At present Reality-Survey selects the sites to survey with no conscious thought process other than a drifting contemplation for where the next Series-T is to be located; there is no defined logic or reason. If any technique is used then it is one of distant memory of a particular place. Occasionally a map will be opened to encourage a projected sense of how an area may be; a connection with a certain place on the map will be formed, and a circle drawn. The map is tacked to the studio wall and then a determination to survey that area is built.

Between the time of the selection and the day of the survey no pre-production work is carried out. The site remains a mystery other than what has been viewed cartographically and what has been imagined and / or remembered.

It takes at least 10 hours to survey any given terrain. A precise position is located using a combination of GPS (Global Positioning System) and surveying equipment in relation to Ordnance Survey maps and the national-grid reference system. The terrain is then marked. Technical geographical data such as elevation and the gradient of the section is also noted.

If the conditions are not ideal a fast-fold style cover is erected over the section. Apart from this temporary structure the section will not be altered in any way.

The mobile studio is then brought near the section. The mobile studio comprises of a powerful computer and the modified scanner system. Other essential equipment includes large sheets of optical glass, and laser calibrators and levels. Power comes either direct from the vehicle, via an invertor and a UPS, or a generator.

The equipment is prepared and calibrated. Once everything is in place the survey is carried out in one continuous process. The total data collected will contain more than 6200million pixels of 32-bit RGB colour and this is transferred immediately to a back-up storage system for the post-production process.

Reality-Survey uses a unique, constantly developing, system of hand-modified professional imaging technology. At present I use a Heidelberg large-format cold-cathode scanner that had been originally designed to archive precious books. It has been stripped down and extensively re-built, including essential modifications so that it can work upside down and in harsh environmental conditions. Over a scan it keeps within 0.4% dimensional tolerance. The scanner works in a flatbed style, collecting data as it moves over and lights the subject. What is unique in this form of imaging is that the scanner has a very narrow depth of field and the light used is very shallow, providing a darkness below 150mm and a graduating effect from 100mm+. This in turn gives the piece the appearance of a slice.

Tiny cross-hair markers are pressed into the surface of the terrain to be used as precise reference points in post-production. Then a giant sheet of optical glass is laid over the section of terrain, so that none of the equipment touches the subject matter, thus keeping it as it was at that particular moment when found. The scanner then rests 1mm above the optical glass. A large light-tight sheet is then placed over the entire section to cut all external light. The scanner is calibrated for colour, depth of field and light sensitivity and then the terrain is scanned in overlapping sections.

Throughout the process the surveyed terrain has not been touched in any way, and with the surrounding area only being marginally changed (being walked on, cables laid, equipment laid down); the area is kept as Reality-Survey found it.

The remaining process is the post-production and Reality-Survey is now studio based.

The scans of the terrain now slot together both by eye and by the use of the cross-hair markers. By using such precise technology on location only the slightest alterations are needed. All alterations are noted and form an accuracy tolerance of that individual section. The files remain in unfiltered 32-bit RGB and are not compressed throughout the whole process.

The printing of Reality-Survey is as critical as the production. A digital photographic print process is used called the Durst Lambda RS. The process keeps the file in its native RGB and is fully photographic. Lasers expose a continuous length of paper in what seems like a reversal of the scan process. This process allows for a subtlety of colour not found in ink processes. More importantly the Lambda RS format has been specifically designed for satellite and cartographic applications. It has a dimensional tolerance of 0.03% compared to 1-3% on most normal printers. With this Reality-Survey can feasibly keep Series-T within an estimated tolerance of 2mm/meter. All of Reality-Survey is printed at 1:1 scale.

Series Specimisation uses techniques developed within Series T and applies them not to surfaces of terrain but to individual specimens. Specimens are often removed from their found location so that the survey can be carried out within a controlled environment. The specimens are surveyed and produced to the same exacting tolerances as Series T. Other than this, strict guidelines are not adhered to within Series S.