Association for Historical and Fine Art Photography http://www.ahfap.org.uk ...for image professionals in the UK cultural heritage sector Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:07:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 A little appreciation http://www.ahfap.org.uk/607/ http://www.ahfap.org.uk/607/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:17:25 +0000 Colin http://www.ahfap.org.uk/?p=607 Continue reading →]]> Visitors to this (new) page may be interested to read the comments of Professor Victor Mair, of the University of Pennsylvania, on the digitisation programme at the heart of the International Dunhuang Project. He observes that, thanks to online images, scholars no longer have to travel, with the accompanying expenses entailed, to far-flung locations to study documents or works of art, so saving resources of time and money. The objects themselves also are no longer disturbed and put at risk of damage or contamination.

From the point of view of the undervalued and often overlooked fine art photographer, it was surprising and refreshing to read this later on.

…Something else I have realized in working with archeologically recovered objects is that high-quality photography very often reveals details not evident to the naked eye. This seems paradoxical, but somehow a skilled photographer manages to bring out colours, shades, marks, and other properties of an artifact that are not visible to the unaided eye…Now in the comfort of one’s study, one may view the image of a given manuscript in whatever orientation one pleases, enlarging it, and enhancing the image by a variety of means that would have been impossible if one were working directly on the physical manuscript itself. Sometimes (I would say frequently), a virtual manuscript or artifact is preferable to a real manuscript or artifact.

IDP News [Winter/Spring 2010-11]
With thanks to Professor Mair for permission to quote from his text.

]]> http://www.ahfap.org.uk/607/feed/ 0 New Editorial features page http://www.ahfap.org.uk/new-editorial-features-page/ http://www.ahfap.org.uk/new-editorial-features-page/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:18:51 +0000 Tony http://www.ahfap.org.uk/?p=595 Continue reading →]]> A new editorial features page will be coming soon, it’s going to contain articles on all aspects of our work and may even include the odd guest writer, so stay tuned! If you would like to contribute please contact the Journal Editor.

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