Safe-Light Imaging of Ultra Light-Sensitive Photographs

The Paper Conservation and Imaging Services Departments of the Getty Museum established parameters for reducing ultraviolet (UV), infrared radiation (IR), and visible light exposure of “ultra light-sensitive” materials during the digitization process. This category of material includes some of the Museum’s earliest photographs from the first decades of the medium, dating from around 1839–1860.

Getty established the Safe-Light system for documentation, which reduces light exposure and handling during image capture, but records enough detail to create a high-quality representation of the object. This allows delicate images to be viewed digitally by researchers and the general public.

In 2008, the Getty Museum began an extensive documentation project to digitally capture more than 60,000 photographs from its permanent collection. Among them were some of the earliest examples of the photographic medium, dating from the mid 1800s, and representing some of its pioneers such as Hippolyte Bayard, William Henry Fox Talbot, David Octavius Hill, and others. These objects are stored in a climate-controlled, dark environment and rarely removed in order to prevent light damage – they are chemically unstable and remain sensitive to light and fading. However, it is important for these images to remain available to researchers and to the general public through digitization. Therefore, the Department of Paper Conservation and Imaging Services Department, with collaboration from the Getty Conservation Institute, set out to create a method of documentation that would create the least amount of light exposure possible.