messaging.

5. It is not necessary to resize all my digital images before posting to this blog, since they will not show up as huge, overwhelming images, but instead, be displayed within the margins of the blog column, that is 328 x 248 pixels.