Page 239 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

218 Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook, Second Edition
experienced photographer working on an excavation, it is noticeable that they rarely do any work other than photography. No matter how important or interesting the operation, it is not possible to put the camera down and become part of the work without losing the ability to photograph. This point is often misunderstood by the less experienced expedition members who tend to think that expedition photographers are less involved in the archae- ology. By the same token, it is often important that the archaeologist is intimately involved in the recording of objects, artifacts, and details that only the archaeologist will understand or be aware of. Therefore there is a subtle balance that needs to be understood between the photographer and the archaeologist. Given that the techniques are now more easily understood and that there is a need for both types of recording, the archaeologist or project director should have no real difficulty in differentiating the roles and objectives of these two operations. Essentially, the archaeologist has to make sure that the photographic recording is done in a way which ensures that archaeologically important information is recorded so that it is useful and relevant to the archaeologist.
The best field situation is to assign at least one person to handle all the technical aspects of expedition photography. It is also important to ensure that a number of staff members, particularly those who do excavation, are experienced or trained in underwater photography so that they can record aspects of the work as the excavation progresses. This allows the more expe- rienced, professional photographer to concentrate on the more difficult or demanding requirements of the photography.
II. CAMERA EQUIPMENT A. DIGITAL CAMERAS
The current range of digital cameras is making rapid in-roads into areas of work normally reserved for the conventional camera. The advantages of the digital camera are that images can instantly be made available for viewing via a computer, there is no lengthy and time-consuming develop- ing, and processing and images can be quickly and easily manipulated using computer graphic software. The main limitations, up until recently, have been that the image size has been small, giving low resolution which meant that the images were only useful in certain circumstances. With the intro- duction of the 4, 5, and higher mega pixel cameras, the resultant image is very close to conventional 35-mm photography. Images can be enlarged to an A3 format of magazine quality and still retain sharpness with only slight pixilation. The technology (in 2003) is rapidly advancing with even larger