Instant Photography

Instant photography was born 67 years ago and has ever since remained one of the few milestones of photography that still attracts customers to the day.  Even though technology has advanced a great deal, instant cameras still function with the same chemical reactions that were used in the first instant camera developed in 1947. In an instant camera, a colour film is enclosed in a light tight part of the camera. This plastic film consists of three light sensitive layers, sensitive to the colours blue, green and red. In between each of these layers there is a dye developer, which will later turn the photons into metallic silver. Two more very important layers, the light-sensitive layer and the image layer, are located just above the different light sensitive and dye layers. If you take a picture with an instant camera, light hits the light-sensitive layer (covered in silver particles) of the colour film and causes a chemical reaction. A reagent, a mix of opacifiers (light blockers), alkali and white pigment, then starts off the developing process of the picture. While the picture is being passed out of the camera the reagent is spread over the topmost layer, the light sensitive layer. The different chemicals in the reagent slowly make their way downwards through the different layers (light sensitive layers as well as dye layers). In the light sensitive layers, the photons are turned into metallic silver particles by the reagent. After all of the developer dye has been dissolved, the silver particles can move up to the image layer now that the colours are all fully developed. Which of the colours are developed depends on which of the three light sensitive layers has remained unexposed. At this point, the picture is fully developed but it cannot yet be seen. This last step, the reaction of the acid layer with the opacifiers, results in the opacifiers clearing up. Now, after only a couple of minutes, the picture can be discerned.

Group Comment on Instructional (camera lucida)

Regarding Tim Hunkin’s set of instructions on how to make a camera lucida, we have to remark that they seem more confusing than helpful. There are no detailed explanations delivered on how to perform the different steps. In order to understand Hunkin’s instructions, specific knowledge is required, which makes this set of instructions suitable only for people with more advanced knowledge about how to construct a camera lucida. Above all, the construction of the wooden scaffold for the camera lucida remains a mystery to us, as there is not a single word mentioned in the instructions on how to build it. If you are not familiar with building something by yourself, this step might cause you serious problems. Apart from this lack of information, this set of instructions doesn’t  fulfill two more important aspects. The steps are neither numbered nor in a chronological order, which might cause errors during the process of building the camera. The font used in the set of instruction makes the instructions even more confusing because it is almost impossible to discern the unit of length. Also, at the beginning, the list of needed materials and tools is missing.The only positive aspect we found is the use of pictures in this instructional text, as they make it easier to follow the instructions.

Group Work: Descriptive Text: Napalm Girl

The very first thing that catches the eye of someone observing the picture we chose, would be a young naked and barefooted girl slowly running towards the person taking the picture. She has her arms stretched away from her body, as if she was shaking them to try and alleviate unbearable pain. Her mouth is hanging wide open and her face is contorted with what might be excruciating pain or extreme anger. This girl is depicted as the centre of both the photograph and the scene displayed in the photograph. Around her there are four more children, almost all of them equally distressed, following or preceding the young girl. If you look at the position of their arms and legs, it seems like they are not walking, but running away from something which might be the cause of their distress. The five children are running along a broad and seemingly deserted road and are followed by five calm-looking soldiers, some of them armed with machine guns. The street, which runs a straight line through the picture, is surrounded by what might be a flat meadow landscape and three or more dilapidated looking houses. If you focus your eyes on the end of the road, you can spot a billowing cloud bank of smoke in the back of the picture, which might be the source of the children’s distress. The smoke cloud completely covers the sky and causes the rest of the landscape to disappear into impenetrable darkness.
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Little History of Photography - Narrative

First Draft

Seeing all those people strolling through this museum makes me wish for the ability to speak. I wish I could put everything I know about photography into words and tell these people about how it is possible for them to take a picture today. I want them to know that the development that took place between 1839 and today has shaped photography in numerous ways.
I myself am old, some might say ancient. I am one of the first pictures that were ever taken and it is due to my creator Louis Daguerre that the foundation stone for photography was laid in 1839. This new technology baffled and fascinated the masses but it remained a privilege granted only to wealthy people for a very long time. Paying 25 gold francs for the silver plates to build a camera obscura was not something anybody could afford. Still, photography managed to outweigh the art of painting because it managed to grasp the moment of the picture in a more eloquent way. David Octavius Hill was one of the photographers who managed to do exactly that in each of his pictures, even though most of his subjects did not look directly at the camera. Around the 1860s people first started to retouch the negatives and the first sessions of studio photography represented a decline in taste. The props used in the pictures, to make it easier for the subject to stand for a longer period of time, made the picture look, if I may say so, surreal and ridiculous. Another undesirable aspect that was first found in pictures taken at this point in time was the appearance of a halo. The long exposure times illuminated the picture, which practically shone out in comparison to the usually darker background. After the 1880s though, this halo became a desirable feature of every picture that was taken. As only quite wealthy people could afford having pictures taken, this halo was associated with wealth and well-being. Being able to recreate this halo in the picture enabled everybody, including factory workers, to look well-off. Years and years later the birth of creative photography changed the history of photography yet again.
Unfortunately, this is where my story ends. I am old and I don’t remember much of the history after that. But maybe someday, another picture will be able to finish this story and maybe someone will listen.

Feedback from my classmates:

Julia and Bianca generally liked my text. They liked my choice of vocab and complimented my writing style. However, they made me aware of the fact that my text consisted of too many facts. Even though the first and final paragraph of my text were narrative, the bits inbetween seemed to be just a list of facts. They helped me figure out which bits to eliminate in the text and which ones to keep for the final version.

Final Version:

Seeing all the visitors strolling through this museum makes me yearn for the ability to speak. I wish I could put everything I know about photography into words and tell these people about how the shaping of photography’s history made it possible for them to take a picture today.
     I myself am old, some might say ancient: I am one of the first pictures that were ever taken and it is due to my creator Louis Daguerre that the foundation stone for photography was laid in 1839. Like me, all my brothers and sisters here next to me also played their roles in shaping the history of photography. If they spoke up, they would agree with me and tell you how they managed to baffle and fascinate the masses. This fellow here to my right for example would tell you about the fact that for a very long time photography used to be a privilege granted only to wealthy people. My brother to my left would share a different story with you. He’d talk about how after so many years of trying to get rid of a halo, he was the first picture to be retouched in order to recreate this certain aspect. As the halo, created by long exposure times and low light sensitivity, was considered a sign of wealth, factory workers living in the period of industrialization wished to own pictures that included the halo to make themselves look well-off.
     Unfortunately, no matter how interesting all of this may sound to you, my words fall on deaf ears in this museum. I am very old and forgetful and I am not quite sure how much longer I’ll be able to tell all these stories. But maybe someday, another picture will be able to tell the same stories and maybe someone will finally listen.
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A day in the life of ......

The last exciting day I experienced and that might turn this post into an at least fairly interesting read was the 25th of February. I spent this particular day, like the rest of the semester break, in my hometown in Carinthia. In comparison to Graz we were blessed with a great deal of snow and so my dad and I decided to go skiing for the first time in about five years. Having gathered all of our long lost skiing equipment, we drove to a ski resort first thing in the morning. We were fortunate because this day turned out to be the first sunny day in the whole of five weeks I have spent at home. Luckily, I also didn't forget any of my skiing skills and managed to race down the slopes without harming any of the other skiers. After a couple of hours we headed back home to finish my carnival project before it got dark. As I decided to dress as Loki, the god of mischief, for the carnival parade this year, I had to craft at least part of the costume myself. My dad decided to help me out and we built Loki’s helmet together. We worked through the better part of the afternoon and evening but unfortunately we weren’t able to finish it on time. Still, it was a day I spent with my dad and that is why it was worth every second.

Why Italy should remain an EU member state

Sandra Lang, Vanessa Steingkogler, Lisa Marie Vido

Group text

Group Work Analysis - EU Citizenship

Group Work Analysis

EU individual paragraph

Paragraph Brainstorming

Original Paragraph:

A topic I would gladly look into is food safety in the EU.  The European Union is known to have rather strict and environmental friendly laws but barely anyone can really pinpoint what exactly these are. What are the rules concerning the use of pesticides or herbicides? Is the disposal of genetically modified food allowed? Does the meat that we eat come from animals that were fed with natural feed or with concentrated feed? All these questions come to my mind when thinking of food and I must admit that I am not able to answer them. What I do know though, is that food safety and health should be more important and that is why I would like to find out more about it. The people aware and interested in how healthy or unhealthy our nutrition is are a dying species. Being aware of what decision the EU makes when it comes to health-related issues should be more important. After all, it is true to say that “you are what you eat”.


Feedback Summary One:

Altogether my paragraph has received quite positive reviews. Still, there were a few flaws that Katrin and Orsolya uncovered and they gave me advice as to how to correct them and how to improve the paragraph. The first things they corrected were two mistakes concerning grammar. They reminded me that in the second line, where it says “to have rather strict and environmental friendly laws”, it is necessary to use “environmentally”, thus the adverb.  They added a missing comma to another sentence which was very difficult to understand without it and also condensed a clause that included too many prepositions. According to them, the topic sentence was okay but not really strong. I completely agree because it does introduce the topic but to I think it would be beneficial to rewrite it. Lastly, they took a look at the register of my text and came to the conclusion that it is formal enough. I personally feel like it is not as formal as it should be and that is why I consider it best to add “register” to the list of things that need revision.

Revised Paragraph Nr.1:
 
Food safety regulations in the European Union are a topic that the majority of European citizens are unaware of.  The EU is known to have rather strict and environmentally friendly laws but barely anyone can really pinpoint what exactly these are. What are the rules concerning the use of pesticides or herbicides? Is the disposal of genetically modified food allowed? Does the meat we consume come from animals that were fed with natural or concentrated feed? All these questions come to my mind when thinking of food and I must admit that I am unable to answer them. What I do know though, is that food safety and health should be more important and that is why I would like to find out more about it. The people aware and interested in how healthy or unhealthy our nutrition is, are a dying species. Being aware of what decision the EU makes when it comes to health-related issues should be more important. After all, it is true to say that “you are what you eat”.

Final Paragraph Nr.1:

Food safety regulations in the European Union are a topic that the majority of European citizens are unaware of.  The EU is known to have rather strict and environmentally friendly laws but barely anyone can really pinpoint what exactly these are. What are the rules concerning the use of pesticides or herbicides? Is the disposal of genetically modified food allowed? Does the meat we consume come from animals that were fed with natural or concentrated feed? All these questions come to my mind when thinking of food and I have to admit that I am unable to answer them. What I do know though, is that food safety and health should be more important and for that reason I would gladly inform myself on the matter. The people conscious of and interested in how healthy or unhealthy our nutrition is, are a dying species. Being aware of what decision the EU makes when it comes to health-related issues should be more significant to us citizens. After all, it is true to say that “you are what you eat”.

Final Paragraph Nr.2:

Food safety regulations in the European Union are a topic that the majority of European citizens are unaware of.  While the EU is known to have rather strict and environmentally friendly laws, hardly anyone can really pinpoint what exactly these are. What are the rules concerning the use of pesticides or herbicides? Is the sale of genetically modified products allowed? Does the meat we consume come from animals that were fed natural or concentrated feed? All of these questions come to mind when thinking of food and I have to admit that I am unable to answer them. What I do know, though, is that food safety and health should be more important and for that reason I would gladly research the matter. The people conscious of and interested in how healthy or unhealthy our food is, are a dying breed. Being aware of what decisions the EU makes when it comes to health-related issues should be more significant to us citizens. After all, “you are what you eat”.