Hi Roger,
my son who is an archaeologist has been allowed by tribal elders to
photograph ancient (Australian) aboriginal petroglyphs and rock art.
These present similar challenges to snapping old gravestones. He
concentrates on the lighting, both by his own torch and waiting for a
favourable sunlight angle, to throw the markings into relief. He even
uses different times of the day to snap the same images and then compare
and combine them. (Camping out around these site can be so pleasant in
summer). It is amazing just how revealing the right lighting can be -
even better than to the naked eye at the spot. This is not
post-processing, as nothing beats a good original, does it? but can help
when getting the primary shot. If the marking are not on the photo, then
no amount of CSI post processing can reveal it.
He does use IR, but rarely, which can help since temperature can vary
between groves and surface, but with limited success.
Gordon
On 31/08/2022 10:56 am, Roger Cousens via CoTyroneList wrote:
Does anyone know of a good guide to post-processing of the gravestone
images? Gravestones can be so hard to read, as they get covered in
lichens and as they decay, or (if not carved) as the raised letters
drop off. I have toiled with Photoshop trying to bring out the
captions on gravestones, altering different filters and
colour/vibrance sliders, sharpening options….. Only to be frustrated
that I cannot make out a key date or name. Or I still cannot read
much of it at all! There must also be a best time of day/light angle
for bringing out the lettering (and use infra-red)? It looks so easy
when they are trying to process bad images on CSI-type TV shows. [I
have the same issues with getting better text from old deed
transcriptions that are badly faded or badly photographed].
Any advice would be appreciated. I was going through several
churchyards last month, knowing that so many of my relations were
buried there, but so few of the gravestones were legible. So frustrating.
Roger
*From:*James Huey via CoTyroneList
<[email protected]>
*Sent:* Wednesday, 31 August 2022 10:24 AM
*To:* CoTyroneIreland.com Mailing List
<[email protected]>; Len Swindley
<[email protected]>
*Cc:* Valerie Stewart <[email protected]>; James Huey
<[email protected]>
*Subject:* [EXT] [CoTyroneMailingList] Re: Irish Emigration From the
Port of Derry
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