Mercedes-Benz photographic treasure trove to be digitized

[cawimmer430]

Mercedes-Benz photographic treasure trove to be digitized

Mercedes has announced that many of their photographs, taken by Zolt?n Glass, will be digitized by The National Media Museum in Bradford, UK.

While the name Zolt?n Glass may not ring a bell, he was one of the most prolific automotive photographers of the 20th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was commissioned to take hundreds of photographs of Mercedes' production and racing cars (most notably the Silver Arrows).

As part of this extensive effort, the museum will turn Glass' negatives into high resolution digital photos using a "calibrated high-end medium-format camera" that creates a neutral copy of the original. These pictures (a roughly 100MB TIFF file) are then feed through special software which converts them into a positive image.

The unique project aims to scan nearly 6,000 images taken by Glass, with an emphasis on the 1930s and 1950s. Scheduled to be completed in April 2010, the collection will be available for historical editorial work and various other projects.

-----

Press Release

Star Stills: The Mercedes-Benz Photographic Treasure Trove

* Photographer Zolt?n Glass: Much of his work was commissioned by Daimler-Benz AG
* The edited collection currently comprises around 6,000 photographs
* Comprehensive scanning and digitising by the National Media Museum in Bradford, UK

Stuttgart - The National Media Museum in Bradford, UK, is currently in the process of raising a photographic treasure.

The project, which aims to scan a large proportion of the photographs housed in the Zolt?n Glass archive, will systematically catalogue the work of the artist, whose main creative periods came in the 1930s and 1950s, and to make them accessible in digital format.

The Bradford collection numbers around 6,000 images in total; the work is scheduled for completion in April 2010.

Zolt?n Glass was a significant photographer of the 20th century - and automobiles were one his favourite subjects. During the 1920s and 1930s he was also commissioned by Daimler-Benz AG to take many photographs of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Glass, for example, documented the period of the classic Silver Arrows, the cars that dominated international grand prix racing from 1934 onwards.

But he also turned his masterful skills to photographing the brand's production vehicles for publicity material.

He could even turn ostensibly uninspiring subjects, such as Mercedes-Benz vehicle production, into aesthetically pleasing images.

After the death of Zolt?n Glass in 1981, his photographic legacy was acquired by the National Media Museum, which houses one of Europe's most important photographic collections.

At the instigation of Daimler AG, his work is now being catalogued and digitised. The project also involves feeding the original photograph captions into the database. The process makes use of state-of-the-art technology, which enables the negatives and their immense wealth of detail to be photographed in high resolution using a calibrated high-end medium-format camera in order to create a neutral copy of the original. The results are first saved as files of approximately 100 megabytes in TIFF format. Finally, special software is used to convert the negative images into positives.

Colin Harding, Curator of Photographic Technology at the National Media Museum said: "We are delighted to be working with Daimler to digitise the Zolt?n Glass Collection. Zolt?n Glass is a photographer whose work deserves to be far better known. Daimler's generous support will enable us to make his photographs available to a much wider audience."

Once the work is complete, the photographs will be available for further historical editorial work and other projects.

Source: http://www.worldcarfans.com/109081020976/mercedes-benz-photographic-treasure-trove-to-be-digitized

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Finally, it must have taken them a few years to be able to build a super computer capable of handling all that raw heritage without exploding.

[cawimmer430]

Finally, it must have taken them a few years to be able to build a super computer capable of handling all that raw heritage without exploding.

The history and heritage and brand prestige of Mercedes-Benz is so powerful. It makes an atomic bomb look like a piece of crap. 

[Catman]

Finally, it must have taken them a few years to be able to build a super computer capable of handling all that raw heritage without exploding.