Hello Friends!
I am finally get caught up in terms of work and I figured it was no time like the present to write up my blog about the science and art of Photograph archives.
Did you know that there is a book that is filled with all of the ways that photographs have been processed over the years? It is a solid four inches thick and is all description- no pictures or other fluff which is really awesome and pretty intimidating.
As I have been working here in the archives one of the most amazing things I have gotten to do is learn more about photo processing and conservation.
I am going to use this as a little PSA to all of you, since I know that you and your families have photo sitting in boxes, albums and frames throughout your homes.
Early photography from the late 1800s into the mid 1900s (into the 1970's ish) was super complicated and took a ridiculously long time, but in terms of longevity they last a long time as long as they were taken care of. I use this broad period because even into the 1980s and 1990s before digital photography was a process- manual photo processing done well (which it often was not) took a long time to do.
Photographs can be damaged by a lot of things:
But there are two things my friends that I want to be more specific on which I had found important and could potentially help you one day too.
1) Everybody has a family photo collection. Thrown into boxes or albums these family treasures sit and off-gas on to each other so that many of those photo will never see fifty years. I don't know about you, but I want to keep some of those photo around to show my grandchildren. But not all is lost! There are ways to help stop the degradation of your photos!
Invest in your pictures- I know that not everyone may be able to afford a fancy system that keeps pictures in a pristine environment but there are cost effective ways to store your pictures.
If you are an album person- go through your photo albums and determine if your photo album is acid free- It will be pretty obvious- anything before the 1980s is most likely not acid free and those pictures need attending to first. Finding acid free albums should not be too difficult- have a friend/child/grandchild help you move the pictures. It could be a great family exercise as you tell them about the people/places in the photographs.
If your pictures are in boxes- in my case, often just thrown into a large cardboard box. Take some time to assess those pictures and get a non-acidic box and some non-acidic paper/folders. The separation of those photos and storage in a safe place will help make those photos last much longer.
It is important that Black and White photos are kept separate. Due to some chemistry stuff B&W and color photos do not like each other and should be kept far apart.
There is an excellent book called A Guide to the Preventive Conservation of Photograph Collections by Bertrand Lavedrine. There is some specifics regarding collection care, but if you are interested, it is very readable and provided me- a non-photography person- quite a lot of excellent information in how to better take care of my own photos.
2) The second thing I learned was about the laws regarding photography. FERPA and copyright laws are complicated but both are really important to know.
FERPA is best known to college students as that thing that prevents their parents from snooping on their grades without them knowing. FERPA also is involved deeply in the use and display of university photography. If you are on campus in a building and a university photographer takes your picture- they cannot use it unless they have obtained direct consent from the student/faculty/ect in the picture. That means that after the magic date of the 1960s unless a photograph has a permission from that student for each picture- the pictures cannot be used in any circumstance.
Here at the University Archive there are hundreds of photos without permission slips that cannot be used due to FERPA. The exception to this is student athletes and organizations (such as the Greek Orgs and Marching Band) that have compulsory permission slips attached to their groups. It's too bad that so many photos do not have permission slips- because even the archivist cannot ethically look through those photos. What history is being lost because somebody was too lazy/was not informed of the laws regarding photograph permission slips? Boxes and boxes (hundreds of pictures) here at USD and I could guess the same is similar to other university archives too.
Photographs are amazing pieces of history and I know that I have been neglectful in taking care of my own photographs. I hope that you learned a little here and if you have questions I would be happy to answer them the best I can!
Peace
-Kylie
I am finally get caught up in terms of work and I figured it was no time like the present to write up my blog about the science and art of Photograph archives.
Did you know that there is a book that is filled with all of the ways that photographs have been processed over the years? It is a solid four inches thick and is all description- no pictures or other fluff which is really awesome and pretty intimidating.
As I have been working here in the archives one of the most amazing things I have gotten to do is learn more about photo processing and conservation.
I am going to use this as a little PSA to all of you, since I know that you and your families have photo sitting in boxes, albums and frames throughout your homes.
Early photography from the late 1800s into the mid 1900s (into the 1970's ish) was super complicated and took a ridiculously long time, but in terms of longevity they last a long time as long as they were taken care of. I use this broad period because even into the 1980s and 1990s before digital photography was a process- manual photo processing done well (which it often was not) took a long time to do.
Photographs can be damaged by a lot of things:
- Chemicals that were not washed away during processing
- Long exposure to light
- Off-gassing objects stored near photographs
- Acidic paper or plastic (often used in photo albums)
- Keeping different types of photographs (specifically b/w photos and color photos) together
- SO MANY OTHER THINGS
I like photographs because I think no matter the quality of the photo it gives a glimpse into the lives of a group of people. If has historical context- like a family watching to moon landing or President Obama's first swearing in ceremony- multiple perspectives gives an event more dimension. It's one thing to see a glossy professional photo of a historical event- it's another to find one in a family photo album. I think it makes it more exciting.
But there are two things my friends that I want to be more specific on which I had found important and could potentially help you one day too.
1) Everybody has a family photo collection. Thrown into boxes or albums these family treasures sit and off-gas on to each other so that many of those photo will never see fifty years. I don't know about you, but I want to keep some of those photo around to show my grandchildren. But not all is lost! There are ways to help stop the degradation of your photos!
Invest in your pictures- I know that not everyone may be able to afford a fancy system that keeps pictures in a pristine environment but there are cost effective ways to store your pictures.
If you are an album person- go through your photo albums and determine if your photo album is acid free- It will be pretty obvious- anything before the 1980s is most likely not acid free and those pictures need attending to first. Finding acid free albums should not be too difficult- have a friend/child/grandchild help you move the pictures. It could be a great family exercise as you tell them about the people/places in the photographs.
If your pictures are in boxes- in my case, often just thrown into a large cardboard box. Take some time to assess those pictures and get a non-acidic box and some non-acidic paper/folders. The separation of those photos and storage in a safe place will help make those photos last much longer.
It is important that Black and White photos are kept separate. Due to some chemistry stuff B&W and color photos do not like each other and should be kept far apart.
There is an excellent book called A Guide to the Preventive Conservation of Photograph Collections by Bertrand Lavedrine. There is some specifics regarding collection care, but if you are interested, it is very readable and provided me- a non-photography person- quite a lot of excellent information in how to better take care of my own photos.
2) The second thing I learned was about the laws regarding photography. FERPA and copyright laws are complicated but both are really important to know.
FERPA is best known to college students as that thing that prevents their parents from snooping on their grades without them knowing. FERPA also is involved deeply in the use and display of university photography. If you are on campus in a building and a university photographer takes your picture- they cannot use it unless they have obtained direct consent from the student/faculty/ect in the picture. That means that after the magic date of the 1960s unless a photograph has a permission from that student for each picture- the pictures cannot be used in any circumstance.
Here at the University Archive there are hundreds of photos without permission slips that cannot be used due to FERPA. The exception to this is student athletes and organizations (such as the Greek Orgs and Marching Band) that have compulsory permission slips attached to their groups. It's too bad that so many photos do not have permission slips- because even the archivist cannot ethically look through those photos. What history is being lost because somebody was too lazy/was not informed of the laws regarding photograph permission slips? Boxes and boxes (hundreds of pictures) here at USD and I could guess the same is similar to other university archives too.
Photographs are amazing pieces of history and I know that I have been neglectful in taking care of my own photographs. I hope that you learned a little here and if you have questions I would be happy to answer them the best I can!
Peace
-Kylie
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