Author: Sean Leo

Typology Machine Proposal: Digital Hygiene and Microverses

For my typology, I’ll be using the Bebird Otoscope Camera to inspect and document the connection ports on people’s devices. Normally used to inspect people’s ears and clean accumulated wax, I’ll be using the camera to inspect the buildup of lint and other detritus in ports on people’s phones, laptops and other connections.

By employing photogrammetery I hope to create an interactive model that can be scaled up and navigated by the viewer and show the unusual landscapes that live with us.

SeanLeo_ExCap_Typology_preview

Currently my work flow will be taking video recordings with the otoscope, then converting the footage into photo jpegs to then create the photogrammetry model out of.

Given the scale of the capture site, I’m trying to devise best practices to record and inspect with the most uniformity, and the best focus.

SEM – burnt matchstick

My object was a burnt matchstick. The first image was the tip of the matchstick but unfortunately it broke off in the microscope which meant it was no longer grounded and was harder to focus at higher mags. The Second image was a result of the more receptive surface of the matchstick for the microscope. Having Donna guide me through the process of how the microscope worked was fascinating and very exciting to see that the image is a raster. This ultimately led me to do the fun trick you can do on a photocopier. By moving the source or the camera as the image begins to populate you can stretch and warp the image. By moving both the joystick and the angle of the sample plate I was able to come out with a very different image (Image 3). Image 4 is the anaglyph pair.

 

Photography and Observation Response

No image is ever objective, but I would say there is scientific subjectivity that would qualify as a what we would commonly refer to as “objective”. The main difference being the methodology of the capture. Something that is captured scientifically aims to record/capture as a way to analyze which can be different than documentation. Typologies lay at the intersection of this. Several different documentations together can create an analysis of common features. The reliability of this is still dubious, but the methodology does give the credence of reliability.

 

 

Response: Stacey’s “Tom Sachs’ Tea Ceremony”

In Stacey’s post, mentions Tom Sach’s work in regards to the uncanny and the human act of reproduction. There is “joy and horror in recognizing something eerily familiar”.
This was exactly my experience with the photogrammetry workshop! By prefacing the workshop by thinking about still life, I was able to connect to painters and sculptors, in a way I hadn’t before. The act of freezing time, and holding a created object/image as an representation of that moment or average or sequential moments. Stacey mentions Sach’s work having a human touch that “leaves each element sort of “perfectly imperfect” and totally uncanny, just like the real thing but somehow more human.”
While perhaps less human, a photogrammetry still life is in the same valley for sure. What could be perceived as a photo of an object can be slightly thrown off be some artifacting, or even the ability to orbit the object digitally. It is relatable and real, but more digital and eerily familiar.

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The Camera, Transformed by Machine Learning

The act of taking a photo is a very personal, intimate thing. It is a mechanical representation of your perspective, adjusted and dialed in to best record what you are seeing.  It is an act of labor that extends past the body in order to capture that moment in time. The camera is both tool and partner in the creation of the image, and often allows the user to extend their vision in ways that biology cannot (zoom, exposure, depth of field, etc.). With cameras becoming more autonomous, I believe that relationship between user and tool remains intact.  Perhaps it has moved into more of a platonic partnership rather than an intimate romance, but the authorship remains the same. Artworks are credited to the user and their materials. The more autonomous the imaging system the more dependency and trust the user has to place in the system. As machine learning advances, we may have to credit these systems as full fledged co-authors.

 

Project to Share

Rapid Recap

While not an artistic project, the end result can have creative implications. BriefCam is a video security system that compiles hours of video from a static vantage point, and overlays timestamps on moving subjects to create a condensed overview of events happening before the camera. From the demo footage available, the result shows people occupying the same space at different times but within the same frame. This allows the viewer to more quickly sift through hours of footage, and would reveal motion patterns of those it captures.

The “Rapid Recap” System for Condensing Hours of Security Footage Into Seconds – Link to demo videos

Thinking about re-purposing this surveillance technology for more creative uses is what caught my attention.  Viewing duplicates of a person shown overtime transposed onto the same space can create an eerie visual effect, as well bring to mind how our environments affect our physical interactions. Specifically it reminded me of the graphic novel HERE, by Richard McGuire. McGuire illustrates events taking place in the same spot over the course of thousands of years. From primordial swamps to a rendered future, people, objects, and animals are transposed on top of one-another, cutting through time, only getting glimpses of moments.

HERE, 2014. McGuire, Richard