UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 39, Page 7
August 15, 1996
Photo documentation; Air Force using UD methods to preserve history

     Old and historic structures associated with the U. S. Air Force,
which is only 50 years old, may seem an anomaly, but there are many
Air Force sites that have archival significance, according to David
Ames, director of the Center for Historic Architecture and
Engineering.
     "Although established in 1946, the Air Force has its roots in the
Army Air Corps in World War I and in the Army Air Force in World War
II. Furthermore, when air bases were being established, some of the
selected sites in the West were cavalry forts, built in the mid-19th
century. There are other sites, such as Pearl Harbor, associated with
World War II.
     "Since 1946 when the current Air Force was established,
structures with historical significance are those associated with the
Cold War," Ames explained.
     As a federal institution, the Air Force is required by law to
determine which of its properties are eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places.
     If possible, these properties are to be protected and preserved.
If that is not feasible, they must be documented with photographs,
drawings and narratives, meeting the standards of the Historic
American Building Survey of the National Parks Service, Ames said.
     For assistance in documentation, the Air Force turned to the
Center for Historic Architecture and Engineering, which has earned a
reputation for its expertise in architectural photography, and asked
the center to submit a proposal for a series of workshops.
     Two three-day workshops were held in March and June in Dover, and
a third one is planned. Targeted to cultural resource managers and
photographers, the workshops have been attended by approximately 30
people from Air Force bases all over the country, including Hawaii and
Alaska, Ames said.
     "Structures can be things other than buildings," Ames said.
"Different kinds of aircrafts and the Minuteman Missile system, which
is now being dismantled, are of historical interest as well. All these
structures, their functions and how they work tell the story of the
history of flight engineering and the development of the Air Force."
     The workshops offered practical information and hands-on
experience. Ames lectured on architectural photography, and
participants went out in the field and took photographs of historic
buildings in Dover and structures at Dover Air Force Base. These
photos were later critiqued as part of the workshop.
     In his lectures, Ames told them that the purpose of photographic
documentation of historic structures is to include as much visual
information about a structure in as few photographs as possible.
     If only one photograph could be taken, he said, show the front or
facade of a building and one side from a 45 degree angle, and include
the whole building, without cutting off chimneys, roof peaks or
foundation.
     For interiors, Ames recommended knowing the floor plan, shooting
toward a main doorway, with the door open to record the spaces and
rooms beyond. To say that a building can be well-documented with three
exterior and three interior photographs may be hard to believe, he
said, but the "purpose of photographic documentation is to be as
complete, yet as succinct as possible."
     Ames summed up the goal of documentary photography for the Air
Force participants by pointing out that "a good architectural
photograph is one to which the viewer's reaction is 'What a great
building!', not 'What a great photograph.'"
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure