Thanks to everyone for your insights on this matter. Until we have greater resources at our command, it seems flatbed scanning may be the best option.
Regards, Matt ______________________ Matt Wheeler, Photography Archives, Penobscot Marine Museum Archives (207) 548-2529 ext. 211 5 Church Street, PO Box 498 Searsport, Maine 04974 On Fri, Jan 23, 2015 at 10:46 AM, Joseph Hoover <joe.hoo...@mnhs.org> wrote: > In a case of a small museum with limited resources, I would go ahead and > use the flatbed scanner. Using a copy stand is a good approach, however, > unless your organization has the resources and money to hire (or find a > volunteer) a professional photographer who is experienced and can > accurately measure and balance light and tone, you are more than likely to > wind up with a poor quality reproduction and you may find that you will do > more physical and light damage to the photo than on a scanner. I have seen > inexperienced museums professionals use camera stands with terrible > results. You have to know what you are doing with a camera stand to get > good light, exposure balance and tone, with a scanner, while you may have > other technical issues, lighting issues are not one of them. > > It really comes down to using conservator common sense with the resources > you have. Are you dealing with a one-of-a-kind photograph of Abraham > Lincoln or a black and white snap shots of a church picnic? > > However, if the photo is fragile from damage or is over-sized, I would set > those aside and have them photographed later. > > -- > > *Joe Hoover* | Digital Technology Outreach Specialist > Minnesota Historical Society | Historic Preservation Department > 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul, MN 55102 > (651) 259-3461 > joe.hoo...@mnhs.org | www.mnhs.org/lhs > > On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 3:05 PM, Matt Wheeler <mwhee...@pmm-maine.org> > wrote: > > > Good afternoon. We have a collection which consists mostly of black and > > white photographic prints and are beginning to digitize them using > flatbed > > scanners. However, I spoke to a conservator who advised that they be > > rephotographed with a digital camera instead due to the intense light > > exposure on a flatbed. Is this a legitimate concern? Will the scanners > > cause degradation of the originals, and would this degradation be > > considerable? Thanks in advance. > > ______________________ > > > > Matt Wheeler, > > Photography Archives, > > Penobscot Marine Museum > > Archives (207) 548-2529 ext. 211 > > 5 Church Street, PO Box 498 > > Searsport, Maine 04974 > > > > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer > Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > > The MCN-L archives can be found at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/ > >
_______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l The MCN-L archives can be found at: http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/
