The Bettmann archive, the quirky cache of pictures that Otto Bettmann sneaked out of Nazi Germany in two steamer trunks in 1935 and then built into an enormous collection of historical importance, will be sunk 220 feet down in a limestone mine situated 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, where it will be far from the reach of historians. To understand what I mean, it is neccessary to go back in time, and see HOW the business has become what it is, today. Photographers were no longer tied to getting film into a bureau, or their own newspaper. Kodacolor color negative film.
Dye starts to deteriorate and evaporate, almost immediately.
They Just Don't Want 'Em. To make a living, I pretty much HAVE to use film that will deteriorate as soon as I pull it out of the washwater. Most images are magnetically recorded and saved onto disks, and hard drives. One of the things that my company, PictureDesk International, is exploring is the archiving of digital image files on central Internet Servers. Because the line is always strongly backlit, and is difficult to photograph on all but drearily overcast days.