Lighting for copy photography

In response to David Seubert regarding copy stand lighting,  The
intensity of light produced by the bulbs is to ensure you have even
illumination across the stand with enough light to ensure critical
focus and maximum depth of field by use of small apertures at the
camera lens.  As long as documents are not exposed for long periods
of time, exposure damage will be negligible.  If your set up and
initial focus are done under limited ambient light you then can turn
on the copy lights for only the time necessary to perform critical
focus and exposure.  This shouldn't take more than a minute.
Tungsten film balanced for the color temperature of the flood lights
should give you accurate reproduction.  You might be able to obtain
large UV filters that could be placed in front of the lights from
industrial photo suppliers like

    Hunt's Industrial
    100 Main St.
    Melrose, MA, 02176

Although again, limited time in front of the lamps will likely not
expose the work to undue UV.

George Cannon
Preparator
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-254-4617

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:79
                  Distributed: Tuesday, April 6, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-79-005
                                  ***