For my typology machine, I’m going to look at my contact lenses!
I have worn contacts since I was 8 years old, so there’s plenty of questions I could come up with (for example, how many daily pairs have i worn in my entire life? What is the amount of packaging waste I’ve generated through this? Yikes.)
They’re a really cool material to play with – transparent, squishy, very different wet/dry textures, etc. For the purpose of this assignment, it’s an awesome opportunity to experiment – what can I capture about this material that I have never been able to see otherwise?
My machine will look at them between polarizing filters, using a DSLR, macro lens and light table.What kind of surface tensions are there on different pairs? How much does each lens differ from the next? (despite quality standards, there’s an occasional lens that is not the right shape. What does this look like?) What does an inside-out lens look like, compared to one that’s right-side-out? If I look at every pair I wear for a week, how does each day differ? Does a fresh lens look different from one I’ve been wearing all day?
It’s a pretty simple concept, which is fine by me and leaves opportunity for some fun discoveries & experimentation.
Beyond just using polarizing filters, what other things could I capture about my contact lenses? For example, is there some way to “see” how dirty they are at the end of the day? I’m open to suggestions and excited to get started.