DSI-News

Digitally Capturing Elliot Erwitt’s Photo Archive

March 2, 2021 by Andrea

Scott and Elliot Erwitt review digital captures.

Elliott Erwitt’s many photographs have become part of the world’s visual vernacular. His images for Look, Life, and Magnum capture a world of humor, beauty and irony. His prolific output has filled over 20 published books, with a new book just released in 2021. Elliott’s prints are in virtually every major museum collection in the US and abroad. At the age of 92, Elliott Erwitt hasn’t slowed down much, he’s involved in a variety of projects and working on his archive.

Elliott Erwitt’s archive is where Digital Silver Imaging comes into the picture. Rick Smolan, former Time and National Geographic photographer and Elliott’s son-in-law, came to us with an idea for on-site film digitization. He said that Elliott was reluctant to have his archive leave the studio—a concern widely shared by other photographers—so high resolution on-site high resolution image capture would be ideal. Within In a few short months we had sourced the required high resolution equipment, hired PhaseOne and CaptureOne expert Scott Nidermaier, and formed the Digital Silver Imaging On-site Image Preservation Service™.

On a chilly Sunday afternoon, Scott and DSI’s Eric Luden got to work digitizing Elliott’s archive. Over the course of the next several days the pair would set up in Elliott Erwitt’s studio and rapidly capture some 3,400 negatives and transparencies. For some photographers such an undertaking could take months or even years, but utilizing our On-site Image Preservation Service™ the job was completed in under three weeks. At the core of the system we utilize a high resolution digital camera mounted with a flat field lens. This method of digital capture produces drum scan quality images with a click of the shutter. Unlike drum scanning, this process minimizes contact between film and machine, dramatically reducing the risk of scratching or damage.

Scott has emphasized that each job is different and attentive preparation is the key to a smooth digital archiving process. The On-site Image Preservation Service™ operates on the principle that every archive is unique, and we customize the service to fit the needs of each client.

Negative strip loaded into “touchless” magnetic holder and ready for digital capture

Much of the credit for the efficient digitization of Elliott’ Erwitt’s archive goes to his studio manager, Mio Nakamura, who organized the film by box, contact sheet, and negative with a corresponding spreadsheet, so there was no confusion about which images to capture. With the digitization of Elliott’s prized images now complete, his entire film archive will be housed at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. It’s a comfort to know that Elliott’s film will be preserved in perpetuity.

Reviewing a capture

Looking back on Elliott’s project, Scott reflected, “It was fascinating to see a sheet of great negatives and wonder why Elliott picked one negative over another. Also, we digitized many images of family that obviously had personal significance to Elliott. Elliot Erwitt lived with a camera in his hand. Sure the Marilyn Monroe and celebrity images are amazing, but there are so many great images that have never been seen before. It makes you realize that archiving is not just about a financial legacy, it’s a personal legacy. It tells you so much about the life of the artist.”

Digital Silver Imaging is grateful to Elliott Erwitt, Mio Nakamura and Rick Smolan for inviting us to collaborate on this important project. We feel that we played a role in photo history, providing a service to one of the greatest living photographers.

If you are interested in our On-site Image Preservation Service™ please contact Scott Nidermaier at scott@digitalsilverimaging.com.

Webinars & Video Tutorials

November 3, 2020 by Andrea

Visit and subscribe to our Youtube Channel to see all our videos.

Optimize Your Image for Print with Capture One – Capture One expert Scott Nidermaier walks you through the process of preparing your image for print. Capture One is powerful software that has the best inversion (negative to positive) capabilities in the business. Join us for this informative 30 minute presentation followed by an audience Q&A session.

Instant Image Capture, Better Than Scanning – Come along for a tour of our Instant Image Archiving Service and the hardware and software that make it all possible. Our new service digitally captures your film, print or artwork at a uniform 150 megapixels in a fraction of a second. We can make digital files of your work as quickly as we can safely prepare them for capture – transparencies/slides, negatives, prints and flat artwork can all be reproduced with the highest standards of accuracy. This webinar ends with an extensive Q&A.

The Art of Underwater Photography with Jake Stout – A deep dive with photographer and scuba diver Jake Stout – Jake began his SCUBA journey in 2017 and never looked back. A year later, he was the recipient of the Boston Sea Rover’s internship in which he traveled around the world doing underwater photography with marine scientists, BBC and National Geographic photographers and filmmakers. In 2019 Jake had the honor of presenting his work at the Boston Sea Rovers Film Festival, the longest continually running dive show in the world, and was inducted as a full active roster member in 2020.

Using Photography to Elevate Your Design – A beautifully finished and well crafted photograph can be the defining element of an interior space. As a designer or architect, you are confronted with questions like, what are the best photographic printing processes? How can I finish a photograph to best complement my design aesthetic? What should my photography budget look like? How do I work with a gallery or photographer? These questions and more will all are answered in a this Zoom panel discussion. The panel will consist of fine art photo lab owners Eric Luden and Andrea Zocchi, architect Tim Techler and art consultant Lynne Kortenhaus who has helped numerous clients acquire images and design interior spaces with photographic installations.

Converting Your Image to B&W with Joe Brady – How you execute your black and white conversion can make-or-break your image and your print. Simply selecting “grey scale’ results in soulless black & white conversions. Photoshop® and Lightroom® expert Joe Brady will share how he converts his images from color to black & white. Joe steps you through the process in clear easy to follow steps. Also included is a howto on the Nik Silver Efex Pro plug in. Joe and the team from Digital Silver Imaging will answer your questions live in this informative and interactive webinar. Included in the webinar: Starting your edit in color for the best black & white Using the graduated filter function to even exposure How to properly spot your image Using color channels to make amazing black & white conversions Using the brush tool to make black & white images that pop Best practices for exporting your image for print.

Photographing in India and Nepal: An Insider’s Guide – Join us with Roro La Velle and Craig Semetko as we take you on a journey through India and Nepal. Both of these Roro and Craig have experience as photographers, travelers, and tour leaders in these fascinating and photo friendly countries. Roro La Velle is the founder of Two Wheeled Expeditions, a company that takes participants via Royal Enfield motorcycles on tours of India and Nepal. Craig Semetko is a Leica professional and author of the book “India Unposed.”

Creating a Successful Kickstarter Campaign with Barry Schneier and Lou Jones – We speak with photographers Barry Schneier and Lou Jones about their successful Kickstarter projects. Barry’s book project on Bruce Springsteen was the second most popular photography book on Kickstarter in 2018. Lou has had 2 successful campaigns on this crowdfunding platform. We will discuss what made their campaigns successful and some important tips and suggestions. We end with Q&A from the attendees.

Online Printing Made Easy – We will walk you through the steps to using our new online Value Print Service for uploading your files for beautiful high quality prints and reasonable prices. An easy way to become acquainted with our online Value Print application. Includes a Q&A session with webinar participants.

Creative Bingo by J. Sybylla Smith

March 19, 2020 by Andrea

Here is a Bingo Card of ideas to keep you engaged in your creative practice. Dig deep into areas of interest, experiment in new techniques, discover new resources and build new relationships. Your creative toolbox will expand while your photo community roots grow strong.

BINGO

Be a student. Here is a list of courses to choose from compiled by the creative mavens at Don’t Take Pictures. https://www.donttakepictures.com/

Initiate playing a daily round of Punctum Practice – a photo-centric Concept Aware® tool. Select 10 random images from a magazine or online at sites like Foto Fever. Seek diversity mix genres, timeframes, processes, and taste level. Set a timer for 1 minute and write 10 reactions to each photo. This exercise increases your visual vocabulary. This growing list of words can be useful to how you write about your work. Punctum is the emotional impact of an image – you want to cultivate this in your images.

Never been to Paris Photo or Foto Fever? Go now! Take a virtual tour and/or listen to each of the photographers at Paris Photo discuss their creative practice on the Paris Photo website. Foto Fever’s mission is to offer price points which encourage collecting. They will send an artwork and information to your inbox each day when you sign up..

Go back to kindergarten. Two ways to do this – tear magazines, catalogs, paper ephemera -including text and images- anything that sparks a response. What grabs your attention? When you have complied 15 – 20 pieces start to arrange them into a collage which pleases you – no rules. The second method is to take screenshots online and create a folder of image and text to arrange. Take a photo of your creation. These mood boards offer insights into your visual propensities. They may spark an idea for your next project.

Object study. Pick one object or place to photograph every day. This will increase your observational skills.

Special Offerings

To Find out more about independent curator, portfolio consultant, lecturer, and the creator of Concept Aware® visit the website of J. Sybylla Smith.

Using Photography to Elevate Your Design

March 11, 2020 by Andrea

Join us on March 31, 2020, 6:00 – 8:30 pm.

A beautifully finished and well-crafted photograph can be the defining element of an interior space. As a designer or architect, you are confronted with questions like, what are the best photographic printing processes? How can I finish a photograph to best complement my design style? What should my photography budget look like? How do I work with a gallery or photographer? These questions and more will all be answered.

The event will start with refreshments and a tour. The lab’s team will then give a brief demonstration of several display techniques for finishing photographs. The demonstration will go beyond the basic white mat and frame, showing how to use aluminum and acrylic for a contemporary look. After the demos, architect Tim Techler will speak on his experience working with photographs, followed by Iris Gallery owner Alison Collins who will address working with galleries and photographers. A question and answer period will conclude the evening.

To give all participants the ability to interact with the presenters, the number of participants is limited to 30.

You must RSVP. RSVP using this link.

6:00-6:30 – Craft beer, wine, and snacks. Lab tours.
6:30-7:45 – Photographic print presentation demonstration
7:45-8:30 – Presentation and Q&A with architect, Tim Techler and The Iris Gallery owner, Alison Collins

Supporting the Photo Community

August 20, 2019 by Andrea

Digital Silver Imaging believes we are all part of one big photo community. We depend on each other for commerce, support and inspiration. We strive to be a good citizen of this photo community and give back whenever we can. This is a brief list of our major partners and how we work together.

Photoville / United Photo Industries

Photoville is an annual free outdoor photo festival where photographic prints are exhibited in re-purposed shipping containers. By creating a physical platform for photographers of all backgrounds to come together and interact, Photoville provides a unique opportunity to engage with a diverse audience — a veritable cross-section of the world’s photographic community. This year, 2019, Photoville made its first appearance in Los Angeles in May and will again have its premier event under the Brooklyn Bridge in September. Digital Silver Imaging has been providing Photoville with pro bono printing services and support since 2015.

© Dylan Everett – Digital Silver Imaging Portfolio Award Winner

Social Documentary Network /ZEKE Magazine

Social Documentary Network supports a website that today has had nearly 3,300 compelling online exhibits submitted by photographers from all corners of the globe. SDN photographers tackle tough and important issues often given little or no coverage by today’s commercial media. As stated on the site, “All photographers on SDN share a common curiosity about the human condition and a strong desire to communicate their insights through words and photographs.” Digital Silver Imaging’s Eric Luden is on the SDN Advisory Board and as a company we sponsor SDN events such as Documentary Matters, and support SDN’s ZEKE Magazine with paid ads, as well as printing services.

Griffin Museum of Photography

The Griffin Museum of Photography is a nonprofit museum dedicated solely to the art of photography. Through exhibitions, lectures and workshops the Griffin is an important resource for the photographic community of the Boston Area and the United States. DSI founder Eric Luden has been involved with the Griffin for over a decade, he currently serves as the Vice President of The Griffin Museum of Photography’s Board of Directors.

WPOW – Women Photo Journalist of Washington

WPOW consists of over 350 experienced and emerging photojournalists, photo editors, videographers, producers, and students working in the Washington D.C. area. Digital Silver Imaging has supported WPOW with the printing of their annual exhibition.

Lesley University College of Art and Design

Digital Silver’s Eric Luden is on the Dean’s Advisory Council at Lesley. Digital Silver Imaging has happily assisted many Lesley students with internships and employment.

Other Nonprofit Organization we support through direct donations, services, or discounts

Catchlight Foundation

SPE – Society of Photographic Education

MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora

Veteran’s Portrait Project

Boston Society of Architects

Leica Historical Society America

WGBH Boston Public Television

Doug Menuez and Sandro Miller on Staying Relevant as Professional Photographers

June 27, 2019 by Andrea

Doug Menuez and Sandro Miller continue to be creative, successful, and relevant after almost 40 years in the business of photography. On June 22, 2019, Doug Menuez and Sandro Miller generously shared volumes of valuable and entertaining information in an event hosted by Digital Silver Imaging and PhotoPolitic™. About 30 photographers and industry professionals gathered in Sandro’s beautiful Chicago studio. Also present was special guest Jim Stallman Senior VP and Creative Director of Leo Burnett and four industry movers and shakers, Patrick Rynell, EVP/ECD, Ainara Del Valle, ACD/AD, Jennifer Meinders, ACD/AD, Jon Lueken, Sr. Producer.

So how do these successful photographers define “The Art and Science of Staying Relevant?” The take away is condensed into these few brief paragraphs.

Stay Creative

Personal Projects | Pro Bono Work | Fine Art | Get out of your comfort zone

Both Doug Menuez and Sandro Miller pursue personal work as part of their work/life balance. Doug believes that working with nonprofit organizations can give an editorial photographer like himself the ability to photograph new and interesting subjects with fewer limitations. Doug has also published 4 books, most notably Fearless Genius, his unprecedented documentation of the digital revolution. Fearless Genius was #1 on the Amazon Bestseller list and it continues to provide exposure as a multimedia project, film, and a traveling exhibition of prints all produced by Digital Silver Imaging.

Sandro Miller’s expansive personal work often starts with a project that becomes an entire large format fine art book. Projects like the one he did with John Malkovich or his trips to Cuba became books and many of the images end up as fine art prints for gallery sales and exhibitions. Although Sandro has a distinct style, and can be considered a portraitist, he is constantly finding new paths and subjects for his work.

Stay Organized

Make a business plan | Strategically target your customers

According to Doug Menuez what put him on the path to success was a solid business plan and the discipline to stick to it. Both photographers emphasized that having the business acumen and the right people in that field was invaluable. Sandro Miller stressed focusing your promotional efforts on a manageable group of targeted clients/agencies and galleries. Casting too broad a net often doesn’t work and can result in work the photographer is not excited about executing. Miller stated that he focuses on about 20 potential customers at a time.

Stay Above the Crowd

Use prints and printed media to stand out

The consensus was that regular posts on social media were necessary but didn’t necessarily get you work. Doug said that one of his most successful and expensive promotions was his “F…You Book.” It was a portfolio of work he loved (not work that everyone advised him to show, that’s where the “F…You” comes in). He said that this piece got him more and better jobs than any other promotions.

The advice from Sandro was to send a signed print, as he said, “People just can’t throw away a signed print.” He also uses his books as a way to rekindle art director and ad agency interest in what he’s doing. Both photographers have an active fine art presence, with gallery representation and the print sales supplementing their income and increasing their exposure.

Jim Stallman Senior VP and Creative Director of Leo Burnett echoed what both photographers said. He underlined the point that as a creative director he is overwhelmed with emails and electronic communications. His advice was to do something tangible that shows your own creative genius, something that represents you, not what you think someone wants to see.

Stay Informed

Research your customers | Know the brand | Be prepared for the shoot

Before you start a job, or start to promote your work to a client, know what they do. In editorial, documentary, or product work the research is the first step. Sandro stated that he might shoot for an entire week before the actual photo session is scheduled. In the preceding week he will test lighting, concepts and other aspects before the client arrives in studio. Dig deep, acquire knowledge and be prepared.

Stay Personal and Connected

Pick up the phone | Meet people | Attend Events

Doug Menuez, Sandro Miller, and Jim Stallman all agreed that photography is all about making personal connections and keeping them fresh. Don’t send an email if you can call the person by phone. Expanding your community in person makes you memorable. Knowing that you can work with a person and they can work with you makes all the difference.

This also extends to the photo shoot itself. Don’t just start blasting away. Talk to your subject. Again both photographers emphasized the pre-shoot preparation. If you know your subject you can make conversation and the shoot will be more successful.

We hope that PhotoPolitic™, Doug Menuez and Sandro Miller will choose to repeat this event in the future. It might be the best $189 dollars that you can spend on your career. We’d like to thank Doug Menuez, Sandro Miller and Jim Stallman as well as Chris Armstrong from PhotoPolitic™ for asking us to play a small part. The entire day was videoed and is available to PhotoPolitic™ members. To stay informed about future events follow us, Digital Silver Imaging and PhotoPolitic™ on social media.