-- HaroldSikkema - 17 May 2007

Photographic Process for Roman Coins Project

To better serve the (research) community for whom the roman coins project exists, we aim to achieve a high standard of quality for our digital coin images. To define this standard, we have found advice and direction from the people and documents that revolve around other existing projects in which documentary artifact (or coin) photography has played a major role. Given the credibilty of the organizations that have sponsored these projects (i.e. American Numismatics Society, Museum of Civilization Corporation) we can have a high level of confidence that our project will reflect a very respectable set of standards. The following process describes how we aim to achieve such a high standard of digital imaging quality.

Our essential hardware includes a copy stand, lightbox, camera, and pedestal. These are arranged according to the included diagram. The lightbox provides a consistent white background for the image, similar to the format used by the ANS. (Note that CMC reccommends a grey background, but this is specifically for museum archiving. Our project is geared towards the web, and to that end we are prioritizing other web standards over those of CMC.) In order to fill the frame with the coin as much as possible (according to the reccommendation in the CMC Standards Document), we will set the lens on the camera to its maximum possible zoom, as well as its closest possible focus. On the particular lens we are using, this entails rotating the zoom entirely to the left, and the focus entirely to the right. Different sizes of coins demand different pedestals, we may need to move the camera up or down. This will be done using the position handle on the copy stand, rather than adjusting the focus on the lens. By using this method to bring the coins into focus, and leaving the camera lens in a fixed position, we can ensure that each image will represent the coins in the correct relative dimensional proportion. One additional spot-light is used (3200K Bulb) providing light on the coin from above. A sheet of laminate is held between the bulb and the coin to soften the harshness of the light.

Camera settings: ISO 100, F-stop 5.6 Shutter Speed 1/50 Focal Length: 55mm Format: RAW

Post processing of the image includes cropping the image into a square frame, rotating the image so that the angle is accurate, and adjusting the tone curve to optimize the exposure. These settings are applied as a profile onto the original RAW image in Adobe Bridge. This setup will allow any additional changes to be made later on without loss of quality.

After post processing, the image is saved as a TIFF, for high resolution reference. It is then also saved as a JPEG at maximum quality to be used for the website.

• Photographic Process Hardware Setup: