Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Medium Format / Film / Digital Backs – and Large Sensor Photography => Topic started by: Doug Peterson on June 10, 2019, 11:35:11 am

Title: National Geographic Autochrome Collection
Post by: Doug Peterson on June 10, 2019, 11:35:11 am
We recently worked together with the National Geographic Society to research proper techniques and standards for the digitization of their Autochrome collection (one of the world's only large collection of this photographic material).

I'll admit that, despite having gone to a reputable four-year school for photography, I knew very little about this early color process. In my head photography jumped from 3-glass-plates-for-color directly to three-layers-on-one-substrate-color, which is not the case. I found it absolutely fascinating that some of the processes related to Autochromes used a color mosaic similar to the Bayer Filter Mosaic. Everything old is new again.

You can read my write up of this research on the NGS website (https://nglibrary.ngs.org/public_home/filmpreservationblog/Preservation-of-Autochromes) or on our Cultural Heritage website (https://dtculturalheritage.com/preserving-the-national-geographic-societys-autochrome-collection/).