27 November 2012

Good lighting on invertebrate fossils

Posted by Callan Bentley

Good lighting on these fossils at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta, eh?

You’ve got a batch of brachiopods mixed with crinoid columnals and little cornucopia-shaped rugose corals. Maybe some sponge spicules in there, too…

This is a great rock because (a) it’s full of well-preserved fossils in a fine-grained matrix, and (b) it’s been weathered so that the fossils poke out in high relief.

But the way the museum displayed it, with the excellent low-angle lighting, makes all the difference. It really “pops”!