Image sharpness is strongly dependent on lens aperture and camera position at capture. As high-end equipment is out of the reach of many museums, these choices are often mostly based on visual evaluations of image sharpness, which—though still possibly resulting in good quality images—is highly subjective and can lead to inconsistency. In the context of a broader effort to provide low-cost solutions for consistent high-quality museum photography, we propose a methodology for the characterization of the performance of a lens in terms of sharpness that enables the selection of the appropriate lens aperture and camera position for the capture of a sharp image of an object without the need for expensive equipment.
This paper considers how digitisation can be mobilized by museums as a tool of both photographic preservation and access by placing the materiality of its objects at the fore. Using the digitisation workflow of the acetate negatives in the Berenice Abbott Archive at the Ryerson Image Centre this paper will address these concerns. First, this paper will describe the material aspects of Abbott’s acetate negatives, and the preservation issues in the collection. Second, it will describe the monitoring of vinegar syndrome present in the collection and the development of a digitisation workflow based on acetic acid off-gassing and the development of a priority sequence. Third, this paper will demonstrate how digitisation can be used to preserve and provide access to the object, its condition, and the image without sacrifice.