COURSE DESCRIPTION
Fundamentals of Photograph Preservation is a six-session online course that offers an in-depth introduction to the preservation of photographs, including their identification, deterioration, and care. Participants will learn how to recognize various photographic processes ranging from daguerreotypes to contemporary prints. Preservation problems associated with specific processes will also be studied. The course will address storage concerns and preservation priorities, including environmental guidelines, enclosures, and proper care and handling. The course will include an optional assignment in which participants create a 1-2 page preservation plan of short-, mid-, and long-term goals for a selected photographic collection within their institution or family collections.
The online course includes these topics:
- Session 1: Introduction – Photograph Preservation Checklist
An overview of the course and an introduction on how to prioritize your photographic materials for a preservation plan. Introduction to optional assignments and online tools to help identify different types of photographic materials. - Session 2: Paper, Glass and Plastic: Id and Care of Negatives
Calotypes, collodion wet plate, gelatin dry plate; nitrate, acetate, and polyester film base materials. - Session 3: Finding a Balance: Caring for Cased Images
Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. - Session 4: Photographic Prints: Salt to Silver Gelatin
19th and 20th century photographs such as salted paper, albumen, collodion (glossy and matte), and silver gelatin prints with a discussion on the difference between printing-out paper and developing-out papers. - Session 5: Color and Contemporary Photography
Basic color and digital output media processes and preservation approaches to contemporary photography. - Session 6: Review of Course
Participants will be encouraged to provide images of photographs from their collections ahead of time for an online discussion.
INSTRUCTOR
NEDCC’s Senior Photograph Conservator Monique Fischer has specialized in the conservation of photographic materials since 1994. In collaboration with the Image Permanence Institute, she was awarded a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1997 for the development of A-D Strips, a tool that detects deterioration in acetate film. Monique lectures extensively on photograph conservation in the US and abroad, and has been awarded two fellowships by the J. Paul Getty Trust to investigate the longevity of digital output media. She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). Monique received a B.A. in Chemistry from Smith College, and a M.S. in Art Conservation with a concentration in Photographic Materials from the Winterthur / University of Delaware Program.
CLICK HERE for session dates and registration.
Details
- Six 90-minute live webinars led by NEDCC Senior Photograph Conservator Monique Fischer
- Introduce concepts and practices of preserving photographs
- Provide practical experience identifying various photographic processes
- Opportunity to share experiences and concerns with other participants
- Certificate of Completion (for participants who turn in a preservation plan)
- Participants who are eligible Certified Archivists may be able to earn Archival Recertification Credits (ARCs) through the Academy of Certified Archivists for this program.
Who should attend?
- Staff and volunteers at cultural heritage institutions who are responsible for preservation and access for photograph collections
- Students or graduates of library and information science, curators, collections managers, exhibit preparators, catalogers, archivists, photographers, and collectors.
Cost: $425 Regular rate
$330 Student rate (limited space available; copy of current student ID is required)
Registration Policies
- Early registration is strongly recommended due to limited capacity.
- Registration remains open until the start of the course, unless capacity is reached before the first session.
- Your registration will be confirmed after your credit card is processed, so please do not consider yourself registered until you receive a confirmation from NEDCC.
- If you need to cancel your registration, the registration fee will be refunded minus a $25 processing fee when cancellation is made at least 48 hours before the start of the program.
- Webinars are recorded and are available for participants to view for a period of 12 months following the live session.
QUESTIONS?
Contact: [email protected]
NEDCC is grateful for support from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its training programs, outreach activities and web resources.
(Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these resources do no necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.)