Photography at West Register House

[SarahND]

Hi all,
I just received notice that NAS are having a trial three month period where one can take one's own photographs of the documents at the West Search Room in Charlotte Square. I have found some interesting things there in the past: some court cases, etc. so if you have been hesitating because of the cost of the copying, give it a try and encourage them to adopt it permanently!

http://www.nas.gov.uk/documents/selfSer ... graphy.pdf

All the best,
Sarah

[Currie]

Hello Sarah,

It may be worthwhile for anyone going to NAS to practice taking close-ups of documents under interior lighting conditions beforehand. That way there’s more chance of things going smoothly when they attempt the real thing.

Check your camera manual for close-up procedures, practice holding the camera steady and parallel to the item, take several photos per item at different distances etc rather than relying on one, stuff like that.

Here’s an interesting article about photographing archives that could be adapted to meet NAS rules and regulations. Of course for this particular expedition you will probably not need to spend much at all, if anything, on extra equipment. http://blog.lib.umn.edu/robe0419/coffee/046590.html

All the best,
Alan

[bleckie]

Thanks Alan
Good one

Yours Aye
BruceL

[AndrewP]

Anyone who tries this photography at West Register House, please let us know here how you get on. How easy or difficult was it? Any useful tips?

I see that tripods are not allowed, presumably in case it falls over, falls apart or the like and risks damaging the documents. I have photographed book pages at home using a tripod and that is not always easy. I think it may take a bit of trial and error if you are having to hand-hold the camera. Without flash, the exposure time will be longer and hence more prone to camera-shake.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings from New Zealand.

Last year, I was able to find time to spend 12 days, while recovering from surgery, in an archive studying very old periodicals that I had no other access to.

When staff got to know me, and I found out I was able to use a digital camera, I took many photographs of interesting old adverts etc. A 'want' more than a 'need'.
I'm not a photographer, but kept taking photos and changing the exposure settings until the images looked Ok in the view mode. What helped was that I was allowed to place the item, to be photographed, to best advantage for available light and adjacent to a firm object, that I could hold the camera against to stabilize it. The images so gained were clear and slightly tapered, but quite OK for my research reference purposes.

Either the high backed reading tables, or on a table near the windows, with the camera butted up against a digital photocopier.

The alternatives were to pay staff 40 NZ cents per page image copied on a digital A3 photo copier, for paper reproductions or to get the photo copier images, saved on the archive's computer, and then down loaded onto a memory stick, or written on to a disc supplied by the researcher, at the end of the research period.

Wish I had that ability 30 years ago. Now I pay the price to get the quality reproductions I need, but also have the ability to gain, for little extra cost, images that I would like to take home for further research.

Don't be put off because you are only an amature or have the shakes, you might be surprised at your success.

Alan SHARP.

[SarahND]

We have used this method many places in the U.S.: in courthouses, libraries and other archives. I have even photographed the microfilm screen with good results. It sure saves time, since images are all ready to be put on the computer, where the size can be blown up to facilitate reading, etc. In addition, it's better for the documents themselves, since you really don't need to touch them much. Photocopying is much harder on books.

Some cameras do better on this than others, of course. A good idea to try this out at home first, to get an idea of what kind of conditions your camera needs for good results.

All the best,
Sarah