Overhead photo mosaics with a monopod

We take photos of all the tent rings and features that we dig before, during, and after excavation.   There's a constant record of all the work done on an archaeological site.  One of my favourite photo sets are the overhead photo mosaics that we do when the structures are completely opened up.  I use a small monopod to get the camera as high as possible over the site and photograph the tent rings two square metres at a time.

 

The final photos are stitched together in photoshop and give a good overall look at the work we've done.  This particular excavation opened up an area a little more than 4x5 m across and revealed an oval tent ring on the right and some sort of external slab feature - possibly for drying caribou meat - on the left.  This image is stitched together from at least nine individual images taken with the camera mounted on the monopod.  It required a small amount of processing in Photoshop to square up the units and remove a bit of distortion due to perspective and lens warping.  It provides an especially detailed record of the excavation, especially when there is good contrast between the feature stones and the background soil.

Photo Credits:
1: Lori White
2: Tim Rast