Paul the Programmer

I guess you are not old enough to rememver 1950's KodaColor, improperly fixed silver halide from labs, and negatives thrown into acid-filled cardboard and plastic storage containers for decades. No preservation method beats proper storage, whatever the medium. I have CD's that are over 5 years old that have not failed to read (I admit - not yet). They are stored in the dark, climate and temp controlled, and not cheap, even for the time.

You're right - many images are being lost sooner than necessary, but how old is the computer on your desk? We love throwing things away

I worked for an ambulance service while in college and can show you some pictures of emply six-packs.

Kirby, thank you for the comment!  Whether it is negatives or CDs, you are correct, most consumers don't have any idea how to preserve their content effectively. I think our industry can help our customers take care of archiving by printing their images on today's 50 to 100 year lifespan paper.  Also, by combining imagery, we might be able to shift our business to not only capturing memories but also act as a content conglomerator. We may be able to generate new business using their content...calendars and books can sometimes require more photos than the typical sitting generates. You might encourage your customers to bring their images to you and make money by preserving those memories as well. Not a business model for all studios, but might be for some.

Paul,

You are right about the business opportunites. I do a small sideline business restoring old photographs. Scares the clients to death to find out what a good restoration can cost. I honestly had not thought of a "conglomerator" approach beyond collages and trying to sell press items. I do not have much luck with the bigger press items outside of wedding clients, but I probably need to refine my sales presentations.

Careful about the 100 year lifespan paper - I can do that with my Epson Photo 2200, using paper sold by Kodak, who is thus placing themselves in competition with Miller's.

Regards to the team at Miller's - you are the best!

D. Kirby

Hi Paul,

The Zepplin title caught my eye and your memories of hitting the causeway to Clearwater sounded hauntingly familiar. We're probably real close to the same age bracket and growing up in Tampa offered me plenty of opportunities to hit CLW Beach in the 70's.  You're right about "condo central".

As for archiving, I heard recently that the official photographers in the White House are still required to shoot film due to the uncertainty of archiving digital images. Can you confirm this?

Kevin! Thank you for the comment. I grew up in Clearwater in the ‘70s and graduated from Clearwater High in 1980. I remember, as I am sure you do also, when Pinellas county (and Hillsborough) had woods. It is funny that you commented here. I thought that I remembered a Newsome in my high school class and when I saw your speaking schedule on some in-lab correspondence, I checked out your website to see if it was you. I am guessing not since you grew up in Tampa but maybe a relative? Anyway, if you get to our Columbia, Missouri plant, it would be great to meet you. And, if I am visiting “home” I will be sure to give you a heads-up and stop by the studio.

I did some digging on Google and found this article

newsmine.org/.../bush-whitehouse-controls-photographers.txt

about the White House Photographer. It doesn’t directly answer your question but in the paragraph about Camp David it talks about the photographer showing Mr. Bush an image on the back of his digital camera. There are some other finer points about image distribution that were interesting as well.

Take Care

Paul The Programmer

Paul,

I graduate Robinson High in South Tampa in 1974. I have no Newsome relatives in Florida other than my mother who now lives in Ft Myers.

I spoke to Arnie last week about the possibilities of my visiting both labs. I'm looking for a speaking gig in those neighborhoods to see if I can work it out. I'll give you a heads up if it materializes.

Nice work finding that article. It's likely that questions have been raised about access to digital images in the future but most of us live in the present and if digital is the thing, then there's a good chance the White House photographers are stretching their pixels too.