The AICCM PHOTON Photographic Materials Special Interest Group is pleased to present a series of webinars organised and hosted by PHOTON convenors Monica Connors and Cheralyn Lim throughout 2023-24. These webinars feature presentations by leading experts in photographic materials conservation, scientific analysis, and collection care.
Should you have any queries about this series of talks please join our PHOTON Facebook group or get in touch via email
Ray Edmonston
Ray will draw from his vast experience and expertise in archiving audiovisual media, to present a talk on the history and management of the nitrate film collection within the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA). The NFSA is the national archive responsible for collecting, preserving, and sharing Australia’s rich audiovisual heritage which includes the world’s first full-length narrative feature film The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906). Join us for a discussion on the fascinating world of nitrate film preservation at the NFSA and the technical marvels of early filmmaking. We’ll also celebrate Dr. Edmondson’s invaluable and extraordinary lifelong contributions to safeguarding cinematic history, as well as the role of film in our collective memory.
Mick Newnham
Internationally renowned audiovisual conservator Mick Newnham is giving an online talk, discussing his research findings over his conservation career. About the Speaker: Mick Newnham retired in 2017 as the Manager of Conservation Services at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) after working there for almost thirty years. Mick has extensive experience in the care of various formats of motion picture film, magnetic media, audio and video tape.
Fade Testing and Exhibiting Photographic Material – Bruce Ford
We are privileged to have microfading testing expert Bruce Ford give a talk titled ‘Fade Testing and Exhibiting Photographic Material’. In this session Bruce will introduce the scientific and institutional aspects of light-exposure guidelines and the application of the accelerated light exposure microfade test (MFT) method, in this instance to photographic material. Bruce will speak to the photochemistry and lightfastness of various examples of cultural materials from magic lantern slides and salted prints to contemporary photographic prints. See https://www.microfading.com for a basic introduction to the method and its application.
What’s a Darkroom? – Growing up in Photo Conservation – Cheryl Jackson
Our first speaker is esteemed photographic conservator Cheryl Jackson (Senior Conservator, Preservation for Digitisation, National Library of Australia). In this session called ‘What’s a Darkroom? – Growing up in Photo Conservation’, Cheryl will talk about the changing nature of photographic conservation in Australia over the last 30 years. She’ll tell us about the changing nature of her approach to photographic conservation, some successful treatments, and a maybe a (recoverable!!!) failure.