Photographs and Negatives:

Before A Disaster Occurs:

I have spoken with some people that like the shoe box approach because they store easy. I personally, like the plastic page approach... so that’s the one I’m going to tell you about. You can look through the supplier catalogs to see what suggestions they may have.

The correct plastic used for the pages should be polyester, polypropylene or polyethylene. Besides being good for photos, these materials won’t transfer the wording off of your photocopies onto the plastic. Bad materials to be avoided are vinyl, polyvinylchloride (PVC) or anything that smells weird or strong. The offgassing vapors will ruin the colors of new photos and accelerate the aging of old ones.

As an alternative to using the plastic page protectors, I have also found and used already-made photo albums from large warehouse type store. The album’s are advertised as having pages made of acid free materials and photo-safe plastics (no PVC). Providing you can believe what they tell you, these albums are probably OK to use. If you would like to be really sure, check the album for the company’s #800 phone number and ask them to confirm that everything is on the up and up. I have bought them every once in awhile at the large warehouses like Price/Costco. Inquire around. You may be able to get them at stores like Walmart.

Don’t use the magnetic page photo albums either. The plastic on the front is always bad and the stick em’ on the back will eventually hold the photo so tight that you won’t be able to get them out safely. I’ve seen people rip their photos trying to get them out of old magnetic albums. The pages also yellow badly and look bad. The appeal of the "magic page" is short lived, believe me.

If you have large historical photos or some of odd sizes (like the 10" x 48" panorama photos) you will need to buy a special "holder" just for that item. Consider some of the archival boxes or specialty envelopes and enclosures in the catalogs listed at the end of the chapter or look through the plastic container section of your supermarket. These containers are made of polyethylene or polypropylene (acceptable archival materials).

After A Disaster 
Occurs:

After an earthquake:

If your photos didn’t get crushed, ripped, scratched or dirty because of the disaster, they might during the clean up! Get them stored and out of the way as soon as possible. Then, follow the steps outlined above.

The following is a list of types of photography and what should be done if they get wet. After this list is a general explanation on how to go about their salvage and preservation (see section "What to do and how to do it"):

Modern photography: This is your priority list, as far as which type of photography needs to be saved first, if you have to choose what to save from a disaster:

1. Color prints, then
2. Black and white prints, then
3. Slides (transparencies) and then
4. Negatives

This list is based on the fact that color prints will be damaged by water the fastest and so on... then, of course, your priority may be to save the photos of the kids first...

After the emergency situation has passed and you have made sure that everyone is safe and as soon as you have gathered your wits about you, your immediate decision is needed for the salvation of your family’s photos:

It is imperative that the impurities are washed out and that the film does not stick to itself (which it will do if it starts to dry out). If you have more afflicted photos than you can take care of, I recommended that after putting the film into a basin filled with cold temperature (distilled) water that the help of a photo lab be sought out. Once the film has been washed and stabilized and dried, it is important to store it properly, even temporarily, such as in a sandwich bag or other archival material.

Motion pictures should be rewashed by an experienced film processing lab within 72 hours. Till you can get the wet film to them, fill the film cases with clean cold water or put into a basin of water (change the water daily) so they won’t dry out and stick to each other. Once the film has been washed, stabilized and dried, it is important to store it properly, even temporarily, such as in a sandwich bag or one of many other archival boxes from the suppliers at the end of the book.

Microfilm rolls: It is imperative that the impurities are washed out and that the film does not stick to itself. Because of the sheer volume of material to be handled, it is recommended that after putting the film into a basin filled with cold temperature (distilled) water that the services of a photo lab be sought out within 72 hours. Do not remove the film rolls from their boxes: try holding the cartons together with string or a loose rubber band. Once the film has been washed, stabilized and dried it is important to store it properly, even temporarily, such as in a sandwich bag or other archival material.

Old black and white prints on paper: Keep in clean cold water (so they don’t start to dry out and stick together) until you can do something. If they are going to sit in a basin of water for a couple of days, be sure to change the water daily. The photos must be dried separately within 72 hours. If you cannot properly dry them or get them to a processing lab see the following section on how to freeze photography.

If you have other types of old photos but don’t know what kind they are, call a photographic conservator immediately. Do not pass "GO." Do not collect $200.00 If you know what you have, the following list should help put the fear of God in you. They are all super sensitive and the success rate for recover is low (in this case an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of treatment):

Tintypes, ambrotypes, pannotypes and collodion negatives are a first priority item! They need to be dried immediately, face up. Do not put these types of photos in the freezer and do not put them in a basin of water as this will destroy the emulsion. Be prepared that the success rate for recovery is low, but this may depend on your care. Be careful when handling the delicate glass supports.

Daguerrotypes need to be dried immediately, face up. Don’t put them in water and don’t freeze them.

Nitrates with soluble emulsions need to be put in the freezer immediately. Try freeze drying. Very touchy, be careful when handling.

Let me emphasis again how important it is to get the advise of a professional conservator who specializes in photography as soon as possible. Please refer to the section at the end of the book on "How to Find a Conservator."

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