The backstory

When studying to become an archaeologist at the Linneaus University in Kalmar, Sweden, the internship was held at the municipality museum (Kalmar Läns Museum) where I was given the opportunity to photograph the artifacts from the excavation of Sandby Borg, a large ring fort from the migration period.

As the ring fort had only been excavated to a small degree, and knowing that it would be a multi year project, the problem was to document it year by year and still maintain a similar look to the images.

Another issue was that of the look itself. A common practice when photographing archaeological artifacts is to use a light box which offers a quick and unified look but often removes shadows which leaves the image void of any shape and weight.

During the months at the museum the thought of a unified practice took shape. A method that could be repeated using an easy set-up whilst giving the objects both shape, weight and direction. These objects are true artifacts and deserves to be treated as the treasures they are. As we often only get one shot to document the artifacts before they are placed in storage, we should make the most out of that image.

This method is currently being tested in a project made possible with the FujiFilm Regional Grant. In this project 200 objects will be photographed using the method mentioned above in combination with Fuji’s GFX-system, a medium format system capturing photos at 100Mpx which will result in high resolution images.

The result will be showcased at the European Association of Archaeologists in Belfast, and in Tokyo November 2023.