A few of my HABS* and HAER* donations were transmitted to the collection at the Library of Congress last year (2025). *Historic American Buildings Survey and Historic American Engineering Record.
Digital Photography for HABS/HAER/HALS (2026 Update)
A Born-Digital HABS Photo Standard is Coming Someday, but not yet. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS*), the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) programs are the way America documents its significant inherited environment. For the last 93 years HABS has documented built America exceptionally well, with honest, unmanipulated…
Mundane but Magical
Vaillancourt Fountain and the Historic American Landscapes Survey • HALS CA-164
Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion about the Vaillancourt Fountain at the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. The fountain is historic, and these two photographs were taken of the plaza and fountain in 2022 when I was documenting the Market Street Historic Landscape District, a 2.3 mile-long section of Market Street from The Ferry…
HABS Photography on Instagram
Take a look at our latest projects, interesting HABS tidbits, and random architecture sightings on the @HABS_photographer Insta. HERE: https://www.instagram.com/habs_photographer/ If you’d like more information about HABS/HAER/HALS photography take a look at our website. HABSPHOTO.comStephen Schafer,Architectural Photography,Ventura, CaliforniaPhone: 415-857-HAERE: schaf@west.net
Scanning 4×5 Negatives for HABS/HAER/HALS
There’s a really good (ongoing) discussion on the Large Format Forum about camera-scanning 4×5 and 5×7 negatives for HABS, HAER, or HALS. I use a DSLR (or Mirrorless) camera and a copy stand to photograph my negatives and create 30+ Megapixel digital photographs. Follow the discussion here: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?157757-4×5-amp-5×7-Negatives-Camera-Scanning-with-Nikon-D800E&highlight=habs
Becoming a HABS/HAER Photographer
There’s a really good (ongoing) discussion on the Large Format Forum about doing 4×5 photography for a living as a HABS, HAER, or HALS Photographer. Not working for the National Park Service or Heritage Documentation Programs, as an in-house photographer, but rather doing freelance HABS/HAER photographs of historic places for Cultural Resource management firms, cities,…
HABS Photographer (new blog)
As one blog ends, another begins. Here in September 2025, my blogging platform since 2010 – Typepad – is going offline. So, I have migrated some of the old posts here to HABS-HAER-HALS.com at WordPress. I’m still not sure if that old Typepad blog will go away or be frozen as an archive. From 2025…
HABS Photographer Writes a HABS/HAER/HALS substack
HABS Photography exposed and explained on my new Substack.
HABS HAER Photography transmitted to the Library of Congress
Middle of May 2025 Four more records transmitted to the Library of Congress last week. Three Historic American Engineering Record projects and a Historic American Buildings Survey project. Presidio of San Francisco, Aircraft Hangar (HABS CA-2942) Natomas Ditch System, Rhoades' Branch Ditch (HAER CA-144-B) Southern Pacific Railroad Bayshore Cutoff, Tunnel No. 3 (HAER…