Vera Marjorie Conlon (néeDrake, 12 August 1906 – 23 January 1994) was a British archaeological excavation photographer who is noted for her work at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and for publishing a textbook about photographic techniques for archaeologists.
Life
Conlon was born in 1906 in Streatham, Surrey, as Vera Marjorie Drake, and was later described as having a "strong cockney accent."[1] She was known by the nickname "Connie."[2]
Conlon worked as an excavation photographer and as an assistant to Mortimer Wheeler.[1] She became one of the early women employees at the UCL Institute of Archaeology in London.[2] She worked as the Head of the Photography Department.[3][4] She retired in 1971.[2]
After retiring, she published Camera Techniques in Archaeology, a textbook for archaeologists, in 1973.[5][6] The book adapted advice to the newest camera and darkroom equipment available to photographers.[7] It became a notable work about the specific photographic techniques required for field archaeology[8] and "showed a keen awareness of photography's own lineage in archaeology."[7]