Preserving photographs and other visits.

I visited London recently and made a visit to the British Library in Euston Road. This was a planned visit as they had various exhibitions on at the time, including photographing you dressed as a Victorian if you wished. They produced a series of lectures, and I attended the one about preserving photographic material, which was quite fascinating. They have a Preservation Advisory Centre, which covers a wide variety of subjects, one of which is "Photographic Material", and I make a few notes below to this effect. Although the note below refer to non-digital material, the same comments apply.
Preservation of photographic material.
Preservation is a relatively new specialism and treatment options are often limited, but it is possible to prolong the life of a photograph good preservation practices in handling, housekeeping and storage.
What is a photograph
A photograph is an image produced by by the action of light. The support is usually made of paper, plastic, glass or metal, but sometimes on leather or cloth. Photographic images are usually continuos in tone, meaning changes in shading between light and dark are gradual and patterns such as regularly spaced dots or grids are not usually seen. Images produced by photomechanical processes for books na dnewspapers are non-continuous in tone.

Causes of deterioration

Photographs are particularly vulnerable to physical, chemical and biological damage and deterioration. Handling, poor environments and low quality storage materials (eg papers) all have an impact on the condition of photographs. Images created through certain photographic processes are more sensitive than others, but all photographs are sensitive to poor environmental  conditions. High temperatures, high relative humidity will cause fade and discolour. Light can also cause fading.

Handling photographs

When handling photographs always work on a clean, clear surface of sufficient size. The area should be clean and dry, as dirt can scratch any photograph. In order to minimise damage here are a few tips:-

      Photographs should be handled as little as possible

      Provide a copy print if possible

      Supervise anyone who handles the photograph

      Hands should be clean

      Use two hands to hold the photograph

      Do not eat, drink smoke over the photograph

      Do not use ink to label the photograph, use an HB pencil on the reverse, and do not press hard.

      View under UV light if possible

      Do not stack photographs one on top of the other.

Housekeeping

Simple steps can be taken to improve conditions for photographic materials.

      Monitor and control the temperature and relative humidity

      Regularly check for damage

      Remove of damaged and store separately

      Keep areas clean

      Avoid using household cleaners

      Do not store photographs in direct sunlight

      Do not store near photocopy machines as they emit ozone which will damage the photographs

Visits
I have not made many visits recently, but I did manage a trip to London and got to see the Taylor Wessing Portrait exhibition at the NPG. This is always a very good exhibition, and to see a good selection of contempory photography is always good. I sometimes don't always understand how some images are chosen, but nevertheless I can always learn something from them. Generally it is the lighting but sometimes the explantion is needed to understand why the photo was taken. Lighting always seems to be the key, which brings out the character of the person, whether one light, 2 lights or more, and natural light used creatively.
Also the NPG had an exhibition by the painter Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) entitled "Regency Power and Brilliance". He was the leading portrait painter in Regency Britain, starting at just 21, and the paintings were exceptional in alot of cases. his use  of light ont he portraits was immense, and I think I enjoyed this exhibition more than the other. This may have been due to the majesty and size of the paintings, but remembering photography was not invented until about now in some form, then this is how the mainly rich and famous would have had their image portrayed. It was an excellent exhibit to go with the Taylor Wessing, showing the contrast between the two ways of presenting people. But, due to rearch for other parts of this course alot of the early photographers, and not so early were previously Painters, and photography became an extension of this. I add here that art was my favorite subject at school, but then I could not aford a camera, although I had my first one at 10.
Also on at the same time was the the "Landscape Photographer of the Year" exhibition at the NT. This is also such a good exhibition to visit. Again the winning images were good examples of the use of light as well as composition and being able to direct the viewer to the scene the photographer wanted him to see.


Books
When I was wandering along the South Bank over christmas the footpath was diverted due to the building of the new station at Blackfriars. This led to a diversion and passed an art book shop. I just popped in to see what there was available, and on the floor were 3 stacks of catalogues for sales of photographs. These were From the likes of Christies, and were from diverse places as New York, Rome and London. The catalogue prices ranged from €75 and beyond. However they were for sale from £2 to £4 remarkable value for the the contents. I bought 3 for a tenner and they include so many images from famous photographers, from Edward Weston to Man Ray to photographers I had not heard of. the prices are listed for auction purposes, and are quite staggering for some, up to $1800 or more. I shall go back and get some more as they are quite inspirational, and full fo ideas, both old and modern.