Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 8, 1994 TAG: 9401080091
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
But will that picture survive so your great-grandchildren can puzzle over the strange people in the funny-looking clothes?
"Probably not," says Sherry Razvan of Creative Memories, a firm dedicated to archival quality photo preservation.
Companies such as Razvan's as well as photo-finishing businesses can help families protect their photographs and create family archives that will survive the tests of time.
There are several culprits that can lead to the destruction of photos. One is the environment. Heat and humidity can have a negative effect on your photos. Storing your pictures in a cold, damp basement or uninsulated attic with drastic temperature swings is a sure way to hasten their demise.
If you were being smug and saying, "Well, at least I have my pics in an album," don't be. Razvan said that the very popular "magnetic" albums are particularly harsh on photos.
The plastic that covers the pictures usually is made from polyvinyl chloride, which gives off gases that will damage or discolor your pictures. In addition, if water gets between the plastic and the snapshot, it will harm the picture. The plastic can become stuck to the emulsion of your picture, making it impossible to move without destroying the picture.
It doesn't stop there. The sticky material that holds the photos in place, as well as the cardboard pages have a high acid content that can destroy the picture.
Album manufacturers are becoming more aware of the harm that PCV can inflict, and often you will find albums advertising, "photo safe - no PCVs," but that is still no guarantee, because the cardboard still may have the high acid content.
Framed pictures also can suffer. Photographs hung in sunny rooms will most assuredly fade and discolor. If there is no separation between the glass and the picture, the glass can adhere to the emulsion of the photo, creating damage. Also, the cardboard backing for the frame can be hard on the picture if it has a high acid content.
John Kline of Blacksburg's Gentry Studios suggested that a can of photo lacquer with UV inhibitors would be an excellent investment forprotecting your pictures, especially those on display. The spray stops the harmful effects of light, and will provide a waterproof finish to protect against other problems.
Wayne Dunford of Foto Expo in Blacksburg said the spray would also keep the picture from adhering to the glass.
If you're really concerned about creating some long-lasting memories, all three suggested using at least one roll of black and white film a year to get pictures of the family. It's a much more stable film type and will produce pictures that last longer than those shot with color film.
Razvan, a Blacksburg woman who has made a business out of her love for old pictures, also can help a budding family historian organize a morass of a desk drawer filled with 10 years of photos still in their processing envelopes.
If you are dealing with pictures you want to last a long time, Razvan recommends archival quality albums, storage boxes and materials available from stationery stores, art or photo supply shops and some catalogs, as well as through her business.
The albums have low-acid paper and safe plastic sleeves or coverings. These safe plastics include Mylar, polyethylene, polypropylene, triacetate and Tyvek. The adhesives and tapes are made with materials that will be least harmful to pictures. Instead of ballpoint or felt-tip pens, No. 2 pencils or Pigma pens, which will not bleed through the picture are recommended.
Of course, one of the biggest hazards is finding a box of pictures and not having a clue about who those people are and what was the event. It can paralyze you into inaction, which will only compound the problem.
Razvan suggested that the biggest service she provides is the organizational impetus to help people avoid that or at least deal with it once they are faced with that box with 10 years of pictures.
"First of all, don't worry about the last 15 years," she said. "Just get that last pack of pictures into an album. You can go back and work on the others later. Think in terms of one picture at a time."
When you start organizing your album, Razvan recommended lots of editing. "Throw out those bad pictures, the fuzzy ones, the ones that are not well-lit, as soon as you get them," she said. `Then you won't be tempted to do something with them."
Pick only the best ones for your album, and either give the rest of them to friends and family or put them in acid-free storage boxes.
Razvan also pointed out the benefits of judicious cropping to get rid of ugly backgrounds or strangers who wandered into the camera's view. Cutting the pictures into different shapes adds interest to the album and focuses attention on the main subject of the picture. She warned that Polaroid pictures should not be cut and suggested using mattes with them to get the cropping effect.
What really makes an album meaningful are the captions that identify the occasion and record your impressions of it. "Photo-journaling is the best way to preserve our memories," she said. "How else are we going to pass on our heritage?"
Razvan suggested the albums as gifts to children when they leave home, as a tribute to special friends and family members and as a history of the family. "Make at least one album of Christmas over the years using these methods, so you'll have a family history," she said.
Razvan offers her service to individuals or groups and as classes through the YMCA Free University. The sessions include information and materials about preserving your photos, tips on how to organize and arrange your albums and moral support in dealing with your boxes or bags of photos.
For more information, call 951-0279.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***