Failing to record finds on PAS.

[Pete E]

I'm inclined to agree but I think they are trying to strike a balance of recording vs. very high quality. At least the item was recorded, along with its other details (weight, location and ID) so it's now there for all to see and research.

Hi mate,
It's not so much your pics in this case, it's more how the photos appear on the PAS in general.

The formate/style they use ie cutting out three pics of the find and pasting onto a white Photoshop background, plus harsh overhead light just results in very flat, lifeless photos that make even stunning finds look mundane. That said I do realise that the pics are just for record purposes...

And, I could do it all from my desk and still have the item at home to show friends.

Chris (aka Dave)

Totally agree...

I am not sure I have the experience or knowledge to fully record my own finds yet, but it's something I would like to progress to....

In the mean time, it would still be a big step forward to submit photos and info electronically rather than physically submitting the find it self, especially for the more run of the mill finds...

Regards

Peter

[Oxgirl]

Gentlemen right now submitting everything remotely is exactly what is happening so go for it. I’ve recorded a few things that way and it’s quick and painless

[Steve_JT]

If people have a go at it, add some basic info, upload your picture to the record the foundations are laid.
All the FLO has to do then is edit or update as they see fit, worst case scenario delete

A bit like building a house, FLO is final fix

Weight and sizes important with good quality photos if you can , when they see the items in the flesh they can always retake images.

Go on give it a go

[DaveP]

I am not sure I have the experience or knowledge to fully record my own finds yet, but it's something I would like to progress to....

In the mean time, it would still be a big step forward to submit photos and info electronically rather than physically submitting the find it self, especially for the more run of the mill finds...

Regards

Peter

Hi Peter,

I count myself lucky having a very active FLO. It seems not everyone is getting the same level of response.
I have no plans to become a self recorder but I'm happy to do the bulk of the work for the FLO and let him fill in the PAS format. If you can, try to build a rapport with your FLO.
My normal approach.
If I think the item is on the cusp of what he might record I send one picture and ask whether he wants to record it. If I know it should be recorded I send him the pictures I think he will need plus additional details (weight, find spot etc) in an easy to copy format. Picture files say what the picture is (plan, profile, striking platform, obverse, reverse etc.) and simply ask - "what else do you need?"
Then leave it all for him to add to the PAS. I'm seeing him next week to collect a treasure item and will ask if he would prefer anything different.

Give it a go

Chris

[DaveP]

Just to follow up. I saw my FLO (Simon Maslin ) yesterday at 11.30. Sent him the pictures and details of an ampulla at 3pm. He's just sent me an email (11.40) and PAS link to say it's been recorded. I know he gets a lot done but I can't ask for more than that.

[Pete E]

I had a chat with my FLO the other day and sent off details of a spindle whorl that needed recording.

Initially I had some problems with sending pics that were too compressed so sent off a second batch and am waiting to hear back if they are acceptable..

I have since also invested in basic A4 light table to see if that will help in the overall quality of my pics...

[DaveP]

Pete,
talking with Simon Maslin we agreed that it's better to have at least average pictures and the record than to have no record at all. And, all of the details are in the text. The format for the PAS is already set so it's followed by the FLO's. All Simon wanted was high object to background contrast which allows him to select out the background on the computer. Colours will vary between monitors so what you see won't be exactly the same as they see. You could spend ages getting ultra high quality images but they'll soon be lost in the lower resolution images on the PAS.
The attached example was taken with the iPhone atop a pint glass with a white paper surround to diffuse the sunlight in the garden. The original image files are about 2mb. (attached is under 1mb).

PAS - https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts ... id/1009019

[figgis]

Good work, Chris, and glad it all worked out well

I'm currently looking for a scale like yours. Did it come from one of them there archaeological supply shops?

[Pete E]

Hi Dave,
I agree completely and I intend my finds to be recorded one way or another!

Re the photos, I know just enough about digital photography to realize I have no talent for it! Part of that is being a confirmed technophobe when it comes to the tablet/pc photo editing software side of things...

I used to use Canon Digital Photo Professional on my pc but can't get it to load properly on my laptop...

I therefore took the pics much the same way as you using my tablet which has an 8mb camera thinking they would be decent enough..


What I didn't realise is that Windows Photos compresses the pics down each time you do anything to them so by the time they reached my FLO
they were something like 200kb each!

Anyway, I have resent them at a larger file size and just waiting on the FLO to get back to me about them...

Regards,

Peter

[DaveP]

Good work, Chris, and glad it all worked out well

I'm currently looking for a scale like yours. Did it come from one of them there archaeological supply shops?

I got mine from https://www.pasthorizonstools.com/L_sha ... hape10.htm

The reverse is black with white numbers. I searched for ages to find something cheaper but a) no luck and b) this one will last ages. Postage was £1.95 so a tenner all in.

[figgis]

Excellent, and thanks for the link. I feel a purchase coming on...

I've used various scales for PAS recording but recently came to the conclusion I should have an 'L'-shaped one. Recording dark finds on a pale background makes background manipulation easy, but something like a hammered on the same background makes for a lot of manual manipulation as the contrast isn't good. So if I can lay the scale over a black card, I'm laughing

[Jamesey1981]

I emailed my FLO on the 20th of July, no response, again on the 3rd and 14th of August, no response.

I used the main PAS contact section on their main site on the 18th to ask if my FLO has quit, no response yet either.

I'll happily report finds but if they aren't going to bother to give a one line email response saying "contact me in a month" or whatever within a month of emailing them then I don't see why I should bother wasting my time, I have four finds to record and one of them is a celtic silver unit, you would think that it might deserve at least some response from the individual that is employed to log these finds, even if it is, "sorry, I'm too busy, can you hang onto it for a bit"

[Steve_JT]

I emailed my FLO on the 20th of July, no response, again on the 3rd and 14th of August, no response.

Might be worth phoning the museum and get them to prompt him, or find out if he's still the FLO or active and not off sick

Regards Steve

[Jamesey1981]

Might be worth phoning the museum and get them to prompt him, or find out if he's still the FLO or active and not off sick

Regards Steve

This is what I asked on the PAS contact form, so hopefully they will get back to me before the phone I am using to email them becomes old enough for them to record it, I'm not all that hopeful though.

It's just a bit frustrating, I want to report finds and have them added to the record, but a complete lack of contact is putting me off somewhat.