Past Lab: The Lens Media Lab

The Lens Media Lab stewarded the world’s largest collection of over 7,500 photographic papers from it’s inception in 2015 to 2025. The collection of photographic papers was originally assembled by the lab’s founder and director Paul Messier, who brought it to Yale University for digitization, study, and activation. 

Now housed at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, the unique collection of paper from 1890 to 2010 supports research on the history, authenticity, and preservation of photographic materials.  

A row of colorful packages of paper from different companies and time periods.

A selection of photographic papers from the Lens Media Lab’s collection.

More About the Lab

The Lens Media Lab combined traditional photography methods with advanced data science and AI techniques, offering a comprehensive study of photographic materials. 

It was also deeply engaged with Yale students, faculty, and the New Haven community through a variety of projects.

In an age where darkroom practices are fading, the Lens Media Lab created crucial resources for preserving and understanding photography. 

Read the full history.
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Accessing the Collection

The Lens Media Lab’s collection is digitized and accessible in LUX, Yale’s centralized collection discovery tool. 

It can also be explored through Paperbase, an interactive visual platform that maps the key physical and visual attribute of gelatin silver photographic papers. Paperbase can also be used to analyze material characteristics of photographic papers and can add a new level of context to traditional museum metadata. 

For conservators or researchers interested in visiting the collection, please email Christine McCarthy at christine.mccarthy@yale.edu for more information. 

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Research Tools by the LML

  • LML's collection in LUX

    LUX is Yale’s innovative cross collections discovery platform that features the LML’s reference collection of photographic papers.

  • History of Photographic Paper Manufacturers

    A collection of essays on the history of photographic paper manufacturers from the Lens Media Lab at Yale University by Joitree Alam.

  • TIPPs: A Materials-Focused Database

    TIPPs allows users to explore the hundreds of photographic samples tipped into international photography journals and manuals published between 1855 and 1900.

  • The LML Backprinting Project

    A catalogue of manufacturer printing applied to the reverse of photographic papers. This information can sometimes be useful in dating prints and identifying papers.

Paperbase

An interactive visual platform

Paperbase allows users to explore the key physical and visual attribute of gelatin silver photographic papers. It can be used to analyze material characteristics of photographic papers and can add a new level of context to traditional museum metadata. 

The tool was launched at the Darkroom to Data Symposium, an event that featured the lab’s research into the material history of black and white photography and provided an introduction on how to use Paperbase.

Watch videos from the Darkroom to Data Symposium
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The View from Here

A collaboration with the Yale Center for British Art

The View from Here is a photography course that provides access to the material history of photography through the cellphone camera for New Haven area high school students. 

The program engages young artists through photography and culminates in an annual exhibition at the Yale Schwarzman Center & on Yale West Campus. 

Learn more about the program
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News & Select Publications

A grid of colorful packages of paper from different companies and decades.

For more information

Questions about the Lens Media Lab can be directed to Hannah Caputo at hannah.caputo@yale.edu.

For more general inquiries, contact IPCH.