Expanding Photographic Possibilities Lab

“A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” — Dorothea Lange

“I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed.” — Garry Winogrand

Eadweard Muybridge was a late 19th century photographer who designed his own camera system to capture the discrete movements of a horse galloping for the first time. Prior to his photos, horses were illustrated with all their legs extended while galloping. Muybridge proved that their legs were in fact momentarily underneath them when galloping. After the widespread dissemination of his photos, the way in which horses were drawn in motion changed forever. 

In this lab, we will endeavor to design, build, and use unique cameras to produce unique photographs. In doing so, we strive to expand the concept of photography and raise questions of perception and understanding.  

To accomplish this, expertise will be developed by all participants in aspects of art and engineering. 

Projects under consideration include (but are not limited to): 

• • Building cameras from upcycled scanners – repurposing the linear array in old scanners to create digital slit cameras with unique imaging properties. 
  • Building unique camera configurations from off the shelf parts – microcontrollers controlling one or more sensors per camera.
  • Designing and building multi-lens cameras.
  • Designing and building a custom imaging sensor and a camera to use it.
  • Designing of a multi-sensor mosaic array from numerous sensors harvested from ‘antiquated’ digital cameras or phones.
  • Creating digital swing lens cameras to create single exposure panoramas.
  • Creating cameras to capture multispectral images – map IR or UV to color spectrum, etc.
  • Creating ‘glitch’ cameras or circuit-bent cameras.  

Emphasis will be placed on the repurposing and upcycling of existing equipment which may otherwise enter the waste stream. For example, the initial project will focus on repurposing old scanner components to serve as the imaging components in cameras. 

Students will meet weekly as a group with the faculty lead. The faculty lead will discuss the projects underway. Students will be assigned topics to research/develop within their discipline. They will report their findings to the group for discussion. Artists will work with the engineers to ensure the project will perform as desired. Engineers and artists will work together during the testing phases. 

Students will learn to work collaboratively. Engineers will learn about art; artists will learn about engineering. They will also learn how different disciplines approach research and work differently. 

Students will be doing the actual design, building, and testing of the cameras. This may entail metal fabrication, reading and understanding of white papers, signal processing, programming, corresponding with other external makers, CAD, 3D printing, woodworking, machine disassembly, lens modification, photography, etc. Students will also learn to work iteratively and learn how to work through short term failures to achieve long term success.