Photo&Negative

1. Photography & Negatives
Amy DelPo, Elise Blas, Kristin
Mammel, Paul Mascareñas

2. Photography
and
Negatives

3. Definitions of Photography
The science of capturing light onto a piece of film.
And…
The art of recording an image.
Oracle Education Foundation
A photograph is created when light, or another form of
radiant energy, falls on a light sensitive area such as
photographic film or an electronic imager and an
image is created.
School Curriculum for Photography

4. Definitions of a Negative
A reversed light/dark image formed on film
that may be used to make prints.
Milwaukee Museum of Art
A negative is created when camera film is exposed
to light. The negative is then used in the darkroom
to print a photograph (positive) onto light-sensitive
paper.
Malane Newman

5. History of Photography
Joseph Nicephore Niepce
Created the first permanently
captured image in 1827
“View from the Window
at Le Gras”

6. Louis Daguerre

“Boulevard du Temple”
First photograph of a person

7. Daguerreotype
Image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver
bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor.
Edgar Allan Poe
1848
Abraham Lincoln
1846

8. Daguerreotype Camera

9. 1839
French government bought rights and the
photographic process became public
In the same year, Sir John Herschel first coined
the term “photography”when addressing
The Royal Society of London
Created “Daguerreomania”

10. William Henry Fox Talbot
Created the “Calotype” circa. 1839
The calotype essentially infused paper with silver nitrate or silver
chloride. This process produced a “negative” from which an
unlimited number of positive prints could be made.
“The Footman”
1840

11. Frederick Scott Archer
1851
Wet-Collodion exposure
process and Ambrotype
The collodion process required that the coating, exposure
And development of the image should be done while the plate was still wet.
The Ambrotype process created a direct positive.
Ambrotype
Wet Collodion process

12. Dr. Richard Maddox
1871
Created dry plate process using gelatin as
the basis for the photographic plate. This
did away with the need for darkroom tents.

13. 1889
George Eastman introduced the box camera with the slogan
“You push the button and we do the rest” thus opening
the world of photography to the masses.

14. 1924
Oskar Barnack invented the first 35 mm camera

15. Physical Structure
Photos are composed of three layers:
1.Support Layer
2.Binder Element
3.Final Image Material

16. Support Layer
Can be made up of:
Paper
Resin-coated paper
Plastic film
Glass

17. Binder Element
Usually made of gelatin
But…
Could also be composed of:
Albumen or collodion
(This layer holds the image-forming substance
or final image material to the support layer)

18. Final Image Material
This layer is made of:
Color dyes
Silver
Pigment particles
(Typically suspended in the binder or emulsion layer)

19. Means of Identification
In the past, optical microscopy has typically been
The main tool used for identification of photos.
However, there are some newer forms of photo identification:
XRF- X Ray Fluorescence
ATR-FTIR Spectrometer
(Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared)
ICP-MS
(Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry)

20. Arrrrrggggh!
Salvaging your
photos when
disaster strikes

21. Caveat
•Always contact a
conservator first.
•They have fancy
methods for
salvaging photos.

22. Flood

23. Floods Happen
•River overflow
•Hurricanes
•Tornados
•Storms
•Leaking pipes

24. •Photos must be treated within the first 24 to 72
hours (estimates vary).
•Call a conservator.
•If you can’t treat, freeze.
•Otherwise:
•Mold grows within 48 hours.
•Photographic emulsions and binder layers may soften and
dissolve
•Stacked photographs and/or photographs in albums may
permanently adhere to each other.
Step One: Act Fast

25. Step Two: Prioritize
•Black-and-white prints are more resistant to
damage than color.
•Photographic film-based negatives can survive
longer than prints.
•Some photographic materials (such as salted
paper, albumen, platinum, cyanotype, and most
photomechanical processes) can survive water
immersion for 48 hours.
•So: Salvage prints prior to negatives and color
materials prior to black-and-white.

26. Step Three: Deal With the
Conditions
•Increase air circulation.
•Decrease humidity.
•Turn off heat.
•Open windows and doors.
•Use fans and dehumidifiers.

27. Step Four: Rinse and Clean
•Remove mud and debris from photos by
rinsing them gently in a bath of cold water.
•Hold photos on the edge.
•Change water frequently to keep it clean.
•Gently pull-apart photos from each other or
from albums.
•Do not try to rub dirt off.

28. Step Five: Dry
Two basic options:
Air drying
Vacuum freeze drying

29. Air Drying
•Works for small numbers of damp photos.
•Most gentle and least damaging of the drying
methods.
•Labor and space intensive.
•The process:
•Place each photo on a clean absorbent paper, face up.
•Replace paper every hour.
•Use a fan to speed up the process.

30. Vacuum Freeze Drying
•Good method for large collections of negatives.
•This process may actually damage photos, but
won’t affect a negative’s ability to make a
photo.
•The process:
•Place materials in a vacuum chamber.
•Dry photos at temperatures below freezing.
•This may take several weeks.
•Re-humidify to prevent embrittlement.

31. Fire

32. Fire Damage Includes:
•Plastic supports and frames become deformed.
•Photographic emulsion becomes embrittled.
•Paper supports get stained by soot and smoke.
•Plastic enclosures melt and adhere to the
photos.
•Everything gets water damaged.

33. What to Do:
•Call a conservator.
•Put aside photos that are dry but
damaged by soot. You can deal with
them later.
•Follow “Flood” instructions for photos
that are water damaged.

34. For Dry Photos
•Use a soft brush (such as a Hake brush)
to brush loose debris off photos into a
vacuum cleaner nozzle.
•Tip: Put gauze over the nozzle and open
the vent to reduce suction.
•Pick soot off the photos by rolling a
kneadable eraser across them.

35. Preserving
Negatives & Photographs

36. Negatives
•Cellulose Acetate
•Cellulose Nitrate
•Glass Plate

37. Wyoming State Archives

38. Storage
•Sleeves
•Acid Free Box
•Away From Photographs

39. Wyoming State Archives

40. Handling Negatives
•White Gloves
•Support the Negative
•Minimize Exposure to Light

41. Photographs Storage
•Sleeves
•Archival Boxes
•Hard Anodized Metal Shelving
•Map Cases

42. Wyoming State Archives

43. Wyoming State Archives

44. Storing Photographs
& Negatives
•Store Photographs and Negatives
Separately
•Environmental Control
•Monitor Humidity and Temperature

45. Wyoming State Archives

46. Personal Collection
•Take Photographs Out of Basement
•Acid Free Boxes
•Keep Negatives Apart from Pictures

47. Causes of Deterioration

48. The Photo
•Composite of several different layers
–Support
–Binder
–An image forming component
•Each one reacts different to the immediate
environment and in some cases to each other

49. The Photo Cont…
•The “support” of a photograph
–ceramic, glass, metal, paper, plastic, wood, or a
variety of other media.
•The “binder” carries the image.
–gelatin, gum Arabic, albumen, collodion, or starch.
•The image
–based on organic dyes or silver-sensitive salts.
–organic dyes are susceptible to a wide range of
pollutants and prone to chemical degradation.

50. Photo Deterioration
•A chemical reaction -
off gassing
•poorly stored photos
•residual processing
chemicals
•Acid migration
•sulfur interacts with
silver compounds
which forms silver
sulfide causing the
image to turn
brownish yellow.

51. Chemical Reaction

52. Handling Photos
•May cause scratches, tears, creases, broken
images.
•Oils and chemicals from the human skin can
cause permanent damage by way of residual
effects.
•Improper handling
•at the corners rather than supporting the photo
underneath.
•crack the emulsion

53. Exposure to Light
•Ultra Violet Rays cause photos to fade.
•light intensity multiplied by time.
•Displayed photos are more susceptible to
damage and fading by light levels and
exposure time than temperature and
humidity.

54. Light Exposure

55. Inadequate Washing

56. Temperature & Humidity
•Temperature should not exceed 70 degrees
•Increase the rate of chemical reactions
• Temperature should not fall below 60 degrees
•e.g., plastic enclosures may trap moisture and
cause ferrotyping, which means “sticking
resulting in shiny areas.” This is due to areas of
high-humidity or in water-related disasters.

57. Temperature & Humidity
•Relative humidity in excess of 60 percent
can cause more damage to a photo than
heat.
•High relative humidity and heat are
more damaging together than alone.
•Mold and fungus
•Decay of mounting boards

58. Storage
•Wooden shelves, cabinets and drawers
•plywood,
•pressboard, or
•chipboard
•wood contains lignin, peroxide, and formic acid, which
could leach out in interact with the chemicals in your
photos.
•Wood also absorbs and retains moisture which
causes swelling, warping, and mildew.
•Photographs stored near or around overhead
steam or water pipes, or other sources of water
may risk exposure to these harmful elements.

59. Storage damage

60. Other Threats
•Fire
•Flood
•Earthquakes
•Bugs
•War
•Vandalism

61. References
•Badger, G. (2003). Collecting Photography. London:
Mitchell Beazley.
•DePew, J.N. (1991). A library, media, and archival
preservation handbook. California: ABC-CLIO, Inc.
•Eaton, G. (1970). Preservation, deterioration,
restoration of photographic images. In H. W. Winger &
R. D. Smith (Eds.), Deterioration and preservation of
library materials (pp. 85-98). Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
•Films for the Humanities and Sciences (1995).
Preserving works of art. VHS, 23 minutes.

62. References
•Interview with Roger Joyce at Wyoming State
Archive, March 7, 2008
•Kodak. (1979). Preservation of Photographs.
New York: Eastman Kodak Company.
•Taylor, M.A. (2001). Preserving your family
photographs: How to organize, present and
restore precious family images. Cincinnati,
Ohio: Betterway Book.
•Tuttle, C.A. (1995). An ounce of prevention: A
guide to the care of papers and photographs.
Denver: Rainbow Books, Inc.

63. References
•http://www.naa.gov.au/services/family-historians/looking-after/fire.aspx#section5
•http://www.ccaha.org/pdf/salvage%20photos--SMALL.pdf
•http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0105/conservation_corner.html
•http://www.restorationsos.com/education/water-damage/recovering-from-water-damage/cleaning-repairing-and-disinfecting/clean-dry-repair-and-disinfect-paper/photos.asp