11:27 a.m., July 28, 2010----This summer, I am interning at the C.C. von Waldthausen Fotorestauratie Atelier in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is a busy private-practice lab that serves a great diversity of clients from large fine art museums, to corporate photograph collections, small historical societies, and some private collectors. Thus, the kinds of objects in the atelier span all of photography's history from the first processes introduced in the nineteenth century up to digital files produced this year.

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One object treated in the lab is a large color photograph overall mounted to a curved aluminum secondary support. It came into the lab from a large fine art museum because it had a sizable disfiguring accretion on it that had deteriorated the gelatin under and around it. First, a significant amount of dirt and grime that had accumulated in storage needed to be cleaned off; then, the accretion was mechanically reduced and the area over-painted. This object is part of an installation consisting of video projections and other objects displayed in vitrines.

Other projects include research and treatment of photographic works by Gilbert and George, Anish Kapoor, Ulay, and Tacita Dean, as well as cleaning and stabilization of over 700 20th-century photographs from the archive of a prominent Dutch bank.

I am also involved in some research projects. One focuses on determining the best practices for long-term storage and access of digital files. I have been compiling a bibliography of a variety of different sources and opinions on current practices in the field of digital preservation.

The atelier is also participating in the Global Face-Mounting Initiative, which involves a variety of American and European organizations working together to gain a better understanding of how to care for face-mounted photographs. It has been a wonderful learning opportunity for me to be involved in this new and evolving research on contemporary materials.