إعداد وتصنيف الصور .. اختيار واستخدام المواد .. كتاب التصوير الضوئي

Preparing and classifying images .. Choosing and using materials .. The book of photography

Choosing and using materials
Preparing and classifying images

Slides and negatives must be classified and arranged in order to ensure their preservation and to be easily found. The method of arrangement and classification can start from a shoe box to the furniture for classification. Whatever method you use for classification, arrange these documents in a dry room away from chemical or other odors. In principle, modern homes have an atmosphere suitable for preservation: If the atmosphere is humid, classify the clichés and slides in a sealed metal box. A sufficient amount of silica gel or silica gel that can be reactivated according to the manufacturer's instructions is sufficient to absorb the moisture that may enter the box. In hot and humid countries, you should take greater precautions, for example: formaldehyde protects against some bacteria and fungi. Long-term preservation Replace the cardboard frame of the slides with a plastic frame. Mounting the slides under a protective glass (which provides better display) gives less long-term preservation than a plastic frame without a glass.

- Storing slides in bins:

This is an excellent method of classification if the bins are straight or circular because the slides are ready for display in their basic order. The disadvantage of this method is the price of the bins and the large space they occupy.

- Small boxes for classifying slides:

There are of all kinds: they are all based on the same principle. Each slide is arranged in its own house and the classification list, which is usually on the cover, allows a brief description of each image. A small box contains 100 or 200 slides and if it is necessary to write a large amount of information about each image it is better to create a separate box for cards and then the classification list only carries a reference number.

- Transparent covers:

There are special plastic covers for organizing slides, the front of which is semi-transparent, which allows, on the one hand, a large number of slides to be seen at once, and on the other hand, the covers to be classified in a drawer for hanging works.

- Information placed on the slide frame:

Some information can be recorded directly on the cardboard frame. As for plastic frames, it is usually useful to place a sticker bearing, for example, the classification number. Different colored stickers or ink allow distinguishing the dates of taking the pictures or the categories of subjects.

- Care to be taken for the slides:
The slides must be labeled and then arranged in boxes, drawers, transparent covers or baskets. Adopt a classification method to find them easily.

- Making second copies of the slides:

We can copy the slides, but a method must be followed for this: for example, re-photographing them on a display screen gives good results. A ring or extension bellows used without special precautions also does not provide acceptable quality. A copying bench produces the best copies. This photographic device is equipped with an electronic flash and a reflex machine mounted vertically on a column in the manner of a magnifier. The slide to be copied is placed underneath and illuminated by transparency. We can measure the exposure with a flash meter. Corrections with colored filters are also possible.

- Mounting the enlarged images:
Mounting the images on a cardboard substrate can be wet with a special glue or dry with hot glue paper or special glue. The latter must be used with care because it can cause spots on the image.

- Mounting on dry:
One side of the special adhesive paper sticks to the substrate and the other side sticks to the image. We use an iron or pieces of iron and special compressors for this purpose. The substrate and the enlarged image must be completely dry. There is a special adhesive that is applied with a brush and adheres with heat.

- Gluing:
Attach the enlarged image saturated with water to its substrate with a special glue: Apply the glue with a brush to the substrate and glue the image. Glue an old photo to the other side of the substrate to prevent it from warping. The photo is semi-glossy when dry.

- Soak both photos in water
- Clean the substrate
- Remove excess water from both sides
- Glue the adhesive paper to the back of the photo
- Use a piece of iron
- Apply glue to the first side of the substrate
- Cut the adhesive paper to the lengths of the photo
- Place the photo and press it
- Let the corners adhere to the substrate
- Repeat the process for the other side of the substrate.
- Dry mounting is carried out under a hot press.

- Protecting negatives: A dirty or damaged negative cannot produce a good quality photo. It should be protected with individual envelopes and sorted into boxes, drawers or transparent envelopes.

- Arranging negatives:

Small and medium-sized negatives are always arranged in groups or clusters: there are transparent envelopes that provide excellent protection and we can classify them in albums or special furniture for arranging and classifying. A very practical method of classification is to print a contact plate representing all the negatives (see page 188-(189) and place it with the negatives themselves. This gives us direct visual information: this is important when you want to choose a cliché between negatives that are slightly different. Facial expressions, for example, cannot be estimated directly on the negative protection envelope, but do not write with a ballpoint pen if the negatives are inside the envelope because this will damage them. The words to write are, for example: date, film type, detector used and perhaps also the paper gradation used for drawing. Exposure data (aperture and exposure time) are rarely important.

If possible, classify the negatives outside the laboratory, safe from heat and humidity.

- Albums for displaying the pictures:

We can put the enlarged pictures in flat boxes or in drawers, but they are better displayed if they are placed in an album. Try to arrange the pages of the album in an artistic way, making the contrast between the large pictures and the small pictures appear, and avoid rows of pictures of the same size.