Friday, May 29, 2009

Edward's Darkroom Tent



I bet this guy would be envious of digital cameras...heheh

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Niepce's Heliography experiments



Comparison between the original engraving and the heliography of Joseph Nicephore Niepce.

The Wet Plate Collodion Process

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Holmes Stereoscope




This is a Holmes Stereoscope used for viewing images in 3D. Like a primitive Viewmaster.

Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura



A Camera Obscura. The image formed by the lens (B) and reflected by the mirror (M) on the ground glass (N) is traced. From A. Ganot, Traité élémentaire de physique (Paris: 1855)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Wollaston's Camera Lucida


Illustration from 1807

Large Portable Camera Obscura


This is a Large Portable Camera Obscura. (I would hate to have to haul that thing around!)
It's an etching from 1646 by Athanasius Kircher.

Camera Obscura Image


The first published illustration of a camera obscura observing a solar eclipse in January 1544. More camera obscura images to come!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Andrew Wyeth has died at the age of 91




I saw today where Andrew Wyeth died Thursday night in his sleep. He was 91. How sad.

I really enjoyed Wyeth's work. I think the general public found it very easy to relate to him and his work. It was very un-pretentious and humble. His scenes depicted a nostalgic view of simple rural/living. He was an amazingly versatile artist capable of working in many different mediums–one of which was tempera. Tempera is very challenging, but he makes it look like a breeze.

Wyeth is probably most famous for his work "Christina's World" depicting a melancholic handicapped girl crawling in a field. I had the privilege of seeing that work this past summer. It was amazing!

Click on the images for a high-res image of Christina's World.