Archaeology Magazine - March/April 1985 - 71

A summer's day at Hadrian's Villa was photographed with an 18mm lens and
Kodachrome 25. The pure clarity of the perspective and the sharpness of the image
from foreground to background give this photograph an air of "order" and "tran"
quility The natural harmonies are evident in the receding lines of the perspective
giving the photograph its balance.
more abstract angle; a slightly higher
angle will usually bring the foreground
into the photo with a totally different
perspective. Both angles will achieve foreground detail, but give two different appearances to the photographic scene
because the importance of the horizon
line in determining where infinity lies,
and the depth relationships of all objects in the foreground and background
have been altered.
"Bulls-eye,""dead center" and "crosshairs" composition within the frame are
to be avoided in most cases since they
usually accompany the "eye-level" syndrome of taking the first view of the
subject. In some cases the photographer
knows exactly what he wants (in most
cases the idea is there instantly ), but the
right view and the determination of what
must be in and out of the scene to make
the picture more effective both take a
closer and more critical look. In the world
of shapes and forms, very few things
take place in such well-ordered fashion.
Placement
There is no set formula for placement
of objects or subjects within a given
format. Some photographers split the
frame into two halves and try to balance
action in both parts of the frame. Others
work with "imaginary" lines that split
the frame in thirds, and place their subject matter where the intersecting points
occur.These are more like mechanical concoctions and wind up making the photograph static and forced. The viewfinder
should be identified with compositional
freedom, not restriction.
An easy way to concentrate on the
organizational aspects of your composition is to find a starting place, a focal

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ELEVENTH-CENTURY
ON THE SHOREOF A
SOUTHDAKOTA
LAKE
volunteers
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Enthusiastic,
responsible
toshareintheexcitement
ofdiscovery
atthesite
ofa walled
American
Indianfanningvillage
in
SouthDakota.
Mitchell,
Thisresearch
andarchaeological
education
prosince1979withthehelpof
jecthascontinued
dozensof volunteersunder professional
supervision.
Volunteers
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thechallenges
and
peoplewhileexperiencing
rewards
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Noexperience
Volunteers
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necessary.
fieldandlaboratory
to the
on-the-job
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limitsof theirinterest
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Personswillingto sharespecialized
skillsin
audio-visual
museology,
production,jourdataprocessing,
nalism,
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preindustrial
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educationareas are especially
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Costs:$107to $137/week,
foodand
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inMitchell.
Some,orall,of theseand
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relatedexpenses
maybetax-deductible.
Time:a minimum
ofoneworkweek,preferably
longer,duringtheperiodJune3 - August23,
1985.Specialized
volunteers
at
mayparticipate
othertimes,aswell.
Goodbalance
of workandleisure.
Manylocal
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creditcanbearranged.
University
Forfurtherinformation:
DarrellW.Fulmer
Resident
Director
Archaeologist/Project
Mitchell
SiteNational
Historic
Landmark
P. O. Box621
SD57301
Mitchell,
Phone:(605)996-5473

point. This point is an imaginary spot
that is flexible and can be moved anywhere within the given format. The point
is usually the center of interest. Once
you have found the spot that is of the
most concern, building up the rest of the
picture around it and tying in the rest of _
the elements into a strong compositional
theme falls into place. The point can be
the vanishing point in converging lines,
PALENQUE
the chosen spot for perspective to come
to an end. Since our eye sees lines that
ROUND
TABLE SERIES
recede into a horizon or vanishing point
VOL. VII
as natural, any degree of tampering with
this "known" physical fact is acceptable,
Proceedings of the 10th Anniversary
even when the picture is taken with a
Mesa Redonda, June 1983,Palenque
super wide-angle lens to exaggerate the
AVAILABLE
MARCH 1, 1985
perspective and to add an illusion of
Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute
greater depth.
The photograph of the white swan in
the reflecting pool was taken at Hadrian's
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Villa outside of Rome. The use of space
After Feb. 15, 1985
$48.00
was stretched by the wide-angle lens;
&Shipping,
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Handling
the vanishing point in this case was the
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end of the pool. The converging lines
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appear natural and the swan in the foreMakeU.S.checks&moneyorderspayable
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ground is balanced by the vanishing
that
PRE-COLUMBIANARTRESEARCH
pointimaginary spot at the end
of the pool. (Since this is not a "true"
INSTITUTE
1100SACRAMENTOSTREET
infinity picture the ultra- wide-angle lens
lent itself to making the most out of the
SAN FRANCISCO,CALIFORNIA
distance between the main subject and
94108
the horizon line, in this case man-made.)
ALSO AVAILABLE:
The swan was placed out of the center of
P.A.R.I. MONOGRAPH 1.
the picture; the horizon line is above the
$10.00
DYNASTIC
OFDOSPILAS
SEQUENCE
center.
PeterMathews
andStephenHouston,1985
The relationships between foreground
P.A.R.I. MONOGRAPH 2.
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and background, the interplay between
LAKE
CHIAPAS
ANDTHELOST
PETHA,
depth and space are what will add a
MURALS
three-dimensional life-likequality to the
DavidWonham
two-dimensional film. Depth can be used
MAYASCULPTUREof the Southern
as a design element as in the picture of
Lowlands
MerleGreene,R.Rands,J.Graham1972
continued on page 80
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1985 71
March/April

Archaeology Magazine - March/April 1985

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - March/April 1985