Digitizing the Collection

Using an overhead capture MARC II digital camera, JJT, Inc. of Austin, Texas, scanned the various elements of the Prokudin Gorskii Collection between September and November 2000.

Full Plate Scans - Three Frames

The negatives were scanned emulsion "up" meaning the glass side of the negative was placed on the platen scanning surface alleviating contact with the emulsion. The images were then digitally reversed to be right reading. Capturing in this manner protected the emulsion side of the negative from scratches or damage.

Approximately 5% of the negatives had some conservation problems that were addressed following the initial condition survey. Some of those negatives required special handling because they were either broken or cracked. The broken negatives were assembled on the platen for scanning in order to represent a plate in its entirety.

Cropped Details of Full Plate - One Frame

These files have a resolution of approximately 3,000 pixels on the long side with the short side scaled in proportion. The bit depth was reduced from the original 16 bit grayscale to 8 bits per pixel grayscale. Uncompressed archival images are approximately 11 megabytes in size.

In most cases the center image is cropped and used as the representative image for the full plate. This is the "green" filtered frame. In cases when the center image would yield a poor representation of the negative or if the center image was damaged another frame was chosen.

The online compressed service images were created from the uncompressed file at resolutions of 1024 pixels and 640pixels at 8 bits per pixel and saved in the JPEG format. The inline thumbnail is 150 pixels on the long side represented in the GIF file format.

Album Page Scans

The online compressed service images were created from the original scans at resolutions of 1024 pixels and 640 pixels at 24 bits per pixel RGB color and saved in the JPEG format. The inline thumbnail is 150 pixels on the long side represented in the GIF file format.

Single Print Scans

For those images in the albums for which the library does not have the corresponding negative, the album print was scanned. 714 individual prints from the collection of albums were scanned at a resolution of 3,000 pixels on the long side with the short side scaled in proportion. They were digitized as 24 bit RGB color files to capture the slight sepia tonality of the original print. Each print is 8 x 8 cm.

The online compressed service images were created from the original scans at resolutions of 1024 pixels and 640 pixels at 24 bits per pixel RGB color and saved in the JPEG format. The inline thumbnail is 150 pixels on the long side represented in the GIF file format.

Color Composites

In 2004, the Library contracted with Blaise Agüera y Arcas to produce an automated color composite of each of the 1,902 negatives from the high resolution digital images of the glass plate negatives (see information in " Color Photography Method").

These files have a resolution of approximately 3,000 pixels on the long side with the short side scaled in proportion. They were rendered as 24 bits per pixel RGB color.

The online compressed service images were created from the files at resolutions of 1024 pixels and 640 pixels at 24 bits per pixel RGB color and saved in the JPEG format. The inline thumbnail is 150 pixels on the long side represented in the GIF file format.

Color Renderings

In 2000, Walter Frankhauser of WalterStudio in Monrovia, Maryland, created 122 color renderings for the Library. The project entailed forming a color representation using digital photo editing software (see information in " Color Photography Method").

These files have a resolution of approximately 3,000 pixels on the long side with the short side scaled in proportion. They were rendered as 24 bits per pixel RGB color.

The online compressed service images were created from the files at resolutions of 1024 pixels and 640 pixels at 24 bits per pixel RGB color and saved in the JPEG format. The inline thumbnail is 150 pixels on the long side represented in the GIF file format.