Storing Photos

[Dough]

What do you all use to store pictures? I am trying to pull them out and organize them and would like to get some albums. Is their anything in particular that makes one album better than another?

Also what is the best way to store my negatives? I want them to last.

And finally does anybody know a good way to label each picture I was thinking about a label of some sort on each to tell date, location, etc...

Thanks!

[JoeKoh]

dough
first choose an album with acid free paper.your local store should have mini labels you can put between the pics.do not tape them in an album!!!!
as far as negatives most places have the negatives in plastic sleves.you can use envelopes to mark the subject matter and place the negatives there.i just bought three totes on sale one for train books one for pics and one for albums and just got a new one.
have fun
stay safe
joe

[tree68]

I'll second Joe's comments. The nice part about using negative sleeves is that you can label them, making it easier to find a given shot later. In addition, most negative sleeves you get at a photo shop will go in a three ring binder...

[Anonymous]

I would suggest taking the negatives to a place where they could be put on disk. Then you can have them on hard drive and share them with us [;)]

[mudchicken]

Be VERY careful with your negatives, especially most film that's only coated on one side. The same goes with any Ektachrome film slides, etc. Over time, the chemicals on the negatives will react with the pvc's still on the plastic causing discoloration.

Find yourself a good archival photographic supply store. You may be storing those negs in something other than plastic sleeves. (Hint: Colorado RR Museum does not use plastic to store their negs...lots of vellum and wax paper in use there) Whatever they are, make sure they are stored in a cool & dry place in a protective container ...

JHH/jim: you sure the format you're storing those scanned images wil be available in the software of 20 years from now?

Still think Kodachrome slides are the best think going....color print film is a waste beyond the present day/ it does not last...A dinasaur maybe, but I've still got the old memories in vivid detail.......[:D][:D][:D]


Mudchicken[banghead][banghead]

[Anonymous]

Go digital and burn them on a CD!

[Dough]

Thanks for all of the tips.

I'm waiting a little while to go digital. I'm actually using a 30 plus year old Pentax Spotmatic. It works great and it is going to cost me a small fortune to replace all of the lenses for it. However once I can get a camera that will match 35mm film, then I will make the switch for sure.

As for my current stuff, I would like to get it all on disk as well eventually. However, only having one copy of the negatives makes me nervous, and only having copies on disc will really take some getting used to!

[UPTRAIN]

I just store them in the Wal-Mart film wrappers and file them by date in a file cabinet(s).

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken



JHH/jim: you sure the format you're storing those scanned images wil be available in the software of 20 years from now?

Still think Kodachrome slides are the best think going....color print film is a waste beyond the present day/ it does not last...A dinasaur maybe, but I've still got the old memories in vivid detail.......[:D][:D][:D]


Mudchicken[banghead][banghead]


M C [:)]


Good Question [?]

M C [8D]



Good Question [?]

Now for the funniest thing you are going to hear all week. [:D] Get ready to laugh.
You are talking to the guy who continued to buy 8 tracks after cassettes were out. [;)] You can still find an 8 track player every now and then. [^] One that works. [:0] All my 8 tracks were stolen during a burglary that occured years (and years) ago. [V] So I don't need one, but you run across them in places.

As for the next media, it is anyones's guess. The original Star Trek looked so far advanced when we saw it many years ago. Now watch the reruns, they look like cardboard cutouts compared to the technology now available. The new generation of planes coming out do not have hardly any of the old mechanical dials or controls. Everything is becomming so high tec it is unreal. The difference is like night and day.

Remember the first IBM PCs selling for something like $10,000 each. They were not the common household item they are today. Even the DVD players are now reasonably priced. Two or three years ago they were pricy.

Right now, I guess the DVD disk is as good as anything to store pics. Maybe some of the computer whiz kids could tell us otherwise. Hey, I'm not too old to learn a trick or two. [:D] Duchess is doing a fine job of training me. [;)] Just ask her. [;)]

[RudyRockvilleMD]

This is for mudchicken.
I wholeheartedly agree Kodachrome slides are the best thing going when you consider longevity. I have some 50 year old Kodachrome slides that I didn't take any particular care to store them in a cool, dry spot, and they still look like I got them back from Kodak yesterday.

Color prints? It all depends. I have heard their colors tend to fade a few years after they are processed unless they are stored in a cool, dry place, but we have some color prints that were taken back in the mid 1960's, and their colors are still clear. We also had some Polaroid color prints taken back in the late 60's, and they still look good. By the mid 1960's it could have been that films improved, processing could have improved, and by then our house had air conditioning so the storage conditions might have improved.

I have also used Ektachrome Films - Ektachrome 64 and later Ektachrome 160/200. At first I had it processed by Brand X Processors, and the slides started to change colors and fade after 15 years. However, once I started having the slides processed by Kodak, slides taken since 1964 are still in good condition.