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Author Topic: Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?  (Read 3105 times)

tshort

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« on: December 18, 2005, 01:38:55 pm »

I'd like to find out whether there are any opportunities to work as a field photographer for anthropology or archaeology-related research expeditions.  I've checked a bit at university sites and the American Inst for Archaeology, but didn't find anything there.  A topic that has surfaced is called Visual Anthropology, but I think this is more geared toward the researchers doing the shooting themselves.

Anyone out there have any background or experience in working as a photographer in this capacity?
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Wisconsin

erusan

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2005, 09:58:56 am »

Quote
I'd like to find out whether there are any opportunities to work as a field photographer for anthropology or archaeology-related research expeditions.  A topic that has surfaced is called Visual Anthropology, but I think this is more geared toward the researchers doing the shooting themselves.
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I think there are two possible problems you are not seeing here. Excuse me if I am wrong.
The first problem is that there is a reason anthropologists (I currently do a PhD in cultural anthopology) take their own pictures: they know what to shoot. Subjects depend on focus of research, local attitudes towards taking photographs, and many other factors that one may not be aware of at first sight. So, for his/her own anthropological research, it is likely the anthropologist will take their own pics.
The second problem is the significance of photography in anthropology. While visual anthropology (approaching anthropological problems through visual material) is still quite popular in the US, it is less so elsewhere. The reason lies in a long discussion on exactly how useful descriptions are to understand other cultures, and whether photographs can actually express more than descriptions in text. Most likely, the two (text and image) are complementary at best, at least in the anthropological field of view. The field of visual anthropology tends to lean towards film / video instead of photography, although there are some studies utilizing series of pics to analyse (or support an analysis) a certain custom or situation.

Personally, I have never heard of a full-time photographer working for "research expeditions", but perhaps others have better info.
I hope this helps, forgive me if you already know the above-written.

cheers,
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erusan
Tokyo, Japan [url=http://www.elme

tshort

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2005, 11:55:43 am »

Thank you for your input - that is quite helpful to me as I continue to explore ways in which I might use photography for something a bit outside the traditional commercial norms.  I have a science background (engineering, actually) and business consulting, and am looking to do something more right-brained.  So here I am trying to figure out how to use my passion for photography in a way that generates some work for me, without having to dive into the weddings/senior pictures/fashion/product fray (which seems like a longshot for me at this stage, anyways).

If anyone else has any ideas or experiences regarding non-traditional photography work, I'd love to hear from you.
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Wisconsin

Brian Gilkes

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2005, 02:51:58 pm »

There are many opportunities for photography outside the domestic areas mentioned. I would caution , however about considering a social "science" area like anthropology without in depth research into what you are doing, how you are doing it and for what purpose. You could contact university departments to see if any work under expert supervision is being outsourced, but if funding in your area is anything like the experience here, then I suggest this may not be fruitful.

One possible area could be science stock. This is an area where images are constantly required, and the supply is limited. Pick an area that interects you and try to cover it in depth. Check catalogues from appropriate libraries and talk with editors of educational  books and the science and general press to find out their requirements. Make sure your quality is up to it by having your work reviewed before you spend a lot of time and energy. Make sure work is model and property released.
Hope this helps
Brian Gilkes
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John Camp

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2005, 10:51:54 pm »

I've worked a good bit as a photographer of archaeology in Israel. My experience is that if you are a good photographer, and are willing to do a little research and learning on your own, you can probably sign on as a photographer in any number of digs during the course of a summer (most are in the summer, because that's when college kids are available as cheap labor.)

I don't know anything about meso-American or European archaeology, and the opportunities may be fewer there. However, if you're interested in the Holy Land, go out to a big newsstand right now and look for the Biblical Archaeology Review (which is not a religious publication, but covers archaeology in the lands of the Bible, which mostly means Israel, with some stuff from Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.) The current issue is the "dig" issue, which lists all (or most) of the Holy Land digs which are looking for volunteers this year. You could write to any of them -- virtually all of them will be on the web -- and ask if they need a photographer.

Big catch: you'll be a "volunteer," and that usually means you'll have to pay your own way, including room and board. Probably cost you $3,000 for the summer, including air fare, but it's a heck of a way to see the area, and hang out with some really great archaeologists, and learn the job.

All the photography, as far as I know, has switched to digital, so you'd need a couple of digital cameras, lenses and a couple of flashes.

The job can be brutal -- bad light, finicky diggers, wierd subjects (think about trying to show different layers of brown dirt in a big brown dirt wall, in bad light.) Where I've dug, light control is critical -- and you use shades and various invented-on-the-spot light modifiers as often as you use standard equipment. You also have to be exceptionally responsible. After you shoot something -- the photography always comes last -- the subject is then either removed from its context (artifacts) or destroyed (the floor you're documenting) and you can never get it back. If the pictures are messed up, it's an extremely serious matter.

The situation in archaeology is quite different than that of anthropology, if I understand the above postings correctly (I don't know anything about anthropology.) For one thing, the subject matter is usually totally inert, and you mostly only shoot what the dig director or area directors want you to shoot...and the publicity shots you shoot are always with the approval of the volunteers who appear in the photos (and who are almost always happy to be in them.)

If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to answer them...but if you're a good photographer, and are willing to learn a bit more about the specifics of field archaeology, it can be an interesting way to see the world.

If you want to see the kind of shots archaeological photographers are expected to shoot, browse through this web site, where I've done quite a bit of the pre-2005 photography, not including the aerials (I wanted to dig in 2005, rather than shoot):              

www.rehov.org


JC
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tshort

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2005, 04:17:54 pm »

Thank you both, JC and Brian - great info.  Went to the rehov site and looked around at the pix there - was looking for a credit for you, JC  - didn't see one.  But very encouraging suggestions re ways to get started in this.  Much more reason for optimism than I first believed, so that's good.

Happy Holidays.
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Wisconsin

John Camp

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2005, 06:44:33 pm »

Quote
Thank you both, JC and Brian - great info.  Went to the rehov site and looked around at the pix there - was looking for a credit for you, JC  - didn't see one.  But very encouraging suggestions re ways to get started in this.  Much more reason for optimism than I first believed, so that's good.

Happy Holidays.
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That's something I didn't bother with in my first reply, but the fact is, individual photo credit is hard to come by in academic publications. I have gotten credit in magazines, like BAR, but in technical reports, you just don't get it -- instead, you're usually listed as a staff member on the report, as with the "preliminary report" on the Rehov site.

I took most, not all, of the photos on the "pictures" page -- NOT the pictures 2005 -- and I think all of the technical views of the dig, most of the pottery, many of the human interst, etc. The museum shots (pottery carefully arranged and lighted in a studio) were taken by a staff photographer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which runs the dig.

The fact is, a photographer on a dig is pretty far down the totem pole -- the equivalent of a technician, as opposed to a research scientist -- unless you screw up, in which case everybody pays a lot of attention to you.

JC
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Hank

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Anyone know about photo jobs/work in anthropology?
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2005, 08:15:50 pm »

Check with the National Park Service, BLM, the Forest Service, and perhaps the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

At least NPS, BLM and the USFS have archeologists on staff, and I know of at least one instance in which an advertisement was let for a photographer.  It was a couple of years ago as I recall, and with the NPS in Mesa Verde.  I looked at it pretty carefully at the time simply because I like the area, but the salary didn't meet my standards- in the $35-40k range, as I recall.  It looked like there was a pretty substantial budget for equipment, and the job included both field work and lab work.  The work would have been really interesting in other words, provided you were willing to settle for the salary.
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