If you've never puzzled over an f-stop setting, you probably haven't wrestled with one object moving against another and going from light to dark to light. Usually the artist's eye has the advantage in a situation like this. But sometimes the camera gets lucky...

Here's a comparison between showing the context (left) and giving a landmark personality (right). The more colorful "artsy" photo on the right may be perfect for a postcard, but the left side shows more detail and contextual applications.

 

 

Photo stock print from MSPublisher 2000

 

 

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a time worn cliche, but it is still the closest definition we have for describing what looks good to us on an individual basis. Most people agree that architecture from the past is "beautiful".

Recording a treasure may seem as easy as snapping the shot, but what constitutes a "good" archival picture?

  • Can the object clearly be seen?
  • Are it's major icons pronounced without dominating the photo?
  • Are the colors true?
  • Is the purpose of the object obvious (ie: is it an arch, a bridge, a building?)

Now add correctly recording it so that an accurate provenance is established, AND showing it for the beautiful piece that it is, and you have the major ingredients for an accurate depiction of the artifact.

There are, however, still minute details to contend with: the photo on the left would have been excellent if the pole and tree hadn't jumped in front of the lens.

One of the first photos taken for a Visual Anthropology class, this picture required a great deal of patience and coaxing to get the subject to smile. It was learned after the fact that it was inapproapriate in his culture to smile for a photograph. Therefore, researching the viability of using human subjects is a major concern for the Visual Anthropologist and great care should be undertaken before using such photos for museum display.


Jill Mulligan, Irish Eyes Artwork ©

 

Sometimes with large artifacts the only shot you can get is from behind another object. That's when digitizing becomes an artform in its own right.

Here is an example (from the Lincoln Fire Department 'before' picture) of objects grouped in such a way as to create a nearly impossible distinction of artifacts. Often research of the object becomes as critical as the actual photograph in filling in the hidden parts of an object or in identifiying the object itself.

In this particular instance, several photos of the 1925 LaSalle Firetruck were taken from different angles to fill in the missing 'information'. Part of the Visual Anthropologist's training is studying research methods and how to apply the resulting information to the photographic process.

Here at IRISH EYES ARTWORK, we work in both standard format (slr) and in digital format, often combining both techniques for a 'clean' product.


Jill Mulligan, Irish Eyes Artwork ©

Here's an extreme case for the use of digital photography, also item from the Lincoln Fire Dept Museum. This object was integrated visually into its background with too much interference to see the object. In order to create a clear picture for the catalog, the piece had to be digitized out of its background.


Jill Mulligan, Irish Eyes Artwork ©

 

Getting this shot (when the monkey paused in his antics) took a little over an hour of patience and dodging visitors to the Henry Doorley Zoo Rain Forest, Omaha, Nebraska.

While art objects don't typically move around, zoo animals do and are considered a collection, just as a zoo or an herbarium is technically a museum.

Capturing this critter's personality is more than art, it records part of the animal's "culture" in relation to his surroundings as well as other species. Part of what makes IRISH EYES ARTWORK unique is our ability to address both inanimate and 'moving' collections.

 

Speaking of living collections, this garden photo, taken as part of the landscape for the original Bess Streeter Aldrich website (no longer available) is an accurate 'description' of the garden while perhaps not as 'artsy' as one might associate with a garden. The point was to show the garden in its relationship to the house and surrounding grounds.


Jill Mulligan, Irish Eyes Artwork ©


Jill Mulligan, Irish Eyes Artwork ©

Sometimes photography is not the only solution to a museum's needs and art can be used in combination to produce the finished product.

For instance, in planning the move for the Goehner Brothers Store, 'thumbprint' photos were taken of the store layout and then applied to project the collection in its new environment.

Drawings have the advantage of being applicable when a photograph is impossible due to very low lighting requirements for delicate objects, inaccessibility, or the projection of ideas for future usage.

Together, art and photography are powerful tools in the museum environment. IRISH EYES ARTWORK offers both venues, in combination when required for optimum graphics and design for your website. We have the museum experience and are qualified to work with your collection.

Please note that all photos and drawings, with the exception of stock prints, are authored and copyrighted by IRISH EYES ARTWORK. Written permission must be obtained to use these articles for reproduction purposes.

If you use one of my pictures on your website, thank you in advance for crediting IRISH EYES ARTWORK.