Archival Photography Question

[Jamesaz]

I did some copy work recently and used FP-4. Developed in Tmax 1:4. It was 35mm but it came out fine. I used the same setup to make b/w negs from slides. Good luck

 

[Dave442]

I used Plus-X Pan back when I shot film. I also tried some Ilford FP4 as I had started going to some of their chemicals and papers from Kodak. I think the Ilford is still available, Plus-X is not.

While film has already proven itself to last for over a hundred years, I have also come across a lot of film that is now useless due to poor storage.

I would probably go with a Pentax 645 with the Ilford FP4.

 

[compur]

Yes, FP4 is still available.

I just got the memo that Scala is back, though only in 35mm:
Adox Scala 160 ISO BW Reversal Film 35mm x 36 exp. | Freestyle Photographic Supplies.

 

[MoonLoon]

I would probably go with a Pentax 645 with the Ilford FP4.

Sounds good, will definitely look into a Pentax 645 with a 220 back to make things easier.

In general you'd want a fine grain conventional B&W film with excellent sharpness. The specific type would depend on a few things like -
- do you plan to process it yourself or have a lab do it?
- if a lab then do you have a lab that you know does good work in B&W?
- what is your budget?
- where are you located?
- how many prints are you copying?

I was originally thinking of having the film processed at Photoworks in San Francisco, would love to hear if anyone's had success with their work. However, the photo album belongs to my aunt who lives in South America, so raw film would be going through x rays on the way over and back. I am unsure of whether to put the film through this. This is a long shot but if anyone knows of a good place to purchase and process B&W film in Bogota, Colombia fee free to let me know.

 

[Dave442]

Lomography

Revelado B/N

Almacolor Ltd.

 

[webestang64]

Funny this kind a question pops up. I had the Missouri History Museum call me a couple of weeks ago saying that their 300 year archive gold cd's have failed and they want to shoot all their old photos onto film.

My experience is more in cinema, dealing with preservation of nitrate prints, etc. I can't tell you how many horror stories I've heard like this, that involve other types of storage mediums. BTW I would absolutely photograph each original twice. I understand this idea is a little unorthodox but if there's a way to do this right I'd love to know. I already have a general idea, my questions are now what is the best B&W stock to use, what kind of lens attachment would I need to get each photo to fill the frame (I know I'm working with a very different aspect ratio but I would think the resolution of 120 provides sufficient head room).

The set up they are using is a copy stand with 2 lights at a 45 degree angle, polarized, a Mamiya 645 with a 80mm f4 macro (flat field) with polarizing filter to dial out any reflections or "silvered" prints.
Lens set at f8, shutter speed set by metering off a gray card. T-Max 100 rated at 100 and processed in T-Max developer at 15% less time. Take 2 shots for every piece.
Need color use Ektar 100, rated at 125 and process normally. They will have all the film processed here at my lab as I do all the BW by hand and our C-41 processor is control strip monitored for consistent results every time.

 

[terri]

MoonLoon: despite the naysayers in this thread, what you are attempting is easily done, and the process webestang64 just described using the copystand is correct. You will end up with two archival negatives of each of your family photos, just as you want. Make sure they are properly stored and you've bought the family another 100 years, easily.

If the process sounds complicated or lengthy, imagine trying to write down how to tie one's shoes.

 

[Jamesaz]

For a copy stand, I use an old enlarger chassis. Just the base and mast, I drilled a hole thru the part that raises and lowers, used a bolt (3/8), some washers and a tripod head for leveling. It's effective if not pretty. You'll have to be cautious of parallax with a TLR but with proper testing should be ok. An slr would make it much easier though.

 

[OldManJim]

The process Webstang 64 is exactly the same as the one I used about 10 years ago to make copies of old prints for a customer. This process should be preserved as a "sticky" sine I think the question will come up more often as digital storage media fail.

 

[MoonLoon]

Thank you Dave442 for the lab names, I was having trouble finding anything. Just an afterthought, after Webestang64 mentioned using Ektar 100 if I needed color, I do have a few color slides of my grandmother that I've thought about making negatives on. I've received my Mamiya 645 and 80mm macro today and will be experimenting on a few other family photos I need negatives on at home (will be a while before we make the trip). While I'm at it I'm curious if there's a way to photograph a color slide in a similar manner. I imagine I would place the 35mm frame (I've removed it from it's slide holder to put in a PrintFile slip) over a light box and cover it with glass to flatten?

 

[smoke665]

I have an early CD from maybe 15 years ago (not gold) and it's started to deteriorate

I've been looking at another layer of archiving using the gold CD. Verbatim has one they say will last 100 years (if stored properly). Have you used them? How do you store them "properly"?

 

[webestang64]

Thank you Dave442 for the lab names, I was having trouble finding anything. Just an afterthought, after Webestang64 mentioned using Ektar 100 if I needed color, I do have a few color slides of my grandmother that I've thought about making negatives on. I've received my Mamiya 645 and 80mm macro today and will be experimenting on a few other family photos I need negatives on at home (will be a while before we make the trip). While I'm at it I'm curious if there's a way to photograph a color slide in a similar manner. I imagine I would place the 35mm frame (I've removed it from it's slide holder to put in a PrintFile slip) over a light box and cover it with glass to flatten?

I would have left them in the holder, if you use glass to flatten you might get newton rings. I would tape it down using the sprocket holes and make sure the only light is coming through the slide.

 

[webestang64]

I have an early CD from maybe 15 years ago (not gold) and it's started to deteriorate

I've been looking at another layer of archiving using the gold CD. Verbatim has one they say will last 100 years (if stored properly). Have you used them? How do you store them "properly"?

Not a guarantee using gold cd's. As I said before the 300 year disc have failed and they were stored properly at the art museum, archival sleeves in a climate controlled room.

 

[snowbear]

I have an early CD from maybe 15 years ago (not gold) and it's started to deteriorate

I've been looking at another layer of archiving using the gold CD. Verbatim has one they say will last 100 years (if stored properly). Have you used them? How do you store them "properly"?

100 years is a guess.

 

[smoke665]

100 years is a guess.

Well obviously LOL they haven't been on the scene that long to actually verify. I was merely referencing their advertising. To reword the question - has anyone used the Gold disc, how long, and how do you store it?