Commentary: A Call for Documenting Sites with Archival Images in a Best-Practices Workflow

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06/01/13 12:00 AM

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13

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1

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156

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Abstract

Photographic documentation is an integral part of archaeological research but is not often given enough consideration. This paper outlines the basics of field photography and suggests ways in which high-quality images of archaeological sites can be captured and archivally preserved. This suggested workflow covers lighting conditions, tonal ranges, grayscale and color images, equipment choices, and archival systems. Recent iPhone apps facilitate making high-quality images, and new versions of Lightroom make it easy to manage libraries of images that also include large, archival files. In addition to offering detailed, practical information based on current technology, this paper calls for the creation and dissemination of archival images in order to communicate details about sites to a broader audience than at present. Although the formal parameters of a survey may not call for such images, there is yet an obligation to make them. Creating a set of archival, high-quality images is a form of give-back to the community: a set of files from a high-end digital camera or from scanned black-and-white negatives will ensure that sites remain visually available to researchers and community members for many decades after vegetation has grown back.

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photographic documentation, archival files, camera, photography

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11 pages

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