Grandson working to preserve Baltimore photographer's art for the next generation

The Baltimore Museum of Art's new photography exhibit captures 200 years of the city, through the eyes of dozens of artists. 

One artist's grandson is now trying to share his photographs with the world by putting the negatives online, preserving decades of history in the process. 

A grandfather's legacy

"I basically just sat in an office for a couple of years and just scanned negatives," Webster Phillips, III told CBS News Baltimore. "Right now, we're in the early 40s, mid to late 50s, early 60s."

His grandfather, Irving Henry Phillips, Sr., has 10 photographs on display as part of the exhibit, "Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore." 

He was the chief photographer at the Baltimore Afro-American from 1956 until he retired in 1972. He covered major events, like the March on Washington, while also capturing the everyday life of Black communities in Baltimore. 

"As far as I can remember back, my father and my grandfather always had a camera in their hand," said Phillips III.

The younger Phillips says walking through the BMA exhibit makes him feel like a journeyman through time. 

"I'm seeing moments, I'm seeing feelings," he said. 

With each glance at a picture, he finds something different. 

"My father used to say, 'When you take a photograph, you stop that moment in history forever,'" Phillips III said. 

He still feels the gravity of the photos, as if he was there. 

"I remember swimming at the Druid Hill Y. Seeing that, seeing that room, that same pool, is something different," he said. 

For all to see

The exhibit showcases Baltimore from the early 1800s to the present day. 

Phillips III is now archiving and digitizing the photos his grandfather took, and thousands more, to make them easier for everyone to view. He wants to give people access to his grandfather's art, especially those who don't always have the privilege and can appreciate its history.

"The people who could afford it, didn't want it. And the people who wanted it, couldn't afford it," he explained. "So I really wanted to make it available and have it for the people that just want to enjoy the image."

Now, his grandfather's photographs will live on -- not only in his beloved Baltimore, but also at the world's greatest gallery: The internet. 

CBS News Baltimore is a proud media sponsor of "Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore," which runs through Feb. 21.