THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGE: CAPTURING GEOLOGIC FIELD RELATIONS AT MULTIPLE SCALES AND VISUAL FORMATS

Geology is a supremely visual and aesthetic science. From its inception, field-based observations have provided essential geologic data. Today, many imaging and post-processing tools are available to geologists and geophotographers. Conveying visual information in well-crafted images at multiple scales and in effective format is important to communicating earth system processes.

Images can demonstrate key field relationships more succinctly and perhaps more fully than verbal description. Photographs document geologic events and changing features. The act of producing images that clearly reveal important details also sharpens the photographer’s observational prowess.

Photographic images can record information at many scales, and, importantly, can showcase multiple scales in a single image. A photograph can capture and communicate significant field relations and characteristics of hand-sample, outcrop, and landscape-scale features in a single image. These photographs may also have great artistic merit if carefully produced, and so can engage non-geologists with the science.

Utilizing basic imaging and post-processing techniques are important skills. They improve a photograph’s capacity to depict and communicate, as well as its artistic qualities. More complex technical methods include HDR imaging and multi-exposure hyperfocal landscape, macro, and 3D imaging, which can enhance photographic clarity and produce art-gallery-worthy images that retain their scientific validity. The Geological Society of America’s annual photo contest provides a venue for geologists to observe the work of others and showcase their photographic skills.