The National Committee on the Carved Stones of Scotland supported by Historic Scotland have produced this 32-page booklet giving practical advice on recording stones by the non-destructive method of photography. The booklet is edited by Anna Ritchie and published by the Pinkfoot Press.

Following a brief Introduction by Ingval Maxwell, the major part of the text, 'Photographic recording of carved stones', is a detailed account by Tom E Gray - well known for his huge contribution to the photo-archives of Pictish sculpture. It is well and clearly written, giving guidance on equipment, techniques, lighting, indexing and copyright, with a glossary of technical terms. Tom gives away many of the secrets of how he achieves his excellent, award-winning, results. The text is illustrated with several fine examples of his work.

Lesley Ferguson of the Royal Commission, who has responsibility for the archaeological archive in the National Monument Record of Scotland (NMRS) in Edinburgh, has an interesting section detailing the importance of continually recording carved stones -- they move, get lost, or weather away.

She gives examples of the value of photography -- such as a lost stone from Clatt, Aberdeenshire recorded by photography in 1905; and the use of comparative time-lapse photography to monitor deterioration of a stone's condition. Advice is also given on how to properly record a stone with a sample 'carved stone recording form'.

This useful little booklet provides an invaluable source of practical advice on photographing carved stones, often a challenging task.

J.R.F Burt