In my career as a professional photographer, among the benefits has been the opportunity to learn more about the world, people, cultures and the incredible technologies people continue to create.  It’s afforded me the best education I could ever have imagined.
Earlier in February, I had the opportunity to work with a firm based in Frederick, Md., called The Crowley Company.

The Crowley Company manufactures more than 70% of the world’s microfilm, microfiche and aperture card scanners between the Mekel Technology and Wicks and Wilson brand.

Mekel Technology is manufactured in California (USA); Wicks and Wilson in Hampshire (UK). Crowley is, as mentioned, headquartered is in Frederick, MD.

On this assignment, I was ably assisted by Liane Spoto, with whom I’ve worked on other projects in the Frederick area.  When Liane wasn’t occupied with the lighting and setups necessary, she also created the available light “on assignment” photos seen here while I worked with Cheri Baker and her associate, Kris Sheckles, from Crowley.

It was extremely interesting for a photographer like myself, the bulk of whose career was spent creating advertising photographs on film.  In today’s digital age, discussing the lifetimes of various media with people as knowledgeable as those at Crowley was informative, as was learning the diverse kinds of information being stored on microfilm.

In addition to manufacturing and distributing these scanners, Crowley also operates one of the nation’s largest service bureaus, having converted hundreds of millions of images from books, newspapers, loose documents, photographic materials, graphic materials, maps, microfilm, microfiche, aperture cards and more. The company is also one of the last firms to still offer analog services, such as microfilm duplicating and processing (making microfilm from digitally-born files).

Why microfilm? It’s still the longest-lasting proven storage medium. If stored correctly, it has a life span of 500 years.

To learn more about The Crowley Company, visit www.thecrowleycompany.com

Photographic assignments have taken Jeff Behm all around the western hemisphere,  as well as serving his local areas of Frederick, Washington, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard and Baltimore counties.  Services provided include advertising, aerial, food, executive portraiture and commercial photography at the highest levels.  For outstanding professional advertising photography, located in Frederick, MD., call 724-730-8513 to speak with us.