--- On Wed, 1/21/09, David Dyer-Bennet <dd-b@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > From: David Dyer-Bennet <dd-b@xxxxxxxx> > Subject: Re: Darkroom question... > To: "List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students" <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 10:41 AM > On Wed, January 21, 2009 07:27, Guy Glorieux wrote: > > Many thanks to those that answered my question on > bleaching. > > > > The information, comments and warnings is extremely > useful and confirms my > > expectation that this is going to be a very delicate > process. But, the > > fact > > of the matter is that unless I somehow treat these > single-copy prints, > > they > > will remain of limited value. > > > > I have now found a darkroom here in Montreal that has > a sink big enough > > for > > me to lay the prints flat, so that I will have a much > better control of > > the > > process than with the roll-unroll-reroll process. And > I will have the > > assistance of someone who has quite a big of > experience with selective > > bleaching. > > > > Wish me luck... > > Oh yeah! Definitely, I wish you the VERY best of luck. > > I do hope you take the advice to do what can be done with > digitally > archiving the images before you start the risky work. > You've said they're > of subjects that aren't there any more, so they're > of historical interest > even if you can't reproduce the full physicality of the > huge prints. > > -- > David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b@xxxxxxxx; http://dd-b.net/ > Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/ > Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/ > Dragaera: http://dragaera.info David that brings up one more point. We don't always know what that value might be at some time in the future. We might be able to assess its merit as a photograph in our current opinions. We NEVER know what that photo might hold in the way of value in the future. Often it can be of great value both in a historical and financial sense. There was a guy not too long ago working a receiving line. Like every other photog there he was there to take pictures of the President. It was routine work. Nothing really special. No big speeches. No other important politicians. Yet he happened to be the only photog there that caught a photo of the president hugging a young woman. Nothing unusual there. Quite ordinary in fact and it turned out to be his retirement fund. You see months later the value of that photo changed when he recognized that woman. Her first name was Monica. There was no way to know just how valuable that photo could be when he took it. Others might have gotten something similar and deleted it. Time is what ultimately puts a value on work. Like you said this was of something that is no longer in existence and is irreplaceable. What we don't know is how the next generation might look at the same photo. One final piece of advise that I used for many years in another career where the stakes were much higher than a ruined photo. It was simply "Always Leave Yourself an Out!!!"
