AboutMark Gluckman Expertise I can answer questions about all social photography (wedding, corporate, b`nai mitzvah). All general questions about digital photography and, of course, film.
Photojournalistic and travel photo questions can also be asked as that is another specialty of mine.
Experience
Past/Present clients McDonald's, Sprint, GE, Ford, NBC, IBM, Princess Cruises, NCL and I work the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon every year.
I have worked for The New York Times, USA Today, AP and dozens of other international and national publications.
I have shot hundreds of weddings, b'nai mitzvah and corporate social events.
Expert: Mark Gluckman Date: 2/12/2005 Subject: storing negatives - cool or cold?
Question I know negatives & photos are best stored below 68 degrees; is there a temperature limit to how COLD they can safely be stored?
We want to store our "snapshot" negatives outside of the house (we have friends who lost all family photos & negatives in a house fire). In our area in northern Minnesota it can reach -30 degrees in winter and 90+ degrees in summer. As I see it, our obvious options are:
1) sealed tub in unheated, uninsulated garage (cold in winter & hot in summer - poor solution, right?)
2) sealed tub in unheated, INSULATED shed (cold in winter but stays cool in summer - better?)
3) I could build a small insulated box just big enough for the tub, but wired with a light bulb to provide warmth in winter. (possibly OK but would take experimenting to determine bulb size vs. temperature?)
One last idea we've tossed around is to store them at a relative's home (an hour or more away) but I contend that they are just as likely to be destroyed in a fire there, plus there's the obvious downside of not having them here on hand when we need to get to the negatives. Your thoughts, please!
Answer Dwest,
I think you missed the most obvious and safest. Rent a large safety deposit box at a bank. You can get them for under $100 a year (you may even get one free with your account). You do need some air circulating, having boxes that are heavily sealed are OK if you store the items during a dry period, but if it's humid when you put the negatives in the box, you could get some moisture locked in. With a bank box, the room is always kept a constant temperature and humidity.
If you have thousands, organize the negatives, get rid of the junk. I don't know the number of negs you have.
Another thought, that will require a one time investment of about $300 and lots of time is a negative scanner. You can scan all the precious negs and burn them to a CD or leave them on your computer hard drive. You can get about 500 negs on a CD - depending on the scan size. You then can put them CDs in a safety deposit box with you other valuables.
