THERE’S STILL ROOM IN THE HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS

In addition to the Conference lecture sessions, a variety of special workshops are being offered. Each workshop is 2-3 hours in length and requires an additional fee. Please read the descriptions to understand additional requirements. Workshop space is limited. Make your choices on the NERGC registration form ( http://nergc.org/2007/program2007.htm ).

Family History 101
On Thursday, April 26, Marcia Melnyk will present Family History 101, a Beginner’s Primer to Genealogy. After outlining ways to get started, she’ll provide information on recording data, separating fact from fiction, and accessing places to locate records. Cost of the workshop is $35 and includes a copy of Marcia’s book, Family History 101.

Hands-On Workshops to Take Your Computer Skills to the Next Level
Digital images, whether of photographs or documents, are increasingly useful and important to compiling and preserving any family history. Two workshops planned for this NERGC conference should help a wide range of computer-using genealogists take their skills to the next level.

Capturing images worthy of archiving is the first step in the process. The first of these, Working with Digital Images from Scanning and Storing to Basic Editing by Emery Roth on Thursday afternoon from 3:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. (Session T-113, $30) is designed to demystify issues related to resolution, file format, and the scanning process so that participants will be certain that the images they capture today will be useful for their needs tomorrow. Participants will work with their own images and scanners so light and portable that they can easily become part of every researcher's travel kit when they visit libraries or relatives' homes. After learning how to get the most from these scanners, participants will take their scanned images into Photoshop Elements for a bit of basic image editing. Finally, they will learn about several software programs designed to help in organizing and cataloging images.

Once captured, there is much one can do to enhance the quality of old (or new) images. The second workshop "Enhancing and Repairing Digital Images in Photoshop Elements," presents Enhancing and Repairing Digital Images in Photoshop Elementson Friday morning from 8:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. (Session F-201, $35). is designed to get you started in Photoshop Elements or to take basic Photoshop skills to the next level. Do you have old photographs that have become badly faded? Are some of your images disfigured by scratches, tears, folds, or mold? Do you have old metal images or daguerreotypes with tones that look unnatural? Is there an insignia, locket, or other detail in an image that you want to see more clearly? Are those 1950s color photos looking a little too yellow? Photoshop Elements is a powerful tool that can draw more out of an old photo than you knew was there, and it can enable you to make repairs that you might previously paid hundreds of dollars to have a professional do. You will practice using a wide range of Photoshop tools of special value for genealogists. Those who are already using Photoshop but have not yet worked with "levels" will appreciate the flexibility and control offered by this valuable feature of the software. Those who are new to Photoshop may benefit from the two-day experience of taking both workshops.

Participants must bring their own USB equipped laptop with CD drive and with a copy of Photoshop Elements installed. Though the conference program calls for participants to have Photoshop Elements version 4, Photoshop Elements version 5 will also work.

Identifying and Preserving Family Photographs
David Mishkinand Maureen Taylor's Photography Workshop Identifying and Preserving Family Photographs(Friday afternoon 27 April from 1:45-3:45 PM) is limited to 30 participants and is filling quickly. Learn to identify family photographs by researching photographers, dating costume clues, and comparing facial characteristics. Cost of the workshop is $30.

Locating Digitized Images Online
On Saturday, April 28 Laura G. Prescott will present Locating Digitized Images Online. From maps to personal documents, you'll explore how and where to find digitized images and hidden treasures on websites across the Internet. You'll have a hands-on opportunity to locate images of headstones, family photographs, newspaper pages, and personal documents relating to some of your ancestors. You will learn not only how to search for and locate these images, but also how to save them on your computer, print them for your family's "archive," and cite them properly with copyright considerations in mind. The workshop is limited to a maximum of 40 people and requires advance registration. Participants are required to bring their own laptop computer with a wireless card. Windows and Macintosh computers are both welcome. Cost of the workshop is $30.