Magnum digitizes its photographic archives with the GFX 100 II

Magnum magazine, an essential reference in the world of photography, is launching a historic project to digitize its color photo archives using the GFX 100 II.

Entitled A World in Color, the initiative is being carried out in collaboration with Fujifilm and the Heritage and Photography Library of Paris (MPP).

Thanks to the technological performance of the GFX 100 II, this ambitious project is bringing back to life historic images that have remained invisible for decades.

Revelation of never-before-seen historical images

Fort Saint-Cyr, a building dating from the end of the 19th century, houses an exceptional collection of over 43,000 slide sheets, or around 650,000 color images, captured between the 1950s and the early 2000s.

As part of the A World in Color project, a vast digitization effort is underway, led by Magnum’s archiving and production teams, in collaboration with Fujifilm and the Bibliothèque du patrimoine et de la photographie de Paris (MPP).

Fujifilm’s experts are using the Fujifilm GFX 100 II medium-format digital camera to restore these color slides with exceptional precision.

Unseen by the public for more than 20 years, these historic photographs are finally revealed, offering an unprecedented look at decades of history in pictures.

Digitization of color photographic archives

Digitizing the Magnum archives with the Fujifilm GFX 100 II not only preserves and enriches a priceless visual heritage, but also offers the public rare access to historic images.

These photographs, witnesses to the past, shed light on our present while constituting a precious resource for historical, cultural and educational purposes.

Discover archive photos every month with Magnum

In presenting its A World in Color project, Magnum magazine announces that it will be offering exclusive monthly access to the digitization process, unveiling a new series of never-before-seen images from the archives of the Paris Color Library.

These monthly revelations will be published on Magnum’s platforms, highlighting a different country with each edition. The first stage of this visual journey begins in Europe, where the archives of the color library are housed. From March 2025, the first images published will focus on Czechoslovakia, marking the official launch of this photographic exploration.

The link with Czechoslovakia is timely, especially as Fujifilm, a collaborator on this digitization project, will be holding its X-Summit in Prague in March 2025, at which a new Fujifilm camera will be announced.

The first part of this rediscovery focuses on Czechoslovakia between 1964 and the early 1990s, highlighting two major post-war events: the Soviet invasion of 1968 and the Velvet Revolution of 1989.

The importance of digitizing archives

The project run by Magnum, MPP and Fujifilm shows just how essential the digitization of photographic archives is. It preserves and transmits historical images, documents the past and makes them accessible for learning and research.

By digitizing these archives, they become a valuable source for the press, publishing and cultural partnerships. It also opens up new possibilities for storytelling, collaboration and creation.

Thanks to this initiative, this unique heritage is safeguarded and can inspire future generations, while offering a new perspective on history.

Would you also like to digitize your archives and bring them back to life? Discover our photography solutions for museums and institutions.

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