The human endeavor to capture what we observe and what we cannot observe never ceases to amazing. The endless need to gather data and analyze it, it is something that really struck me as I read the essay. One part that stood out to me when I was reading the essay was a portion where the author writes the two ways photography produces observable things: first is singling out a moment of time where too small to be observable by people and second, second, gathering up light over a number of seconds, minutes, hours or even days and presenting it as one image. It reminded that one of my favorite functions of photography is the capture of time, a concept no one has fully grasped yet but somehow we have very gotten very good at capturing. In this new digital age, it is interesting to think about how now every moment in time is being captured through photography, somewhere in the world.
Tag: Reading-1
Reading Discussion
It was interesting to read about the traditional photographic methods like daguerreotype because I took an introductory course last semester working with the processing chemicals and emulsion. Compared to the immediate feedback we receive taking digital photos today, the procedure is for processing photos and developing them takes somewhat delicate procedures. Therefore it was interesting to think about how the photographs would have transitioned for observing astronomy/space. In terms of new exploration made possible by scientific approaches to imaging, as the reading mentions Raman spectroscopy provides artists insight to molecular structures that is normally not visible to the naked eye. Similarly, development of technology and scientific perspective of observing the world offers artists not only deeper understanding of their subjects but also a different lens to see the world.
Reading 1
From the reading, a medium that could be easily adjusted to fit a manipulator’s vision made it difficult for photography to be taken seriously as a tool for documenting reality without bias. The development of X-ray photography provided strong evidence of photography’s scientific utility, helping to restore its credibility.
However, what I find interesting is the malleability of photography itself. Some photographic works are used by artists to expand the way to perceive the world beyond what the naked eye can see. Objects inherently have multiple facets, and the reality seen by the human eye is always relative. X-ray photography, too, has the power to subvert our understanding of physical reality, completely altering the relationships between objects. The artworks below by Nick Veasey transform my familiar view of the world, reshaping how I perceive the essence of everyday objects.
Notes from June: Photography and Observation
The first thing that occurred to me as I read Kelley Wilder’s text on photography and observation is that I know almost nothing about photography – I know little about the different types of photographic techniques that there are, nor do I know the history of photographic development, or their various scientific applications. I am unfamiliar with terms like “plates,” emulsions,” and “collodion,” and I have not given much consideration to the feedback loop between science and photography.
Reading Wilder’s text made me interested in understanding what set of skills the art of observation required before photography. She states that prior to photography, scientific observation required “an innate genius for concentration and attention to detail,” besides the development scientific observation skills (which are not described here).
I often aspire to be an attentive observer of my surroundings. I am interested changes and patterns within the environment, natural processes, and human behavior –but I feel like my observation skills are often a bit lazy and not rigorous enough to come to a meaningful insight, certainly not a scientific insight. I often capture and record without much intention, in fact, I feel as though many of the photos I take on my phone come from a feeling of compulsion. I feel a compulsion to record things and this compulsion is tinged with anxiety – perhaps related to the text’s introductory quote from John Gribbin, “Nothing is real unless it is observed.” There is some feeling that if a moment or an image or a thought is not captured in some way, it is lost and that we have no way of verifying that an event took place if there was no recording of it. (for more on this feeling see image of journal entry below).
I am interested in questioning how the affordances of my most used capture device (my iPhone) affects what I pay attention to and what I ignore in the situations I find myself in.
In some ways I wonder if photography, or photography as most of us perform it today has made our observations lazy. The text explains that one major advantage of photography over prior methods of recording observations was that “photography eliminated the aggravating need to momentarily take one’s eyes off the subject while jotting down notes or sketches.” I wonder though, what skills were perhaps lost when we started relying on photography for the images as opposed to using hand sketching and note taking? As recently as 2022, a new species of giant waterlily was discovered through detailed observation and illustration – the discovery of this new species, Victoria boliviana, was achieved in large part through the patient and rigorous observation work of Kew botanical illustrator Lucy Smith.
In your opinion, What is an artistic opportunity, made possible by methodological/scientific/scientistic approaches to imaging, that is interesting to you?
This article made me interested in how the scientific process for recording and developing images can create not only images but measurable datasets that when probed with certain questions reveal some phenomena about our world. For example, I found it fascinating that Raman plates, which are impossible for a layperson to read as a sort of image can be converted into measurements that can be used to capture information about material substances and structures. (I don’t have a complete understanding of how Raman spectroscopy works, but I am now very curious about it and intend to learn more). I think that overall, it is interesting to think about how a capturing tool (like the Raman plate and associated chemicals) can indeed be used to create an image—but that examining the relationship between the capturing tool, the environment, and the captured element can reveal a totally different ‘picture’.
Photography and Science-Reading 1
It was fascinating to learn about the practical and scientific uses of photography, especially how it contrasts with the casual way we use it today. In the past, photography wasn’t just about capturing memories or sharing moments on social media; it was a crucial tool for scientific discovery and documentation. The use of photographic emulsions, for example, enabled scientists to capture phenomena like X-rays and distant celestial bodies, allowing them to study and analyze things that were invisible to the naked eye. This historical perspective highlights how photography was once a specialized, precise tool for exploration and knowledge.
One artistic opportunity made possible by scientific approaches to imaging is the ability to visualize and explore things beyond the reach of the naked eye, which significantly expands our creative potential. Innovations like X-ray, infrared, and microscopic imaging allow us to see the world in entirely new ways, revealing hidden structures and patterns that were previously invisible. This not only broadens our understanding of the world but also fuels our visual imagination, opening up new realms of creativity. By making the unseen visible, these advancements inspire artists to explore and reinterpret the natural world in ways that were once unimaginable. For example, a fashion designer takes images of what fabric looks like under a microscope and makes a collection with these images blown up and printed on the fabrics they use.
The more we know, the more we realize we don’t know, and the more we can imagine as artists.