Methodology and technical specifications

1. Photodocumentation: My previous practice was to use a Nikon 35mm camera with a Micro-Nikkor 60mm flat-field lens, shooting Kodachrome 25, the archival standard for fine resolution and image stability. Slides were then scanned using a dedicated slide scanner.

I have now switched to digital capture for three reasons: Kodak has discontinued sale of this film, processing has become more difficult, and high-resolution digital cameras have come down in price to the point that they are a practical choice. My current camera is a Kodak DCS Pro SLR-n, a 13-megapixel camera (3000 x 4500 pixels) with my Nikon lens. Shots go directly to a laptop, allowing for complete color balance control and designated sequential file numbering. The posters are held in place on a wall-mounted 3'x4' custom-built vacuum board, assuring flatness without damaging the posters. Lighting is provided by a pair of Lumedyne 200 watt-second electronic strobe units placed 45° to the copyboard. A strobe meter is used to assure even light balance over the image area. A standard color bar and grayscale accompany each shot. The original RAW format files are saved on CD, then cropped TIFFs are generated for catalog use. The resultant files are always equal to or larger than 3000 pixels along the longest edge (MOA II guidelines).

2. Image management: Scanned images are dropped into Extensis Portfolio, a commercial application which allows cataloging and retrieval. Search fields are set up for the electronic catalog, including artist, date, agency, original catalog number, new catalog number, medium, size, description, caption, condition, and source. The program allows compound searches based on all of the above information, and shows the images selected as thumbnails on-screen.

updated 2/1/2008