News and Information About HABS, HAER and HALS Photography
I should have posted these HABS photos back in 2023, after they were accepted into the Library of Congress HABS collections, but something probably came up. Something always does. CROSSROADS OF THE WORLD HABS No. CA-2965 6671 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles Large Format Historic American Buildings Survey photography from July 2022. Crossroads of the World (constructed in 1936-37)…
A few of my HABS* and HAER* donations were transmitted to the collection at the Library of Congress last year (2025)…
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…
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…
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
HABS Photography exposed and explained on my new Substack.
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…
I’m teaching a webinar on HABS/HAER via zoom through the University of North Texas. April 23, 2025. Link: https://library.unt.edu/news/2025/03-19-lecture-habs If you’d like more information about HABS/HAER/HALS photography take a look at our website. www.HABSphoto.com Stephen Schafer Architectural Photography Ventura, California Ph: 415-857-HAER
My Path to Preservation: Insights from a HABS Photographer INFO LINK Members Non-Members FREEDate: May 20, 2025Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Join the California Preservation Foundation for our My Path to Preservation series, a webinar program with the goal of sharing insights with students, interns, graduates, emerging professionals, and anyone interested in a…
Today, I got an official HABS number from HDP, after looking through some files and finding the negatives. HABS CA-3002. This week the motel was lost in the Palisades Fire.