Aging Prints and Great Dentistry

My dentist is also a great friend. He has been a fellow rafter of the Great Gauley River Express and is a medium-format photographer who is world-traveled.

Each year, for over 30 years, his family has made trips to exotic locations around the globe and he has brought home some marvelous 60mm transparencies.

His office is the gallery where many of his prints decorate each of his patient rooms. You get to spend time in Egypt, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, South America, the Arctic and Antarctica.

Most of my twice-annual visits are filled with his comments and questions about photography and his lack of time to do justice to the thousands of images he has yet to scan.

He recently made a trip to Vietnam, his first all-digital trip and filled all his memory cards and a portable hard drive with images. He said there were at least twenty out of the 2000. worth printing. Folks – that is a good, solid number. He was using a Canon 5D and two of their best lenses. He has viewed them on his HD TV, but has not worked on them at all.

Maybe a barter is in the works for that crown I need.

Anyhow, back to the prints in the office.

The pictures are exposed to fluorescent light about 10 hours a day. They are on archival paper and most are 15-20 years old.

Colors are leaving the prints.

I am sure the original chromes are intact and flawless. They are that stable.

20 years is the outside life for an image exposed to light and atmosphere. You can slow things down with museum glass, pH negative or buffered paper and protection from direct light, but dyes and even pigments rest on media that are affected by the environment.

Do enjoy your prints, but keep your original files and media. Refer to previous posts on just how to do that.

If you want to see some great pictures and need some dental work at the same time, I'll try to get you in to see my friend.

If you have an interest in photos, sailing or have grandchildren, be prepared for some great oral care and some one-sided conversation.                    © Tim www.timjohnsonphoto.com