Sphinx Avenue Reconstruction, originally uploaded by jpquinlan.

]]> http://www.jasonquinlan.com/2010/03/07/sphinx-avenue-reconstruction/feed/ 0 http://www.jasonquinlan.com/2010/03/07/sphinx-avenue-reconstruction/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jasonquinlan/~3/stTpXttqSdA/ http://www.jasonquinlan.com/2009/04/11/artifact-photo-scales/#comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:31:00 +0000 jasonq http://www.jasonquinlan.com/?p=47

Animal Stamp Seal from Çatalhöyük: An example of scale size and placement. Actually, I would make the scale more thin if I were to shoot this again.

After coming across friend and colleague Colleen Morgan’s post about artifact photo scales, I thought I’d throw in my two cents on the subject.

Scales in archaeological photography are an ongoing curiosity for me. As necessary as they are to give a sense of size to the photos’ subject, it so often appears that little attention is given to their proportion and composition in the photograph. It’s as if a larger and more dominant scale is meant to give the image more scientific weight and credibility. But to me, photos taken in this matter reflect a lack of care and attention to detail, that ends up distracting from the artifact’s representation. Maybe my photographic eye is being too hyper-critical, but I would say a little extra attention to the details of scale size and placement can make a big difference in how the arifact photo is viewed and appreciated down the line.

Another example of a minimal scale I used with an in situ pot at Çatalhöyük.

To help in this endeavor, here’s a scale template I’ve made in Adobe Illustrator which you can print out on photo paper and cut out for use.

Scale Template

Download: Scales.pdf

Dark Clouds Over Wall of the Crow, originally uploaded by jpquinlan.

While taking final post-ex photos in the middle of a sand storm, I looked up from atop the ladder and saw this ominous view.

Zamalek Flattened, originally uploaded by jpquinlan.

I took this shot while wandering through Zamalek last week. I was originally just trying to shoot the apartment building in the distance, but then found my eye trailing back and forth along these intersecting building perspective slants. I like the way the depth of distance is flattened into crossing patterns that very much match in their color. This is not a hard thing to do in this city, since most of Cairo architecture is covered by this same grit of earth tones. This mix of flatness and perspective seems to give it a slight Escheresque quality.

Ladder Assistance, originally uploaded by jpquinlan.

After much patience, waiting for the area to be cleaned and the osteology team to finish removing the child burial, we waited a little more for a passing cloud to diffuse my harsh shadow over the archaeology.

Giza Pyramids, originally uploaded by djsnapshot.

Just discovered this great tool to render equirectangular photos much like Quicktime VR’s. I had been wondering if Flickr’s new ability to post photos might also enable the possibility to post QTVR’s directly within the site. That doesn’t seem to be the case, but SPi-V seems like a great substitute. I’m quite impressed!

Have a look at the interactive viewer here.

(Requires Adobe Shockwave)

Anies Photo Recording, originally uploaded by Miss_Colleen.

Was surprised to see some of my photos being used for a comic! That’s brilliant! I kind of envisioned something like this when I took the shots, but never bothered to do anything with them myself. Glad to see they’ve been found and put to use!

Setting up QTVR rig in Ilyaslar, Turkey, originally uploaded by djsnapshot.

I can’t believe this was already three years ago!