Page 362 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

Chapter 12: Artifact Photography 341
simple to place the registration number together with the scale unobtru- sively in the corner of the picture, so that they may be cropped out of the picture if necessary.
It is essential to get the registration number correct, as it can be very easy to forget to change the number between objects. If this should occur and it is noted immediately after taking the photograph, then it is advis- able, on the next frame, to take another photograph of a large piece of paper on which a note of the error is made with a thick, felt-tipped pen, so that it will appear clearly in the contact sheet. If the error is discovered subse- quently, a note of the mistake or the correction should be scratched onto the negative after development to ensure that the mistake is permanently inscribed as such.
Digital images have the same requirements as film images, however, it is possible to name the image file with the registration number too. In this way a digital catalog can be developed in a logical and systematic manner. The file will be named with the registration number, remembering that in alphanumeric systems it will be necessary to decide how many zeros are required; for example, the object with registration number BAT21 will need to be registered in an eight-figure format as BAT00021 so that it will appear in a sorted format in the directory or folder of the BAT registration sequence.
B. DATA STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
Like all collections, photographic ones can only grow in size, and if they are not organized and managed properly the result will be chaos. On the day that it is easier to re-photograph an object rather than to try to find the negative, it is the day that the photographic system has become useless. Some people persist in believing that they can remember it all, laboring under the illusion that as long as one person knows where everything is located, the system is working perfectly. Unfortunately, this system only works for one person. If that particular person is not present no one will know where anything is. It is essential to consider the management aspects of photographic collections right from the very beginning.
All negatives should be stored together in an organized system contained within the working environment and close to the darkroom. The negative holders should be robust and bear the film identification number, the date of exposure, subject matter, and photographer. The reference material is the contact sheet, which is numbered with the film number and bound in a central filing system together with descriptive details included. Copies of particular contact sheets can be held under subgroupings by individuals, thus particular collections or subjects can be filed separately and cross ref-