Sorry if I sound like a jerk , but does anyone really care ?

[Eric Rose]

I don't care.

 

[choiliefan]

I'm hoping to be reincarnated, running into one of my old prints somewhere and experiencing deja vu.

I've never had a negative or print show brown spots from residual fixer and we're talking close to fifty years worth given basic washing technique. Nothing specifically archival and no hypo clearing agent.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Sorry if I sound like a jerk but does anyone really care, I mean really care?
I know the big thing about photographers, any kind, is to make photographs that last a long time.
Years, decades or centuries are better. But to be honest does anyone really care about the photos we or most photographers or hobbyists or whatever make ??

I did say SORRY before this and in the title because I am sorry. I know most people enjoy what they are doing and want others to be able to see what they have loved doing and maybe get a kick or be inspired by the things that we might have found interesting, or what some may say " our passion" ..

I know when I am all done I don't think anyone will really care about anything I have done. I think maybe someone might like some of the streetscape or mundane photos i have taken over the years only to "see what xyz " looked like but other than that no one really cares.

Are you OK with that ? and IF SO.. why is everyone so hung up on "archival negatives and archival prints" ?

not every photograph should last forever but some should.

 

[MattKing]

not every photograph should last forever but some should.

And of course, it can be hard to decide which ones are which.

 

[Kino]

And, the decision making process tends to be far from democratic or even logical.

So, people who value their work and leave it in good shape and with enough documentation tend to have their work survive.

After working in an archive for 25 years, I can tell you that unless you are wildly famous or well connected, crappy disordered collections often hit the dumpster before they are ingested into an archive, or are severely cherry-picked and the remainder dumped.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Personal photos of friends and relatives enlarged and framed will be appreciated more than anything you could pass on and they'll last the longest.

 

[jtk]

And, the decision making process tends to be far from democratic or even logical.

So, people who value their work and leave it in good shape and with enough documentation tend to have their work survive.

After working in an archive for 25 years, I can tell you that unless you are wildly famous or well connected, crappy disordered collections often hit the dumpster before they are ingested into an archive, or are severely cherry-picked and the remainder dumped.

If you're at all serious about archiving your images, no matter how many, the first step is to scan them all (any modest scanner will work fine) , then print sets for significant family member and yourself. Modern inkjet pigment is likely to be more archival than anything from a wet photo lab. I've scanned, printed, and distributed 7 sets. I suppose it'd be a good idea to save the files on some big brand name cloud, but I've just backed them up on a hard drive and a handful of DVDs. That's a LOT better than simply "archiving" a set of prints, partially because it's easy to add notes and copies of correspondence (for example, I included my grandfather's letter of recommendation for employment, written in 1910).

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I do it for myself. On the off chance someone else enjoys it I'm cool with that.

 

[railwayman3]

I try to process my negs and prints "correctly" but don't get obsessive about how long they will last.

I hope that the kids and, eventually any grandchildren, might like to have the family photographs, and that there could be some interest in my historical "record" shots, such as steam locos, industrial heritage, etc. I'm just trying to be sure these are clearly identified, so that they don't get accidently put in the skip (and, for that matter, there is a list, with my Will,of other non-photographic collectables and antiques which might have any small monetary value......again so that these are not thrown out or put to house clearance, should the kids not realise their value).

Other than that, I don't worry, just enjoy my picture-taking.

 

[Jim Jones]

I have hundreds of photographs of family and of areas where the family lived long ago. Perhaps few of those were taken with a strong sense of historical value, but they are treasures to me. I take photographs of significant natural and man-made subjects today in hopes that they may be valuable to someone sometime. Just yesterday I drove 76 miles to take almost 300 pro bono photos of a track meet. These will be edited down to a manageable amount and made available to the subjects and to the high school yearbook of the subjects. Perhaps a very few will eventually be treasured. It's worth the effort.

 

[jvo]

joihn, i regularly go through prints and make it a habit of moving them on... some to other people who may be interested, others to the waste bin... i keep as little as possible beyond the negatives and notes. will my "artistic genius" be unacknowledged? yeh, probably. i will enjoy the ride!

 

[mark]

We’ve been banging around this place for a long time John. I can say for certain that I have been influenced by your work. So, I think the only answer to this is maybe. It is not up to us to decide. Go do what you have been doing for years and do it the way you want. Let someone else decide what is important in the future. But somewhere out there in the future might be someone like me whose life will be enriched by your images. Someday I may even get see one in real life.

 

[BradS]

Schrödinger's cat is enjoying your photos.

....maybe.

 

[jtk]

Sorry if I sound like a jerk but does anyone really care, I mean really care?
I know the big thing about photographers, any kind, is to make photographs that last a long time.
Years, decades or centuries are better. But to be honest does anyone really care about the photos we or most photographers or hobbyists or whatever make ??

I did say SORRY before this and in the title because I am sorry. I know most people enjoy what they are doing and want others to be able to see what they have loved doing and maybe get a kick or be inspired by the things that we might have found interesting, or what some may say " our passion" ..

I know when I am all done I don't think anyone will really care about anything I have done. I think maybe someone might like some of the streetscape or mundane photos i have taken over the years only to "see what xyz " looked like but other than that no one really cares.

Are you OK with that ? and IF SO.. why is everyone so hung up on "archival negatives and archival prints" ?

Everybody isn't hung up. Few are.

 

[donkee]

I suppose anything you can do to preserve history, as it is currently being rewritten and erased, may help future generations piece together the facts if they ever care to..........

 

[CMoore]

I suppose anything you can do to preserve history, as it is currently being rewritten and erased, may help future generations piece together the facts if they ever care to..........

Well Said My Friend

You're a photographer.?
Because..... i really think you missed your calling as a Writer/Poet.

 

[removed account4]

I suppose anything you can do to preserve history, as it is currently being rewritten and erased, may help future generations piece together the facts if they ever care to..........

I don't know if the photographs preserve the history, his story is what is said about the photographs. I can think of a handful of instances where motion pictures and images exist, even buildings ( things that are solid and have stood for 1000 years ) and false stories ( his-stories ) have been made about the motion pictures, photographs and the structures. Unfortunately stories change history swings from side to side like a pendulum. It is something that has been done for generations, and will be done for generations to come.

John

 

[removed account4]

Everybody isn't hung up. Few are.

Im not so sure about that. If you are suggesting that you are one of the few who don't care ( aren't hung up ) I'm not so sure if I can believe that. Maybe I am confusing you with someone else but haven't you posted more than once or twice about cloud storage for perpetual image retrieval, saving images on thumb drives, (archival) pigment prints and making sets of photographs to disperse to your friends and family so they exist for the years to come?

While looking for a plug so I could browse 13years of scanned/perpetual images, I found 10-15 retina and sun prints that turned grey-black with no images left on them. They were never scanned that just existed to look at for a few months before vanishing. Its so much easier when they disappear; the only thing to deal with now is the trash bin.

 

[donkee]

I don't know if the photographs preserve the history, his story is what is said about the photographs. I can think of a handful of instances where motion pictures and images exist, even buildings ( things that are solid and have stood for 1000 years ) and false stories ( his-stories ) have been made about the motion pictures, photographs and the structures. Unfortunately stories change history swings from side to side like a pendulum. It is something that has been done for generations, and will be done for generations to come.

John

The photo of the flag raising at Iwo Jima is just some "his-story", the soldiers storming the beach at Normandy more "his-story", the photo of the local kid that raised money for research on the disease that killed him/her/it/they is "his-story". Sadly people are too busy picking apart every word someone says while being offended by everything to actually figure it out.

 

[CMoore]

The photo of the flag raising at Iwo Jima is just some "his-story", the soldiers storming the beach at Normandy more "his-story", the photo of the local kid that raised money for research on the disease that killed him/her/it/they is "his-story". Sadly people are too busy picking apart every word someone says while being offended by everything to actually figure it out.

Yeah.....take a picture of the street you live on, the main streets of where you live, and the cars parked there and the style of the clothes of the people that are walking around.
Look at THOSE in 30 years and you will have lots to Talk about and Consider.......

 

[donkee]

Yeah.....take a picture of the street you live on, the main streets of where you live, and the cars parked there and the style of the clothes of the people that are walking around.
Look at THOSE in 30 years and you will have lots to Talk about and Consider.......

I watch other peoples 8mm movies that I pick up from estate sales. The buildings, cars, clothes, and everything is so different yet the same. Fun to watch.....

 

[Steve Roberts]

Yes people do care, I mainly photograph the post industrial landscape.
Ian

My main interest is in photographing industrial archaeology. Much that I photographed in the 1970s is now either gone or has changed beyond recognition. In this field I would suggest/hope that in years to come people will care about some of my material, not necessarily because of any artistic merits but more likely because a particular mine building either no longer exists, has been over-conserved or has been ruined by the 'Elf 'n' Safety Brigade and their infernal fences and signs!
Steve

 

[Ian Grant]

My main interest is in photographing industrial archaeology. Much that I photographed in the 1970s is now either gone or has changed beyond recognition. In this field I would suggest/hope that in years to come people will care about some of my material, not necessarily because of any artistic merits but more likely because a particular mine building either no longer exists, has been over-conserved or has been ruined by the 'Elf 'n' Safety Brigade and their infernal fences and signs!
Steve

In my case I was photographing pre-industrial sites in the 1970 while out walking with friend, ahe'd specialised in Anglo-Saxon history at University. Then running a specialist photographic company I had little time for personal work. That changed in 1986 and I soon realised I was photographing industrial landscapes, eventually I went back to University and studied Industrial Archaeology.

Ironically while living abroad I began shooting in classical Greek/Roman archaeological sites, now I shoot both

Ian

 

[cb1]

as photographer Pedro Meyers said. "I photograph to remember, as soon as I die, everything that I have done is already obsolete"
that sums up how I feel as well.

 

[jtk]

Im not so sure about that. If you are suggesting that you are one of the few who don't care ( aren't hung up ) I'm not so sure if I can believe that. Maybe I am confusing you with someone else but haven't you posted more than once or twice about cloud storage for perpetual image retrieval, saving images on thumb drives, (archival) pigment prints and making sets of photographs to disperse to your friends and family so they exist for the years to come?

While looking for a plug so I could browse 13years of scanned/perpetual images, I found 10-15 retina and sun prints that turned grey-black with no images left on them. They were never scanned that just existed to look at for a few months before vanishing. Its so much easier when they disappear; the only thing to deal with now is the trash bin.