Memories and stories

"It is recognized that statements such as these are presented to fit a personal view or agenda. Terry Barrett, in his text, Criticizing Photographs: An introduction to understanding images, describes that art theory has different approaches: by critics, by photographers, by historians, and by curators.
Here it is, of course, a view [...] by a conservator.
[...] The conservators start from an object-centered approach [and try] to reconcile with the image-centered visual culture approach.
Would Barrett consider adding “Theories and conservators” to his list?

The retouching techniques on dry plate negatives of Portuguese photography collections of the first half of the 20th century, 2022

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Detalhe de retrato de pianista encostada ao piano, com retoque a tinta no pescoço

Retouched Collections – Foto-Estefânia: Retouching, Neighborhood Photography and the Glamour of Cinema

A technical and cultural analysis of the Foto-Estefânia collection, a set of retouched negatives from 1920s–30s Lisbon. The article explores how cinematic glamour shaped studio portrait aesthetics and the manual gestures applied to the negatives. A rigorous approach to image, taste, and photographic heritage.

Photography

To See is to Understand: A Virtual Reconstruction of the Main Altarpiece of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Évora

A virtual reconstruction of the main altar of the Church of the Espírito Santo, in Évora, led to an interactive digital platform launched in 2015. Ten years later, we revisit this project that made visible what was lost – and opened access to what was once confined to academia. A reflection on restoration, memory, and new ways of sharing cultural heritage.

Projects

Glass negative, with graphite pencil retouching marks.

Retouched collections – Foto-Carvalho – Portrait, a Retoucher and Local Identity

Exploring the history of the Foto-Carvalho studio (Estremoz) and the invisible role of retoucher D. Esmeralda. Through the negatives, we uncover the technical gestures that shaped photographic images and local identity in early 20th-century Portugal.

Photography

Retouched collections – Seeing the Invisible

A proposal for a new reading of photographic negatives as cultural objects. Based on six Portuguese collections, it explores the role of manual retouching in image-making, highlighting the material, technical, and symbolic value of negatives in studio, scientific, and amateur photography of the 20th century.

Photography

Starting from the Negative: images, gestures, and memories to be preserved

Starting with the negative is not going backwards. Is looking at the reverse side of images, at forgotten gestures, at the objects that sustain what we see. This blog was born from the practice of conservation and research into the history of photography, but it aims to be more than that: a space for reflection on memory, image, culture and identity.

Photography

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