Salvaging Photographs from the Flood

Many of the photographs survived our floods, some better than others. In the cases where the photos survived fairly well, we did the following:

• Gently removed each photo from the water and surrounding artifacts, taking care to not rub or scratch the surface of the emulsion side (the side that the image is on) 
• If photos were stuck together, we gently peeled them apart (they will stick together like glue once they dry)

• If the photo was free from debris, we laid it out flat to air dry, again being careful not to touch or smudge the emulsion since it was very soft from sitting in water for so long 
• If the photo was covered in lake debris or mud, we gently rinsed it by slipping it into a pan of clean water, passing it through the water (do not swish or dunk it as this may cause the emulsion to run), and then laying it out to dry

In one case, the photo had been part of a photo album where it had been glued to a thick page and covered with plastic. We carefully peeled the plastic away using a horizontal motion by bending the plastic completely back rather than at a 90 degree angle to the page. This reduced the likelihood that the photo would tear.

We were unable to save some photos because the emulsion had grown too soft. Even tipping the photo from side to side caused the emulsion to run.

Surprisingly, the photos that survived the best were those that had been stuck between the pages of books or held within another container, such as a film can. Although these photos got wet, most of them survived with little damage to the emulsion.

In the case of a small photo book, we placed sheets of blotter paper between the pages to absorb as much water as possible and were quite successful with that method. The pages became slightly cockled, but the book was still very usable.