Rock Art, how to photograph

[Natasja]

Hello everyone, I am new to your site and am not sure how it all works. Any way my question is if anybody can advise me on how to best photograph faded rock art. I know there is a technique available to enhance faded, weathered images. (Colours: yellow, red, black & white, invisible for the eye, but with digital technique able to detect) Infra-red, layer upon layer, flash or no flash, what should I do & what kind of programme and equipment to use? Am about to start a research/data project and many sites are far and difficult to access, so it is a once off opportunity and when there, have to photograph and capture in best possible way in order to safeguard and share this great heritage in digital image. I really really appreciate if any of you could advice me! Kind regards, Natasja

[Natasja]

Hello everyone, I am new to your site and am not sure how it all works. Any way my question is if anybody can advise me on how to best photograph faded rock art. I know there is a technique available to enhance faded, weathered images. (Colours: yellow, red, black & white, invisible for the eye, but with digital technique able to detect) Infra-red, layer upon layer, flash or no flash, what should I do & what kind of programme and equipment to use? Am about to start a research/data project and many sites are far and difficult to access, so it is a once off opportunity and when there, have to photograph and capture in best possible way in order to safeguard and share this great heritage in digital image. I really really appreciate if any of you could advice me! Kind regards, Natasja

[Natasja]

Hello everyone, I am new to your site and am not sure how it all works. Any way my question is if anybody can advise me on how to best photograph faded rock art. I know there is a technique available to enhance faded, weathered images. (Colours: yellow, red, black & white, invisible for the eye, but with digital technique able to detect) Infra-red, layer upon layer, flash or no flash, what should I do & what kind of programme and equipment to use? Am about to start a research/data project and many sites are far and difficult to access, so it is a once off opportunity and when there, have to photograph and capture in best possible way in order to safeguard and share this great heritage in digital image. I really really appreciate if any of you could advice me! Kind regards, Natasja

[Mike]

If the art is "invisible for the eye" how do you know where to aim the camera?

I have photographed some rock art. About the only thing I have done special is on a couple I used a bit of HDR to pull some stuff out of the shadows.

In post, sometimes a bit of curves or hue and saturation maybe called for.

If you are hiking in a long ways, then perhaps some kind of backup for the card in your camera is called for so you do not have all your eggs in one basket.

[Natasja]

Dear Mike, thank you for your reply. Of course the art is not totally invisible, but many times so badly weathered that it is difficult, hardly or not possible with the 'naked' eye to see what the initial image/painting portrays. Thereby as a 3-Dimensional spiritual canvass approach people over thousands of years have painted upon paintings. As mentioned in former mail I know there is a technique -but don't know how & am trying/hoping to find out- which is able to capture the weathered (hardly visible) paint residues at site and which than is enhanced/made visible through a specific technique/image manipulation photo programme. Maybe, as I just read, comparable with the latent fingerprint identification as mentioned in the forensic forum of this site? Would this be an option and who could advise? Again, I highly appreciate your response and guidance! Kind regards, Natasja

[0lBaldy]

Originally Posted by Natasja

Hello everyone, I am new to your site and am not sure how it all works. Any way my question is if anybody can advise me on how to best photograph faded rock art. I know there is a technique available to enhance faded, weathered images. (Colours: yellow, red, black & white, invisible for the eye, but with digital technique able to detect) Infra-red, layer upon layer, flash or no flash, what should I do & what kind of programme and equipment to use? Am about to start a research/data project and many sites are far and difficult to access, so it is a once off opportunity and when there, have to photograph and capture in best possible way in order to safeguard and share this great heritage in digital image. I really really appreciate if any of you could advice me! Kind regards, Natasja

Welcome to RetouchPRO Hope you enjoy your stay here and make lots of friends. Poke around, ask questions, have fun!

Perhaps if you posted an example of what you have photographed and classified as "Rock art" we could offer better sugestions

If you use Photoshop you can post fairly large pictures which are under 100k using the 'save for web' function in Photoshop as described here: Size, Quality and/or Format your Attached Images.. (Click here)

How to attach Files/Images to your Posts or Threads: (Click here)

If you want to post a larger resolution that is over 100K then you can host your image elsewhere and attach a link in the thread, but also please attach an under 100K version (so the thread remains useful in the future, regardless of external links).

Other Hosts if you do not have your own site: ImageVenue.com (3Meg max, free) pixentral.com (2Meg max, free) photobucket.com (1 Meg max free, 5 Meg PRO) mediafire.com (100 Meg per file, free) post a link in the thread to the site that is hosting the larger image.

[Natasja]

Dear OlBaldy, Thank you! See reply to Mike for a better understanding & attached picture. "As mentioned in former mail I know there is a technique -but don't know how & am trying/hoping to find out- which is able to capture the weathered (hardly visible) paint residues at site and which than is enhanced/made visible through a specific technique/image manipulation photo programme. Maybe, as I just read, comparable with the latent fingerprint identification as mentioned in the forensic forum of this site? Would this be an option and who could advise? Again, I highly appreciate your response and guidance! Kind regards, Natasja

[0lBaldy]

Originally Posted by Natasja

Dear OlBaldy, Thank you! See reply to Mike for a better understanding & attached picture. "As mentioned in former mail I know there is a technique -but don't know how & am trying/hoping to find out- which is able to capture the weathered (hardly visible) paint residues at site and which than is enhanced/made visible through a specific technique/image manipulation photo programme. Maybe, as I just read, comparable with the latent fingerprint identification as mentioned in the forensic forum of this site? Would this be an option and who could advise? Again, I highly appreciate your response and guidance! Kind regards, Natasja

To enhance your primitive cave or rock art... You might try the Color Deconvolution Plug-in as I did here after doing a levels

I used the deconvolution in different layer modes and at various opacities then blended the final merge with the original

Good Luck !

[Kraellin]

i would try a number of ways, the first being bracketed shots at +1/-1 ev and maybe +.5/-.5. essentially this is the same sort of thing as mike's saying hdr but without the hdr post software.

your lighting is critical. rock generally isnt very reflective, but watch for it. if the subject is in direct sunlight you may have to shade it a bit or watch the angle at which you take it. i'm also guessing you're not taking your own lighting equipment, but let us know if that's not the case. if it's not in sunlight and in a cave or something, you're going to have to rely on a flash. again, bracketing here can save some time.

if it's indoors/cave/low light of some sort, try to get some natural lighting on the subject if possible and keep your iso as low as you can and use a tripod. high iso's sometimes tend to produce noise in low light... depends somewhat on the camera, too.

but, if it's outdoors and conditions arent that bad, just use bracketing with auto-focus and auto everything and see what you get. like i say, rock is generally pretty non-reflective. i mean, you do have a review pic button

oh, and even if you arent going to lug around a lot of lighting equipment, you might want to take one reflector if for no other reason than to direct some light into a darker area to avoid flash.

for a lens, a normal 50-55mm shld do fine for most stuff.

oh, and here's possibly the best tip i can give you for this, use a polarizing lens if you're working in sunlight. it can give you better detail and less flare/reflectivity and make the rock look better. a u-v lens would probably help a little, too, but the polarizing shld be best for outdoor sunlight shots.

now, if you're really feeling risky, take a bucket of water with you and if the art can stand it, wet the rock. this will most likely give you a lot better contrast between the rock and art. test this carefully first. you dont want to wipe out the art

[Natasja]

Dear OlBaldy, Thank you so much! This is what I am looking for, am so thrilled about the possibilities, now I have to study & master it! Kind regards, Natasja

[Natasja]

Thank you Kraellin! & Craig for programme suggestion, very much appreciated, I will try your advice on nearby easy accessible art, before going out for 'real', esp the polarising lens. Don't have a seperate flash yet, just a fixed one, but can adjust the strenght/bracket. Question about the reflector, what kind should it be, white, gold? Going to make my own folding one. Rock Art sometimes in caves (deep, low & dark) but mostly in relative open overhang. Lightning equipment, depends on amount of funding I can raise, for now it is surviving, going to work hard on technique and can't wait to go out, I'll keep you updated and once again THANK YOU! Natasja

[CJ Swartz]

I live in Arizona in a part of the USA that is rich in native American petroglyphs/pictographs, but I've never tried photographing them.

One of the universities here offers classes and trips, it seems, to study such art, and I will give you some links to them in hopes that they will be able to help you. Now that I've read a bit of them, I think that you may already know about them - is that where you got the info you already have?

**Newest link** - Computer-Assisted Photographic Documentation of Rock Art (PDF) -link is to page - look towards the middle of the page for this title and click the link to read the pdf. Discusses use of Photoshop techniques to enhance images - use of LAB color space, etc.
Digital Enhancement techniques
This is a direct link to download a pdf by same man above with more specific info

Archeologist's Handbook - tips

Here are links from the university mentioned above -


Listserv - Netgroups links - Europe / Asia / S. America

Rock Art Discussion - ListServ for Arizona State Univ. rock art discussion groups

Summary of photo tips (relate more to film photography, but some general info)

Somewhat readable sections from above listserv -

items from above list - relating to photographic techniques (some answers are from the 1990's and reference links that no longer exist).

Search for "photography" list of discussions relating to photography of rock art

infrared - "... Infrared film does not produce results which separate the petroglyphs from rock surfaces. Where it may produce more useful results is on
pictographs which use organic pigments or binders. In order to use either IR or
UV photography with pictographs you need light sources which contain light in
these ranges of the spectrum. The open shade illuminating many pictographs
contains little IR light for example..."
infrared_2 - "...
infrared enhancement works particularly well in the case of petroglyphs, where the crystalline structure of the surface is fractured AND where the substrate rock is dark, e.g., basalt. This is due to the high contrast characteristics of infrared film, which can be obtained similarly by using Kodak Technical Pan film with a filter the same color as the pigment..."cross-polarized enhancement - info is old, but technique might be helpful if you can find the reference he lists. Maybe you can find him?

scientific photography - has some references you might check out

YouTube video from group

Alain Briot, photographer (seen on LuminousLandscape.com) has done a lot of study/photography of Native American rock art - here is a page from his website Beautiful-landscape.com

Spectral Selectivity by Ed Scott & Hollis Bewley

Rock Art photography - Oliver award - American Rock Art Research Association

As Craig suggested, a polarizer will be helpful in some conditions. Shoot in raw format, not jpeg. Lighting from the side will often help show the texture and emphasize the art. There was some question in the ListServ groups about whether using flash hurts the rock art - they may have found the answer to that question by now. Use of a reflector should be no problem. Photoshop or GIMP ( a free program with similar tools) would allow use of numerous techniques that will increase enhancement of whatever image your camera captures - you will need to learn both photographic and post-processing skills. This website can help you with practice, if you want.

Good luck - are you part of a group or on your own? Finding a group in a nearby university would probably be a big help for you.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

i
now, if you're really feeling risky, take a bucket of water with you and if the art can stand it, wet the rock. this will most likely give you a lot better contrast between the rock and art. test this carefully first. you dont want to wipe out the art

THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!!!

On federal land (BLM, Park Service etc) it is against the law to even touch the rock art let alone pour water over it. People are in prison for long periods of time for messing with this stuff and rightly so. Do you suppose that people do this kind of thing in the Sistine Chapel? To some folks the rock art is their version of the Sistine Chapel. Look, photograph, do not touch!

[Kraellin]

hehe, i hadnt thought of that, mike. i'm sure you're right and i retract my earlier advice on this. i'd hardly compare rock art to sistine chapel art, but your point is taken.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

i'd hardly compare rock art to sistine chapel art, but your point is taken.

I would. Every culture at some point in time produces art that is of that quality, to them. But it is normal for other cultures to not appreciate the effort.

Here where I live (and rock art appears around every other corner) the question is , if some person could develop a paint that has lasted for several thousand years, why can't todays paint company's do that so we would not have to continuously repaint our houses?

[Kraellin]

rofl. i love your point about house paints and you also make a good point about the time element and appreciation for when it was made. and really? there's a lot of rock art in Co.?

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

rofl. i love your point about house paints and you also make a good point about the time element and appreciation for when it was made. and really? there's a lot of rock art in Co.?

Really there is a lot of rock art in CO! Maybe not as much as in UT, AR and NM, but still a fair amount.

http://www.rangely.com/CanyonPintado.htm This describes an area that is just north of us. Very interesting and most of it close to the road so on a hot summer day (maybe 100 or better!) one can enjoy then escape back into an air conditioned car.....

Then of course to the south is the Mesa Verde area that not only has rock art but all the big stone mansions that where built hundreds of years ago.

To the east of us is UT (about 30 mile to the boarder from my house) and they have more rock art than one can really comprehend.

I often stand in front of one of these things and think that maybe a thousand years ago a person stood there and created that. I wonder just what he was trying to tell me?

[Kraellin]

fascinating. i knew arizona, new mexico and maybe utah had quite a bit, and then there's the cave paintings in france, but i wouldnt have thought Co. had much till you said something. i'm not far from mammoth cave here in kentucky and have been on several of their tours, but i dont ever recall seeing rock art there. odd, now that i think of it, since the caves were used by native americans.

thanks, mike.

[C0bweb]

Hi Natasja,

I'm new to this site as well but decided to reply to your post since rock art is a part of my research. I agree with the other bloggers who say that you should never put water (or any other substance) on the rock art. Using flash photography and light disks are usually okay but it can vary from site to site so it's generally a good idea to ask first before you start using them (especially in the case of the flash). To learn more about site etiquette, various tours, and fieldschools, you can look at these two web sites: http://www.shumla.org and http://www.rockart.org/index.html .

The techniques you use to photograph the rock art will vary depending on the conditions at the site and also whether you are photographing pictographs or petroglyphs. Most of my experience comes from photographing pictographs, although some of these techniques may work as well with petroglyphs.

I have been using a UVIR camera to record rock art and have had very positive results. By using different filters and layering techniques I can often increase the visibility of figures that are otherwise difficult to see. Unfortunately UVIR equipment can be some what expensive and time consuming to process in post. I'm not sure what your background is with rock art but if you are just starting out with it then I would recommend starting with digital enhancement of images taken with an ordinary digital camera. There are several techniques that work well and are not as expensive.

The least expensive method (that I know of) is using a program called D-Stretch. It is a plugin for Image-J software. Both Image-J and D-Stretch are free and verrrry user friendly. They can be downloaded at http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/ or you can just Google Image-J and find it that way.

A second option is to post process using Adobe Photoshop. It is not as user friendly but will sometimes get better results (especially with grayscales). I use the Lab mode and adjust the levels to create a false color image or grayscale. If you are interested in reading more about how to do this you can look at the Rupestrian CyberService web site: http://www.rupestrian.com/ or read some of the publications written by Drs. Bob Mark and Evelyn Billo. They are the ones who taught me how to do enhancements with Photoshop.

Hope this helps!
Thanks