I've long urged my older photo friends to think about what will happen to their photographs when they are gone. Now nearly age 70, I have to face the question. Despite a 45-year career in photography, I have no national rep, but I have produced 9 books with my photos and certainly many older images now have some historical value. I was never a full time photographer, but I consider my images as part of my life's work. So I think I have enough good work that an archive could be placed in an institution, probably with a cash gift to support the archiving etc. I do plan to make a large number of prints, but those will be mostly for my family.
But what to give? Everything: b&w negs, transparencies, digital files? Edit the archive and just give what you want to be known for? How to give digital files? The more you think about this, the more questions arise!
What would you do? Love to here what people have already done, planned, or just thinking about.
Peter
Peter
70 is a wonderful age; my mother sailed happily through life until she hit 92/93 (she refused to discuss those matters so I respect her privacy) and I think one shouldn't dwell on numbers in a personal context. Other people's numbers perhaps, your own, never!
Does 'family' include your own kids? If so, keep the cash gift for them - they can look after any prints and their destination!
As with charities, I have a deep-seated distrust of institutions ever since I escaped from one - no, not that one, a different type. My problem arises from this: what sort of mentality wants to spend its time deep in the past of another person's life? Makes me shudder.
Rob C
