Digital BW, The Print

Boy Nancy, this sounds so very much like the glass negs I got to work  
with:) They were found, abandoned, nearly thrown away. Many had  
chipped corners, most had mold/mildew growing on them. Luckily they  
were turned over to a very small museum in Northern California, in  
the Redwood timber area 3 hours north of San Francisco. The museum  
had taken great care to put them all in acid free glassine envelopes  
but to NOT clean them. In their eyes cleaning them would ruin their  
historic value.

Besides scanning some of the better negatives I taught the staff how  
to make contact prints. I built their darkroom just for this project  
and they have volunteers follow my instructions. These plates ran  
from 4x5 to 8x10 and were a real honor to work with. I found it  
amazing to see the changes on our fragile forestry ecosystem in just  
a short 80 years or so.

Redwood trees grow to 15 feet or more in diameter, get up to 70% of  
their water from coastal fog, and "sprout" shoots from the trunks,  
never as majestic as they once were. Once cut the areas turn into  
hardwood and poison oak fields.

Like Clayton I'd love to here how this project goes for you.

Alan

On Dec 30, 2006, at 5:18 PM, Nancy Wilson wrote:

> Thank you Alan, Ernst, Robert, Bert, Lloyd, and Thomas. You have  
> sent very good and specific instructions with even one offer to  
> call when I when I am at the computer and scanner with a glass  
> plate ready to scan. What a wonderful, supportive group. I am out  
> of town for the weekend but can hardly wait to get home and try  
> again. The owners of the negatives have agreed to let me take 20 at  
> a time to scan. After I get one good scan, I'll clean them  
> according to instructions of a conservator with whom I am trying to  
> get in touch; then I'll scan them again. Many of the glass  
> negatives are starting to get in bad shape with some mold, possibly  
> fungus starting, and considerable fading on several of the  
> approximate 200 total plates.
>
> These people, with whom I grew up in Northern rural Michigan,  
> purchased the rural house (shack) and land of a deceased 94-year  
> old man (bachelor) in the 70's. He most likely started making  
> images with a 5x7 view camera at the turn of the century and  
> continued well into his 70's or 80's. He was considered eccentric  
> all of his adult life by most of his neighbors. When my friends  
> went into the house, after distant relatives took what they wanted  
> and vandals had looted whatever little possesions they thought of  
> value, they found these plates (but no printed pictures) lying  
> around here and there. They now have them sorted, in cotton  
> envelopes, but they are stored in the attic of a barn. We have  
> talked about them loaning them to a local library or historic  
> society so they can be conserved.
>
> Sorry I have gone on, but I think this is a very interesting story.  
> I hope to be able to post some of the more interesting images on  
> line as this project moves along.
>
> I am also offering to refile the plates and store them with  
> archival materials and print out archival copies from the digital  
> files for them as well as their local library, so this is a year- 
> long project. I am sure I will be coming to this group often and at  
> all stages. Again, my heartfelt thanks. Many blessings for the season.
>
> Nancy