Grounding the Aerial: Presenting at EVA London 2014

Last week I traveled to London for the 25th anniversary Electronic Visualisation and the Arts (EVA 2014) conference. I presented a paper entitled "Grounding the Aerial: The Observer's View in Digital Visualisation for Built Heritage" (full text here). Suitably enough, and never missing an opportunity, I traveled down by plane.

Our high-wing propeller airplane gave some great views from slightly lower than the normal cruising altitude. Pressed against the window, I got this lucky shot as we passed over the town of Ambleside and the end of Lake Windermere in Cumbria.

From the serene calmness at high altitude to the bustle of central London in the height of summer - on arrival the streets where still heaving in the aftermath of the visiting Tour de France.

EVA was held at the headquarters of the BCS, the chartered institute for IT, just off from the Strand. Amongst the demonstrations where these high resolution 3D printed replicas of marble statues and stone tools, produced with stunningly high fidelity (more about this work here).

Another interesting demonstration was this sophisticated pole-mounted photogrammetry rig for photographing and modeling ceilings for conservation. The four cameras are focused and calibrated for a given distance from the ceiling, which is positioned using two intersecting laser beams (full paper here).

I presented my paper "Grounding the Aerial" during a session on "Visualising Landscapes", which ended with a great panel discussion with Daniel Buzzo and Tessa Morrison. Tessa's research used virtual reality models to "test historical utopian cities on a modern audience", while Daniel adopted a creative practice-based approach, using photography to explore "the theory and actuality of the effects of Time Dilation". 

It was great to see Daniel's high altitude time-lapse and photography used as a visual basis for reflection. Air travel happens in a serene, de-situated state that is neither here nor there but in-transit. For example, this photograph from the flight down shows the Solway Firth - Scotland is somewhere to the left of the estuary and England to the right but from up here the observers isn't really anywhere (no topical politics intended!)

I was reminded again of different view that high altitude can provide when I cam across this Sidney Nolan painting in the Tate Modern (full details and image here), where I spent some spare time in London. It's often been commented that the Australian interior is too vast to really represent. Nolan has drawn from his travels across the landscape, including by plane, to present this aerial impression of the desert.

Aerial Iceland: What I Did on My Holidays

I went to Iceland for a long awaited holiday and, while I promised myself some computer-free time for hiking, camping and coffee drinking (Reykjavík offers a mean cappuccino), I did also manage to cram a few kites into my luggage. Here are some of the low altitude aerial photographs from the trip, taken while my companions waited patiently (for the most part) while I flapped around with a kite.

Iceland presents a beautiful yet bleak landscape where human settlement sometimes feels against the odds. Causeways built to avoid erosion from glacial melt water at Borgarnes make an attractive sweep from above (top left) and between rain showers one morning I got some shots of the two lighthouses on the peninsula at Akranes (top right and above). That is our "experienced but well maintained" vehicle (according to the hire company) at the bottom of frame.

We also had the skilled drone pilot Jacob Rowland in our midst for some of the trip, seen here dodging geysers with his phantom (and getting some fantastic footage at the same time). It was great to see Jacob's UAV in action and the Phantom is now firmly on the Christmas list (you'll find no kite related bias on this KAPers blog!)

We had little wind for much of the trip but walking a little way onto Skaftafell glacier I managed to launch the kite in the breeze created by cool air sinking off of the Vatnajökull ice cap and streaming down the glacial valley. While quite reliable, this 'fake' wind had quite a low ceiling so the shots above where taken after a bit of running kite line in and out to gain height.

The volcanic black beaches at Vik (above and below top left) were one of the excellent locations for aerial imagery along with some of the more desolate stretches of the ring road, which crosses mossed-over lava fields and glacial rivers along the south coast of the country (below top right and bottom). You will notice our "well maintained" vehicle has changed colour, not after a paint job but because we had to swap it for a slightly less broken one.

We were also lucky enough to catch this higher-altitude glimpse of the Westman Islands (below) from the plane on approach to Keflavík. You can make out Eldfell, the crater of the volcano on Heimaey (to the left of the large island), which came close to destroying the town and harbor in the winter of 1973.

Iceland has a way of captivating people and after a very busy visit we left with a list of places to go back to, and another of things that we didn't have time to do. The striking colours and landscapes make for something of a  photographic playground. I hope to have more fun with aerial photography here some time in the future! 

Musket Fire and Ruins at Tantallon Castle

Historic Scotland recently hosted an event at Tantallon Castle that combined the current archaeological excavation work with a re-enactment of the siege by Oliver Cromwell's men in 1651. I was asked to come along to document the event with kite aerial photography and despite overcast and rather blustery weather was able to get these shots of the re-enactment in action.

Members of the excellent First Captain’s Company open fire on the public.

It's not often in recent years that smoke rises from the battlements of Tantallon.

Alongside the musket fire and cannons, less violent work was being undertaken in the archaeological trenches and 17th century crafts where on show at the encampment where the re-enactment team were based.

A tour of one of the trenches where excavations were underway.

A nice location for a campsite.

Photographing events can be challenging because there is no waiting for better weather conditions, but despite this the day was a lot of fun and with some dramatic results. The organisers, archaeologists from Historic Scotland and Kirkdale Archaeology, and the fantastic First Captain’s Company all did a fantastic job of pulling off a great event. I look forward to getting up above more special events in future!

Over the Tay: Aerial Photos Above Dundee and Broughty Ferry

These photographs were taken in transit between Fife and Angus during a light aircraft flight to gather material for my hillfort PhD case study project. It was fascinating to pass over the city where I live and am familiar with from ground level.

The Tay Rail Bridge with the stumps of the previous bridge visible at low tide.

Dundee from near Ninewells with an oil rig undergoing work in the distance.

From height it's easy to get a sense of how the city relates to the narrowing of the Tay Estuary, which was first taken advantage of by ferryboats and later by the two bridges. Before the construction of the first rail bridge, Broughty Ferry (below) was the staging point for boats that carried railway wagons to and from Tayport.

Broughty Castle guards the narrow Firth of Tay with the bridges behind.

A view of Dundee and the Tay Road Bridge from above Fife.

Photographing from a light aircraft can be intense with a lot of ground is covered very quickly and wide areas of landscape compressed into a series of brief vignettes. It's a fantastic experience but always a good feeling to have two feet firmly back on the ground!

Our trusty ride the Cessna 172 is ideal for aerial photography.

From Sky to Soil: Excavations at Castle Law Forgandenny hillfort

I was recently lucky enough to be invited to photograph during the SERF (Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot) excavations at Castle Law Forgandenny hillfort. This was a rare and fantastic opportunity to see a buried hillfort structure revealed and I was keen to use low altitude aerial photography to pick out the details of the trenches as they where under excavation, as well place them within the broader site and surrounding landscape. Here are some of the resulting shots.

Kite aerial photograph of Castle Law Forgandenny under excavation.

Excavators busy in trench G seen from the kite. Apparently G is for Gigantic.

I even got to do some mattocking! This was near the beginning of the process where we were removing relatively recently disturbed debris from the main wall. This is possibly why I given this job - where my enthusiastic but uninformed efforts couldn't cause any damage!

After years of photographing hillforts I finally get to stick a mattock in one.

Vertical shots of trenches that intersect parts of the outer wall and platforms.

Castle Law Forgandenny sits in a stunning location overlooking Strathearn with views out towards the entrance of the Tay, as shown in this high altitude photograph from last year. When it comes to visualising the site (and it just might)the position within the wider landscape will be a key point.

Castle Law Forgandenny seen in its landscape context from high altitude.

Many thanks to Tessa Poller and Cathy MacIver for catering for myself and Alice Watterson on site during the excavations. I'm very much looking forward to doing more work with this intriguing and dramatic site.

TAG-On-Sea: Bournemouth hosts the 2013 conference of the Theoretical Archaeology Group

Last week I attended the 35th annual TAG conference, held over three days in Bournemouth University. I was presenting a research poster (below) which introduces my PhD research and outlines my ongoing practice-based enquiry.

My Poster for TAG-On-Sea 2013 (click for pdf)

The poster focused on the theoretical concerns that aerial photography and computer generated imagery raise, such as the danger of dehumanisation and detachment from the lived experience of built heritage. Examples of my visual work included high and low aerial photography as well as a still from my animated CGI film "Jarlshof".

The poster survived the 500 mile journey to Bournemouth!

Highlights from the conference included a session on "Researching Audiences in Archaeology"organised by Donald Henson and Chiara Bonacchi from the Centre for Audio-Visual Study and Practice in Archaeology, UCL, where the problematic area of audience research was discussed.

Bournemouth seafront and pier during a brief period of sunshine.

The visualisation session, entitled "Seeing, Thinking, Doing: Visualisation as knowledge Creation", featured some fantastic experimental projects including a talk by Mhairi Maxwell on the "Creative Spirit" exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland. Art-practice and Archaeological collaborations were also discussed during the session "Archaeology with Art: Space, Context, Fabrication and Gesture". Another highlight was a session re-evaluating the idea of "Taskscapes", opened by Tim Ingold (below) who first introduced the term in his 1993 paper "The Temporality of the Landscape".

Tim Ingold exploring the evolution of the idea of "Taskscape".

My first experience of TAG was of an relaxed and discursive environment that I look forward to catching up with again. Over just three days I have a host of new ideas and avenues to pursue, as well as new reflections on my work so far.

Mountain climbing and the hilltop vantage: A prehistory of the aerial?

One of the thrills of hillwalking is to be able to watch the landscape unfold while escaping to a place of clarity. Mountain climbing has been considered a precursor to flight (see for example "Aereality" by William Fox, 2009 and "Aerial Perception" by Margaret Dreikausen, 1985) and I would certainly follow the idea that the experiences closely relate. It's an intriguing and attractive idea for my area of interest because it lends a prehistory to the relatively short history of aerial photography.

Top: Aerial photograph of figures at the summit of East Lomond hillfort, Fife.
Bottom left: Glen Clova Glen is a popular area for hillwalkers.
Bottom right: Normans Law hillfort with Tay estuary and Dundee behind.

The large image above shows a family enjoying the panoramic views from the summit of East Lomond hill. From here you can see most of Fife as well as into Angus, Perthshire and Lothian. They are standing at a circular plinth which points out the orientation of landmarks in all directions. What they can't see - at least not very clearly - is that they are standing right at the center of a series of enclosures that were constructed thousands of years previously. While East Lomond hillfort is located on an obvious high point in the landscape, other such sites seem to be placed with more specific viewshed in mind. Normans Law hillfort (bottom right above) is located at the Eastern end of the Orchil hills with a strategic view over the Tay.

Top and bottom right: Mountain paths picked out by snow and low light.
Bottom left: An aerial view of Skiddaw taken from a light aircraft.

The evidence of human presence in the hills cropped up unexpectedly while I was flying and walking amongst the Cumbrian fells in April this year. These deep-cut tracks (above) zigzag up and over over mountain passes and form a labyrinth of paths, both old and new, which join low land and mountain areas. In Cumbria the evidence of mountain exploration goes back thousands of years.

Top: A Neolithic axe quarry near Pike of Stickle (bottom right), Cumbria.
Bottom left: Carrock Fell hillfort is also situated high amongst the fells.

The remains of a Neolithic axe industry are situated high amongst Langdale Pikes (above) where I was experty guided by archaeologist Aaron Watson. Here greenstone was hewn from difficult to reach outcrops and shaped into rough cuts before being transported down the mountain. The stone from this particular seam is of exceptional quality and Langdale axes are found distributed broadly across Britain and Ireland. Good quality stone is available elsewhere however and yet the Neolithic craftspeople chose to work up here in the mountains, despite of (and perhaps in part because of) the difficult and dangerous logistics involved.

Top: Kilchurn Castle seen from the hills above towards Beinn a'Bhuiridh.
Bottom left and right : Views towards Ben Lui and Loch Etive.

More recently I had the opportunity to do some mountain aerial photography (I guess that would be MAP) while hillwalking around the northern tip of Loch Awe in the Scottish west highlands. Among the fantastic views offered by these hills they provided an aerial vantage point upon Kilchurn Castle (above). Normally aerial photography is near impossible in such dull light conditions. This was however the first time I've taken aerial photographs with my feet and camera supported firmly on the ground!