Methods for exploring in a renewed medium
Posted by Nicholas
Since the invention of photography it has been used to freeze light into place and thereby freeze a moment in time. It liberated artists to forget about realism and fascinated the public by allowing them to keep a part of there beloved always near them. For science it allowed for reproductions of samples to be seen across oceans and to slow down processes and understand them. One of the most notable early example's of slowing down a process is Eadweard Muybridge's bet, the bet being that a horse's hooves leave the ground at a gait.
This was the promise of analog film photography and it has shared through print, and now the Internet, parts of the world (or the stars) past generations only read about in books. The advent of the electric circuit has transformed how photography (and film) is used. In “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Brad Pitt's face was covered with phosphorescent powder so that cameras could capture every movement and translate it to the computer. Previous motion studies, and movie special effects had relied on markers as reference points and produced a jerky zombie-like effect that is known as the 'uncanny valley'. In analogue film, special effects need to be grounded in the real world because the process cannot be altered (much). At it's best, analogue film captures time in an authentic manner; for digital it shows process in a way that is easily manipulated.
Film (movies) is nothing more than high speed photography, but it is relative to the speed of the subject. Nature programs often use time-lapse photography to show plants growing; I use time-lapse to show urban changes and social patterns, and that is just the beginning. Alex MacLean explores population density through aerial photography (An excellent lecture if you have the time here.) and many other urban planners have used photography as a tool to explore there cities. The possibilities are endless.
Photography is a tool that has undergone many changes in the electronic revolution. In the McLuhanesque mistake of using a new medium just as you would the old, photographers are slowly coming around to the idea that the digital camera is an entirely different tool. Whether it be for science or expression the mash-ability of digital capture has encouraged collaboration between many disciplines as a tool for progress.
Collaborate & Re-create.
- Nicholas
