i think it is important that we see these photographs
it is impossible to know where we will go without knowing where we came from ...
it would be more important if it was all in black / white ..
as it is not in b/w ( and probably not dye transfer )
these photographs will be ephemeral.
its a good thing they are on the internet, now they are forever ...
I think the Smithsonian is having difficulty reading digital media of the relatively recent past, due to changing hardware standards (remember 8", 5-1/4", 3-1/2" floppy discs) and changing protocols.
Forever is a long time, very evident as one grows older...
It is not all doomsday. Not all Burley photographs, contrary to seemingly common belief, are are made at plants to be torn down.
My archives are full of doomsday factory-pictures. Maybe Mirko of Fotoimpex should crank up one of his internet sites and show again some photos of his small enterprise to cheer us up.
The internet is pretty ephemeral. For example I have a list of my internet bookmark links from 1996. It is pretty useless. Years from now no one will know what the internet was like. For example are there any screen shots of any of the early internet sites? Maybe someone took a picture of their monitor with film , otherwise they are gone forever.
the internet is being archived every second of the day.
java script chat room transcripts harvested and cold stored as well.
mr peabody's way back machine seems to be just the tip of the iceberg.
making a physical negative and print is the best ... even though
many many archives ( at least here in the states ) are opting
for numbers and ink ...