Resources for Photo Matching GU Items

[bat_master]

Hi Everyone,

With regard to online photo sites, does anyone have a list of the best sites for available photos? The ones I use the most are likely the most popular: Getty Images, and Corbis. Are there any others that members know of that are better? I am open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks

Tim Byington

[both-teams-played-hard]

Tim
I have had luck searching ebay "sports memorabilia" category with the term "negative". There are numerous sellers with unpublished photos and negatives. It is hard to find specifically what you want, but it is worth a try. I have found 2 possible photo-matches this way. Best of all, no watermarks.
http://sports-cards.search.ebay.com/negative_Sports-Mem-Cards-Fan-Shop_W0QQcatrefZC2QQfmcZ1QQfromZR40QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ 1QQsacatZ64482

[lrmemo]

AP Worldwide is a great resource.

[Eric]

is there a link for AP worldwide?

It might sound obvious, but Beckett.com and ebay are extremely helpful resources. for looking at photos on sports cards for uniform styles.

[suave1477]

Hello members i am curious photomatching is matching the item you have to an exact photo correct? but how is that possible? I mean unless there is a dirt mark or a tear or something of that nature in the photo that your item has on the jersey there is no true way you can actually photo match?
Am I correct on this?

I can understand bats, bcuz you can see in photos ball marks, scuffs, possibly pine tar marks.

But I would think it is very hard to actually match a Jersey to a photo, the only thing I could imagine is that you could match the year that the jersey came from due to the colors, piping, lettering, or patches to a jersey. So if all you can do is match a year then thats not photomatching!!! Thats photoreferencing!!!!

[scottanservitz]

I would agree on your point, but there are instances where you can match a jersey. Sometimes there are photos that may show a tear to the jersey. I remember watching on FX when they used to do an auction show. One show had a segment on sports equipment. The guy they brought on had a Lance Alworth game used jersey, the beautiful powder blue, and he also had a photo of Lance wearing the jersey with a tear on the front which exactly matched the tear in his jersey. Really cool the way the guy explained all the pictures he went through to find it. Well, to make a long story short, I have an '02 Corey Dillon jersey. After I bought it I started looking at all the cards and Getty pictures from the '02 season I could find. Come to find out, the dark home jerseys had 2 different tiger stripe variations. I matched up the stripes to my jersey exactly. I also found 2 or 3 different cards that also matched my jersey exactly. To go one step further, my jersey is cut. This also matched all the cards and photos off Getty. The other jersey was not cut and recently sold in a Vintage auction last year. All the photos of that jersey and stripes showed the jersey not being cut. So in conclusion, there are instances where research by the owner can sometimes match a jersey in question. This jersey is one of the prize possessions in my collection due to these circumstances. Hope this helps. -Scott

[suave1477]

Well here is something interesting maybe someone can help me out with this one. I have gane used pants of darryl strawberry from season of 98, i have found a photo of him and i am almost positive they are the same exact pants that he is wearing in the photo but the photo is from the season of 99?

Can anyone help me out if this is possible?

[kingjammy24]

Dirt and other stains aren't very likely to be seen given that most jerseys have already been laundered several times over before being sold. Pine tar stains, however, seem to withstand laundering. Most pine tar stains are often too small to clearly see in photos though.

Your best bet to photomatch is with a pinstriped jersey. Especially a pinstriped jersey with 2 numbers on the front, 2 on the back, and a name on the back. The more points that intersect with the pinstripes, the more accurate the match. Multiple numbers and a name are rarely applied in exactly the same spot twice. (Although, sometimes pinstripes are used as specific guides in aligning the numbers. This would mean, for example, that a number always starts at the second pinstripe from the left. If such a guide is established, then you will indeed see multiple jerseys with the same intersection points)

As well, with a pinstriped jersey you can establish a unique stripe pattern in the area where the shoulder/neck seams come together. By matching this shoulder/neck seam area, as well as front and back numbers, I'm pretty confident I managed to photomatch my 1992 George Bell jersey to 2 baseball cards.

Non-pinstriped jerseys are obviously much more difficult. In short, you do what you can to find any sort of unique marker. Broken or loose threads on sleeve patches or names/numbers are a good start. Specific "ripples" in the tackle-twill of a number are another possibility.

If you really want to get into it, pop open Photoshop and start magnifying things, measure constant units of space/size, measure relative distances and sizes between letters, logos, buttons, etc. Remember, most jerseys have their numbers and names applied by a human. The people applying these aren't thinking they have to be exact and dead-on with every single jersey. They can't help but make name/letter applications slightly different in each instance.

If you want great photomatching resources, start buying books, media guides, team yearbooks, etc. I just purchased a book covering the 1992 World Series and it has 300 large, color photos. I think Getty is great and baseball cards are pretty good too, but I think that actual books are often overlooked by some. Go to Ebay and you'll probably be very surprised at what sorts of books are available for almost every team in every niche. I even found a book called the "Official Toronto Blue Jays 25th Anniversary Commemorative Book" which I hadn't previously heard of. Tons of great photos.

Rudy.

[suave1477]

KINGJAMMY OR ANYONE ELSE CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THIS ONE?


Well here is something interesting maybe someone can help me out with this one. I have gane used pants of darryl strawberry from season of 98, i have found a photo of him and i am almost positive they are the same exact pants that he is wearing in the photo but the photo is from the season of 99?

Can anyone help me out if this is possible?

[Nathan]

suave,

It's entirely possible. Pants are an item that routinely get recycled from year to year if they're in good enough shape.

To answer your earlier question, a true photomatch is one in which a photograph decisively shows a particular jersey or piece of equipment being used. It's easier with hockey or football gamers than baseball or basketball for various reasons; in hockey, it's much easier to find a distinctive puck or stick mark (which won't launder out) that matches a photograph, and with football, paint transfers usually don't wash out because there's actually a burning from the impact that essentially tattoos the ink onto the jersey.

I have, for example, an NHL jersey that's been photomatched to numerous hockey cards (tough for a dark jersey; this one's black) because of a very distinctive puck mark through a lighter colored part of the crest.

[Nathan]

Just remembered that posts can't be edited, but I forgot a major part.

Make sure that the photo you're looking at has been accurately dated. Most baseball cards will use photos from previous years (and not necessarily just the preceding year; Topps all during the 70s and 80s recycled pictures like crazy from year-to-year). Although Getty Images has done a decent job of correcting dates that are obviously erroneous, this isn't always the case (especially with baseball).

I was also going to mention that videomatching is even better than photomatching if you can do it. Obviously, it will show a particular piece of gear from multiple angles, allowing you to see more of the distinctive markings that make it unique.

[bat_master]

I just found a new site I'm pretty excited about. www.sportschrome.com (http://www.sportschrome.com)

I've found many photos for the Minnesota Twins which is especially nice for me, as a Twins collector. I hope it is helpful for others as well.

Tim Byington

[suave1477]

Here is another great source which i bet people dont realize or think about. This is not to photomatch, but instead might help people be able to decipher if a jersey is real or not and waht era it came from or possibly year.

"Mitchell and Ness" - their jerseys are throwback jerseys and they have the exclusive right to make the jerseys identical to the original.

So if your looking for particular Patches, Coloring, Piping, Lettering or Numbering on a Jersey.

Mitchell and Ness is a great place for refrence