I have been thinking of a 3 print plan in regards to archiving my best photographs. As I have time in the coming years and after I retire as an active shooter because of old age I plan on printing my life's work. The 3 print plan idea is to make 3 photos of each and every negative I love.
I would start out with 3 11x14 prints (printing and learning the neg) and then later on make 3 16x20 versions as well. The 16x20s might only be for the best of the best images. The black and white negatives would be done traditionally in a darkroom, the colour negatives would be scanned and then printed with a digi printer. Any digital work I create in the coming years would also be printed digitally. I would then store all the photos in archival boxes.
As I print my way through my vast lifetime of negs, I would organize everything as best I could. I would number, date, make contacts and scans of all relevant work. There would be different binders for different subjects and years. I could also gather and destroy the garbage negs, the stuff not worthy of keeping.
To accomplish my plan I will set up a special room to store all my negatives, that room will completely devoted to only negs. Later on when I have enough photographs printed I will create a similar room to store all my finished fibre prints.
The hope would be that eventually before I die I would have a vast collection of important, archival, fibre photographs that some institution might see some value in. I could then donate that work to any museum/gallery/school that wanted it. If not, if no one gave a damn, it would then all become garbage in a landfill. I will mostly likely fail in my attempt at getting the work collected, but I got to try! You just gotta try boy! You gotta go down swinging! I will make 3 prints of all my best photographs, then let the cards fall where they may.
If the work was collected by an important, even prestigious institution that would be a dream come true. The photos would then live on long after I am gone. My stories would continue to be told and the lives of my subjects would continue to be remembered and have importance. That is what is most important, so lets say that again. The lives of my subjects, their personal stories would continue to be remembered and have importance.
I would start out with 3 11x14 prints (printing and learning the neg) and then later on make 3 16x20 versions as well. The 16x20s might only be for the best of the best images. The black and white negatives would be done traditionally in a darkroom, the colour negatives would be scanned and then printed with a digi printer. Any digital work I create in the coming years would also be printed digitally. I would then store all the photos in archival boxes.
As I print my way through my vast lifetime of negs, I would organize everything as best I could. I would number, date, make contacts and scans of all relevant work. There would be different binders for different subjects and years. I could also gather and destroy the garbage negs, the stuff not worthy of keeping.
To accomplish my plan I will set up a special room to store all my negatives, that room will completely devoted to only negs. Later on when I have enough photographs printed I will create a similar room to store all my finished fibre prints.
The hope would be that eventually before I die I would have a vast collection of important, archival, fibre photographs that some institution might see some value in. I could then donate that work to any museum/gallery/school that wanted it. If not, if no one gave a damn, it would then all become garbage in a landfill. I will mostly likely fail in my attempt at getting the work collected, but I got to try! You just gotta try boy! You gotta go down swinging! I will make 3 prints of all my best photographs, then let the cards fall where they may.
If the work was collected by an important, even prestigious institution that would be a dream come true. The photos would then live on long after I am gone. My stories would continue to be told and the lives of my subjects would continue to be remembered and have importance. That is what is most important, so lets say that again. The lives of my subjects, their personal stories would continue to be remembered and have importance.
