David Stecker is the Head of the Imaging Department at the National Gallery Prague. Since joining in 2011, he has been responsible for planning the institution’s digitization projects and strategies. In recent years, he has managed several projects to establish new digitization workplaces funded by the European Recovery Funds. Thanks to these projects, the NGP has become a leader in technical innovations within the Czech cultural heritage sector. His work focuses on connecting the technical understanding of processes and project management with the curatorial need for an accurate and appropriate visual representation of the digitized art collections.
He holds both BA and MA degrees from the Department of Photography at FAMU, where he now teaches in the Studio of Classic Photography.

In 2025, he presented at the Archiving 2025 conference in Granada with a poster titled, “Digitizing cultural heritage: exploiting the gap between standards and individual approach.” He is currently leading a project to build a comprehensive IT infrastructure for a long-term preservation digital archive. This initiative includes integration with a DAM system and aims to make all data accessible in accordance with FAIR and CARE policies.

From Detail to Context: Digital Provenance as a Key Requirement for Quality Digitization

In recent years, many museums and galleries have invested considerable resources into high-end digitization technology. We are proud of the high resolution and perfect colour fidelity of our images. But what if, in this race for technical perfection, we are missing something essential?

This contribution argues that just as important as the image itself are its context and origin—information that we collectively call digital provenance. Using practical examples, we will introduce the key categories of this data (such as the condition of the artwork during digitization, the technology used, and lighting conditions) and suggest how to think about a system for its management. Such a system is crucial for maintaining the value and long-term usability of our digital archives. The goal is not to question the importance of technical quality, but to offer inspiration for the next, often overlooked step: how to ensure that our digital data is not only technically perfect but, above all, understandable, usable, and trustworthy even twenty years from now.

Samuel Salgado Tello is a historian, curator, and researcher specializing in the history of photography in Chile and Latin America. Since 2008, he has served as Director of the National Center for Photographic Heritage (Cenfoto-UDP) at Universidad Diego Portales, where he has led major initiatives in the preservation, digitization, and dissemination of photographic archives. His work also extends to the field of digital humanities through projects such as datos.udp.cl and culturadigital.udp.cl.

He holds a Master’s degree in History and Cultural Heritage Management and has extensive experience in curatorial practice, archival research, and cultural heritage policy. He has directed numerous research and preservation projects funded by national and international programs, including FONDART, FONDECYT, FMIM, and Fondequip, and has curated exhibitions at major institutions such as the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the Museo de la Memoria, and the Biblioteca Nicanor Parra.

Salgado Tello is an active member of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme – Chile, and collaborates with regional and international networks focused on photographic heritage. His publications include books, essays, and editorial projects that explore the intersections of photography, memory, and visual culture. His academic and professional practice is situated at the crossroads of visual history, archival studies, and digital technologies applied to historical research.”

From BC-100 to Digital Heritage: Experiences and Perspectives from Cenfoto-UDP

Maggie Wenz is currently the Lead Web Developer and Digital Archivist for the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Beginning in the franchise’s 40th Anniversary season in 2014-15, Maggie has worked to inventory and digitally preserve the club’s multitude of photos, articles, scrapbooks, memorabilia, and more. For over ten years, Maggie has been the primary manager of the Washington Capitals brand presence on WashingtonCapitals.com, maintaining written and video content, streamlining ticket purchases, designing graphics for web and social, and building out platforms for the club’s many community initiatives. 

Prior to her role with the Washington Capitals, Maggie worked as the Marketing Manager for the NFL Alumni Association, as well serving in a Social Media internship role with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Maggie received a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in Sports Marketing, with a double minor in History and Spanish Literature.

Stewards of Sports History: Preserving the Past & Documenting the Present in the Digital Age 

How do you decide which stories to tell and what moments to capture in 50 years of sports history? Maggie Wenz outlines her ongoing process of compiling, digitizing, preserving, and sharing the “Gr8est” moments of the Washington Capitals franchise, over 5 decades in the making. From the moment Washington, D.C. was granted an NHL franchise in 1972, the Capitals have been stockpiling and scrapbooking every moment that was printed in ink or on film, all the way up to the modern era of dig

Brock Switzer

Brock is the Manager of Digital Services at The Mariners’ Museum and Park. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Media Arts with a concentration in photography from Robert Morris University. Since joining the Museum team in 2015, he has focused on upgrading and updating the Museum’s digitization program, including the purchase of purpose-built equipment and implementation of FADGI standards. Additionally, Brock oversees the Museum’s digital asset management system and handles reproduction printing.

Emily Ransone

Emily Ransone is the Digitization Technician at The Mariners’ Museum & Park. She holds a BA in Art History & Studio Art with a concentration in photography from Christopher Newport University. Her introduction to cultural heritage imaging began at The Mariners’ Museum, where she served as the Digital Services Intern while completing her undergraduate degree in 2022. During her internship, she contributed to an IMLS-funded project by photographing the Peter Ifland Collection of navigational instruments. After graduating, Emily worked as a contract Digital Imaging Specialist, digitizing negatives in NASA Langley’s photo archives. Emily returned to The Mariners’ Museum in 2023, where she began work on an IMLS-funded grant to digitize at-risk negatives in the museum’s photographic collection. Outside of the museum, Emily is a practicing photographer exhibiting her work throughout Virginia.

The Domino Effect

In 2018, conservators at The Mariners’ Museum and Park discovered deteriorating acetate and nitrate film stock during a survey of the Museum’s motion picture film collection.  This survey revealed the need for improved storage conditions, not just for the motion picture films, but for numerous photographic and mixed archival collections. It was the first in a series of interconnected, large-scale projects. Amidst a backdrop of rapid institutional change and competing priorities, the Museum was also awarded a Save America’s Treasures Grant, requiring the cataloging and digitization of 30,000 at-risk negatives. 

The ever-growing list of projects required quick but measured decision-making, leaning on cross-departmental collaboration and expertise. It became readily apparent that efficient and tested workflows, rigorous documentation, and flexibility are essential to keeping up with the continuously falling dominoes.

Peter Siegel is the Director and founder of DT Heritage. Dedicated to the cultural heritage community, he has developed a series of reprographic and book capture benches and a reprographic camera system as well as film scanning solutions and accessories that are purpose-built to meet the specialized needs of cultural institutions. This was a natural fit, as he has served the not-for-profit community for over 25 years.

Before coming to Digital Transitions over 10 years ago, Peter was the Head of Digital Imaging and Photography for Harvard Art Museums and Fine Arts Library. Here he planned and implemented the modernization of the entire imaging lab and photography services department by designing and integrating image capture technologies for image creation, management, and permanence. Peter was also the Director of Digital Imaging at the American Museum of Natural History. Peter was responsible for all aspects of the Digital Imaging program and created an image database containing over 270,000 high-resolution images from collections, catalog ledgers, and archives. He also incorporated and designed digital imaging technologies to integrate other museum collections.

Peter’s history working in the cultural heritage community is why DT Heritage has become the country’s leading provider of high-end digitization solutions. His true understanding of the importance of reliable equipment with a dependable technical support team standing behind their products is why we stand out and have partnered with Phase One, the worldwide leader in digital imaging technology.