Being the only critters in the animal kingdom acutely aware of our existence to the extent that we can ponder it, we are left with a natural curiosity about ourselves and our place in the "pecking order" of the universe. It seems that anything that can shed light on the human condition and a person's position in the overall scheme of things is of immense importance to mankind.

It is for this reason that old photographs are so alluring and have a universal appeal. They provide that all- important window back in time, speaking to us from across the gulf of generations, at the same time that they mirror our own existence. They cause us to compare how, as individuals, as communities, and as nations, we once were, are now, and might become in the future. For these reasons alone the information contained in old photographs is of immeasurable educational value, unique and irreplaceable.

As they grow older, photographs become more important, lighting the darkness of our understanding of the past. But, by virtue of their age, they become more fragile, cracked and faded. After years of service, photographs that are fortunate enough to find their way into repositories will enjoy a degree of longevity and live out their twilight years in the caring hands of conservators until they are ultimately "de-accessioned." Those less fortunate suffer a more timely fate, falling along the wayside. Whatever the case may be, in either instance the end results are the same and collectively we suffer the eventual loss of this most valuable resource.

It would be difficult if not impossible to predict the time allotted to an individual photograph or the rate at which photographs from a given era are disappearing. Conclusions based on observations we have made of numerous collections is that much of the B&W material from the turn of the century and even later are showing significant deterioration to the extent that most institutions would be hard pressed to justify the cost of restoring these images. From what we are seeing right now, it is our opinion that the next fifteen years will not only be critical for images produced before the turn of the century, but for all photographs made right up to the present as well. Adding insult to injury, the very medium that we are using to capture and preserve photographic imagery for future generations will close the door on this method of image making. The number of conventionally-produced photographs in the world will soon become finite. As digital photography comes of age, silver will ultimately give way to silicon and photography as we know it will become a relic of our own era.

Concerned about the predicament faced by our collections and the ultimate loss of our photographic heritage, a small group of photographic professionals convened in 1992 to discuss alternative approaches to collections management. On January 10, 1993 we made our first digital conversion of a photograph, extracting important research information for the Woodstock Historical Society. From this very modest beginning the concept that led to PhotoArk began to evolve.

For the first several years, we gained in experience working with a broad spectrum of antique photographic processes. We established our own procedures for optimal conversion and developed protocols to insure the safe handling of fragile and irreplaceable artifacts. To this end we physically modified or designed our own equipment to deal with specific issues associated with the digitizing process. In the process we became experts in the digitization and recombination of broken glass plate negatives, a problem common to many historic collections.

The emphasis of our early efforts was to prove, in essence, the viability of the the digital medium as a platform for historic preservation. We did this against a background of long-entrenched bias, in the minds of collections managers, toward re-photography as the preferred platform. We found that technically it was a simple matter to create a digital surrogate image that rivaled the original in quality in both black and white and in color. We also found that individual surrogates could be accessed almost instantaneously from a universe of counterparts residing in a desktop computer. The image files that we routinely created could be enlarged for exhibition and/or for research purposes up to as much as twelve times, could be easily restored, and could be quickly reproduced exactly in a variety of formats with a push of a button, ad infinitum.

With recent advances in the realm of inexpensive storage of digital images, our mission of preserving entire collections of photographs could be realized. Aware of both the magnitude of the task and a narrowing window of opportunity for preservation, two years ago we expanded and redoubled our efforts. We moved out of the laboratory and into the museum collections themselves.

As an ongoing program we have established a presence and a working relationship with over sixty museum collections, primarily in New England. We are currently in the process or have already completed the creation of five digital archives for client museums and are positioned to begin at five additional institutions who are in the final stages of fund raising for their programs.

Today, PhotoArk is a team of professionals combining expertise in photography and other disciplines, people who are resourceful and bring with them a unique combination of talents and problem solving capabilities. As a team, we have devoted a major part of the past five years to researching and promoting digital imaging as the primary solution for the long-term conservation and restoration of imagery contained in photographic collections.

PhotoArk's professional staff are people who share a common vision of preserving a most valuable resource...our photographic heritage.